Back in college when I was a student studying the business of fashion, I took a summer course which allowed me to study abroad throughout Europe. I visited London, Paris, and Florence and I look back at that time in my life with the fondest of memories. I made some amazing friends and though we bonded over fashion and our love of bags—surprise, surprise—we soon discovered that the bonds we shared ran much deeper, and we knew we would all be friends for life.
In the six months prior to my departure on a European adventure I saved every penny I made that semester because I knew I wanted to purchase a Louis Vuitton bag. At just 20-years old, Louis Vuitton was still one of my favorite bag brands, and it was one of the more affordable options for me as well. Of course I dreamed of snagging a Chanel bag in Paris—what purse-loving girl wouldn’t—but, I knew it financially wasn’t going to happen. My friends and I reveled in the moment of walking out of Louis Vuitton on the Champs Elysées with our brand new bags in tow.
Later that night at dinner we were giddy with joy, a little drunk on both the Parisian wine and the high of our purchases. We talked about graduating college, our future careers and the Chanel bags that we would finally be able to afford with a real adult job and a big-girl salary. Until then, we counted the ways that it would be possible to own an incredibly pricey Chanel flap bag on a college kids budget. Two of my friends brought up the idea of splitting the bag and sharing it, with each girl getting it for a few months at a time, special occasions such as weddings or birthdays taken into account. The conversation wasn’t very serious, and I never thought much about it until years down the line, but recently I asked my best friend, who also happens to be my roommate if we should split the cost of something. We share a closet and a lot of our accessories as it is, and it really really got me thinking if such an idea could actually, truly work.
Would you ever split the cost of a bag and share it with a friend or a family member?
The idea of splitting a bag with someone, sure I could do that. But, the reality is, there is no one in my life that would want to and even more importantly, there is nobody that would treat the bag the same way I would! I feel like there could be so many problems with this – what if someone is kind of careless and spills something inside the bag or on the bag or accidentally leaves their car unlocked and the purse gets stolen, or stolen some other way. I’d like to think I would have sympathy if something happened to the bag in the other person’s care, but honestly I would be pissed unless it was a true freak accident. If the bag was only mine, then I can only get mad at myself and I’m not going to judge myself like I would the other person. Also, how would you determine what to do if something happens to the bag? Does one person pay the other person back if it’s damaged/lost/stolen in their possession? Too many unknowns!
It would work for me if specific terms of when each person would have possession of the bag. I would also hold an item of similar value belonging to my friend as collateral in the event the bag is damaged or never returned.
Absolutely NOT!
No, not ever
Nope.
I share with my sister. Meaning I buy, she borrows LOL!
No absolutely not, unless I’m sharing with my mother.
I share absolutely everything with my mom<3
Noooooo. I would borrow from my mom when I was younger but that’s it. I would never actually split the cost and buy a bag with one of my friends. Women purses are personal! We carry intimate items in there and all treat our bags differently…
My boyfriend and I have discussed this but I’ve come to the conclusion I’d only feel comfortable doing it with bags that aren’t as delicate. One time, he singed my velvet Lanvin bag with a cigarette! I COULDVE KILLED HIM! He’s into fashion and bags but NOT in the way I am. I’ll let him borrow grained calfskin bags, or canvas bags with no vachetta. Chanel and Hermès are OUT OF THE QUESTION with him. Sorry. I love him but damaging a $5k item is enough to make ANYONE see red. Regardless of who it is.
If it came to a friend, theft or loss or damage would have to be covered by them and bound by legal ties. Idk. Then again I’d only feel comfortable doing it with a friend that’s in the same position financially as me to be able to pay if damaged or lost… but then why are you doing it to begin with if you HAVE the money? Idk.. Too messy and not worth the hassle. If it’s to save the cost, just save for it or get a credit card lol.
Nope. I’d rather rent a bag than share. If I own a bag, I want to have access to it at any given time.
Never
No Way!!! Sounds like a fast way to ruin a friendship.
I’ve split designer bags with my mom, especially evening bags. She goes to a lot more events than me where an evening bag is needed, so it’s a good way to make sure the bag gets used. We also split a couple of Chanel bags. Some I keep at my house because I use them more, and some she keeps at her house. We’re both careful with bags so it works.
I don’t think I would ever be able to do it with a friend, though.
I love this post. I probably wouldn’t do this but my bff and I always dream/talk about splitting a bag. We would both fall in love with a bag we see when we’re shopping and say, WE SHOULD SPLIT IT! Of course we never do it. But thinking about splitting a bag with my bff shows we share the same taste and think highly enough of each other that the other would take care of the bag. I’m forwarding this blog to her. Thanks for making me smile today!
My adult daughter borrows my bags, which is fine. I wouldn’t split costs with a friend since I belonged to a book club and loaned out a book, but when I received it back it was trashed. I wouldn’t take that risk with a bag.
No! I’m too crazy about how I treat my bags and haven’t met anyone who shares my OCD standards re: maintaining a bag. 🙂
Absolutely not! I’d spend the whole time worrying whether the other person was going to bump into something and damage it or wear the wrong thing and get colour transfer on it. It would be a very easy way to ruin a friendship. Too many possibilities for things to go wrong and with something so highly coveted by both parties there’s too much emotion involved.
Thank God I don’t need to consider that option, but if I had to consider the answer would be a big NO
No
?nooooooo… I would be freaked out thinking about potential damages
No waaaay. Someone would get hurt.
Absolutely not. This is worst than sharing custody. It’ll never work.