Look guys, I'm not saying it's easy. I will say that being able to afford a Chanel Boy bag takes patience and perfect timing.
Patience
Like most fashion things in life, they ain't freaking free. A brand new Chanel Boy bag runs an astounding $4000+. Yuck! That's like a couple mortgage payments! Or a pretty healthy down payment on a car! Or basically lots of payments on worthwhile life things!
But if you're like me and had a materialistic goal of owning a Chanel bag before you were 30, then maybe my own story of how I did it will appeal to you and guide you in a sense because the last thing I want anyone to do is buy such expensive shit with a credit card. Here's what I did: Basically I signed up for an automatic savings application called Digit (not sponsored, just being honest witchu) and had it squirrel away money for me for months.
How many months? Like 10 — hence the patience part of the story. I continued doing my thing, paying my bills, going to work and living life while this app pulled money from my account in amounts I wouldn't really notice— $30 here, $20 there, $12, it was a range. I supplemented the savings with about $50 or $100 each paycheck cycle (I get paid twice a month) to expedite the process. After a while I saved up quite a pretty penny, coupled with remnants of a tax return and I was in business to buy a new designer snob bag.
Important caveat: this pretty pile of cash wasn't my entire savings. I have other savings accounts and this extra cash is just my #blessed status right now that allows me to save in another account on top my other savings account. I highly suggest having an emergency fund! If you don't have one, don't buy a Chanel bag! Think about it, if you ever find yourself without a job (like that one time I got laid off unexpectedly!) you'll regret every single stupid brunch, Zara piece of crap, and every pair of shoes because you will realize that they can't pay your rent or feed you. Only you could do that. So save!
Timing
After browsing one of my favorite sites The Real Real (again, not sponsored), I realized they didn't have anything I wanted at that time. What they did have however was authentification and a guarantee that any Chanel bag on the site was real (so if I had to do it again I would probably wait for the right bag on The Real Real versus the avenue I did go down just to eliminate All The Doubts). Where did I buy my Chanel from? I bought my Chanel bag from Depop.
That's right, Depop: The app where bloggers and regular folks list their stuff for sale. Let's be real, there's a lot of crap on Depop. But if you find the right blogger, you essentially tap into their money making scheme. See, bloggers are worth following on this type of app because they most likely get heavily discounted (if not free) fashion goods and then sell them at either a Used Good Deal or a Mind-Boggling New With Tags/Just Worn For Photos Profit. (Side note: is that legal? Moral? It's such a can of worms and I just want to say it's kind of icky.) So I stalk a couple bloggers that I believe to be authentic designer shoppers based on their massive amounts of consumerism displayed proudly on their blogs, and heavily documented on almost all other social media. Now this is key: make sure you feel comfortable that the blogger you are buying from only deals with real luxury designer goods, otherwise just forget Depop, or eBay, and take yourself to some place that guarantees authenticity or your money back. I felt pretty comfortable this particular blogger was selling a real bag based on research on authentic markings and craftsmanship of Chanel bags, the seller's history of selling other pricey designer items, and their 100% rating on the app. I also stalked their actual blogs and found many credible blog posts documenting the purchase of said Chanel bag, and also the reality that the a price it was listed for wasn't exactly cheap — it was still expensive, AKA a couple thousand dollars. The timing was right — I wanted the exact bag a blogger was selling and all the signs pointed to an authentic item. So I bought it. With cash. not credit. Cold, hard, almost-a-year-to-earn cash.
Plot twist!
Wow Olga, you have a Chanel bag, you must feel so successful, stylish and fulfilled! Hahah, The answer here is no.
Having such a flashy bag in my possession doesn't make me happier. In fact, I wonder what drove me to believe this type of "milestone" was even worthy of pursuing for so long. Is it because I grew up so poor? That I wanted to know how it felt? Maybe. I will tell you what though: I think of my mom and all her hard work and frankly I feel like a giant asshole carrying an impractical bag that could pay her rent for months. Then I think of my brothers and a lot of the people I grew up with and I just feel so far away from home and guilty.
A silver lining is that it is nice to know I can buckle down and save in such a way, but I guess I just did it for something more meaningful. Despite this I wear the bag all the time. It's a constant reminder of me being caught up in the materialism and status of a Chanel item and that makes me a total hypocrite for enjoying it nonetheless. It's a wearable lesson, people! In hindsight that cash could have made a considerable dent in my debt a lot earlier, but what is done is done. C'est la vie. Etc. Perhaps I'll end up reselling my bag to The Real Real and make my money back! No joke, most items I buy today are only purchased with the knowledge that I could sell them and recoup at least 50%-60% of the cost.
So there you have it. If you must follow your designer dreams, do it in a fiscally responsible way. But just know that if you're thinking it will suddenly change your style game in some way, just know that is absolutely not true. You've got everything you need already.
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