What is luxury?

Photo by Ivan Kazlouskij on Unsplash

Just recently, I read about the Singapore-based Filipina girl who was bashed by netizens on Tiktok after calling Charles & Keith a “luxury bag”.

On her follow-up video, she calmly responded to the “Who’s gonna tell her?”-comment that she considers Charles & Keith “luxury” because growing up she did not have a lot.

I can’t with these awful netizens who are probably just so bored in their lives to shame this girl. FCOL, she was just excited to show on video acquiring a bag that for her, is already a luxury. Why can’t they let her be?

I am not a fan of designer handbags. Never was. Even now that I have been working more than half of my life, I just don’t see the need or the fascination over it, to be honest. 

But before you attack me, I absolutely have no hate for people who own luxury bags. It’s definitely not their fault that they can afford it. But there are some who think that owning such designer pieces define them and make them feel like they’re better people than others. What a shame, really.

I’m already in my late forties, but the only branded bags I ever owned are the likes of Hedgren, Charles & Keith, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste and a classic Coach I got second-hand. Even now, I can’t even get a Kate Spade bag because I feel I can buy a lot of other things with its price. Notice I don’t have an LV, Hermes, Gucci, YSL, Prada or Chanel — what most people would classify as “luxury”.

I am not an expert on the topic, so I will not even pretend that I am, but what would be the price range to consider a bag as a “luxury brand”? Or can one argue that the word “luxury” is subjective? 

When I think of luxury brand bags and purses, generally, I think of the ones that retails for a certain price range (perhaps between $900 – higher). 

Personally, I define “luxury” based on my own buying/purchasing power. If I worked hard enough to own one (like I had to get it by layaway or installment plan), then I consider it a luxury item. According to Merriam-Webster, luxury is “a condition of abundance or great ease and comfort”. So the harder it is for me to acquire something, the more I consider it a luxury.

While I understand that the meaning of it is different from people-to-people, I still think it’s unnecessary to call out this teen over some “technicality” or semantics. But if some are still so worked up about it, notice how the caption on her Tiktok video says: “My first luxury bag”, not even “My first luxury brand bag”. Obviously, she’s speaking in her own POV on what luxury is.

Anyway, something good came out of it. The girl was invited by the Charles & Keith founders for lunch and a tour in its headquarters. Now, that’s a win.

Also, this is what I’ve been saying over and over again. We shouldn’t normalize shaming a person in his or her own post unless the person is asking for it (meaning the post’s purpose is to stir controversy or provoke criticisms, etc). If you don’t like what you see, skip.