Do you remember what your first luxury designer bag purchase was?

Mine was a 1985 vintage Chanel mini flap that I scored on eBay for $500 bucks! The man who sold it was getting rid of his wife’s unused luxury goods and selling them for wayyyy less than their current resale value. I was thrilled to have unearthed such a treasure. My little morning routine of sniffing out 2^nd hand eBay deals became a bonafide obsession.

How to Afford Your First Designer Bag

Start Saving NOW!

I know depositing 10% from every paycheck might not seem like the easiest practice to adopt but the most difficult thing about saving is sacrificing.

What must you give up to obtain what you really desire?

Take a picture of your dream bag, tape it to your vanity mirror, and watch as you will find a way to make it yours! The constant reminder should light a fire under your ass and give you the motivation to start saving up now! You don’t NEED Starbucks every day, sushi every week, or massages every month; but what you do NEED is that fabulous Chanel boy draped ever so stylishly over your shoulder, amirite?

Shop Inexpensive Apparel

There’s nothing like a thousand-dollar designer bag that makes a $20 outfit look like a million bucks. I learned early on that I could shop thrift and vintage clothing, mix and match with strategic luxury goods and fool anyone into thinking the whole ensemble cost me two month’s salary.

To this day, online retailers like Forever 21 , H&M, and SheIn are still my GO-TO shops for everyday casual outfits. I love the feeling of being able to afford whatever I want when I walk into a boutique, which is why I will always shop cheap when it comes to apparel.

Clothing can only be worn so many times but that luxury handbag will last you forever.

Shop Used Luxury Goods

My favorite sources to shop gently used luxury goods are eBay, Tradesy, The RealReal, Fashionphile, and I ALWAYS hit up local consignment shops when on vacation. Most online sites offer incremental discounts when the merchandise has been sitting in their inventory for a certain amount of time. Sign up for email alerts so you will be notified when the price drops.

I always cross reference multiple sites for pricing before taking the plunge. Beware of scammers out there on eBay! I’ve returned a handful of items that were listed “AUTHENTIC” with authentic images to match and upon delivery received a totally different counterfeit bag. But with Paypal and eBay regulations, I can shop with confidence knowing they protect the buyer from false claims.