Do you chase the bling?

[rayinpenn]

I love bling- in moderation. I also keep good things in classic styles for years. My newest Coach bag is 13 years old. I've got a lovely stash of cashmere sweaters that cost hundreds of dollars each. The oldest was purchased in London in 1983.

I pace myself, though. I don't sell all the previous season's stuff to thrift shops so I can have the latest styles.

My next splurge will be to have the diamonds from my mother's and great-great-aunt's engagement rings with a 3rd diamond I'll buy to match the smaller one-in platinum, of course!

It occurs to me you are the worst of all - a 'bling hoarder'. I think you should be ashamed of yourself.



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[bclover]

See the problem with what I feel is stupid assumption is that "bling" means different things to different people.

People here go on and on about driving 10+ year old cars but will turn around and drop thousands of dollars on travel.
Well why is travel an acceptable use of money but a expensive purse is not? because on this form there are rules on how someone spends money, some are good, some are deemed bad.
I don't like to travel except maybe to Disneyworld. I would bet a sizable chunk of change that people spend way more on their travel than I do on my LV bag, yet from the tone of this thread guess which one would be consider "bad"?

Now the op, mentioned an lovely consultant. Do the coworkers know if she's rich? maybe she comes from a wealthy family and her "bling" is standard. My son roomed with a guy they call FEZ. Fez which I later found out was a nickname for Foreign exchange student was from Qatar. His parents where some mega rich bankers back home who didn't want FEZ riding around on public transportation in a big American city so sent him a new Benz almost yearly. by this forums standard he would be "chasing" the "bling", to FEZ's parents they are simply providing him with basic transportation.

Now me, I admit I love designer bags, I have absolutely no problem admitting it. I may buy one, once every 7-10 years and if you followed another thread of mine I tend to sell the one's I'm not using. Ironically I don't wear a lot of jewelry and I don't like flying so I'm not going to europe annually, hate cruises and not buying an RV.

So I think when we make fun of people chasing the "bling" what the real problem is they are not spending their money on what we feel is acceptable.

 

[Aerides]

It's very easy to say "why would someone EVER spend that on that...." you can make that argument simply, and it's very easy to say that Utility+Price should always win, but where's the fun in that?

Sometimes I buy fresh flowers, put them in a vase on my coffee table. Completely useless, but they are pretty, smell nice, and give me a smile when I walk by. Worth it.

ETA - bclover - fellow purse lover here, prada (same as you on the frequency, etc.)

 

[eytonxav]

Have been a car lover most of my life, although not from a bling perspective.

 

[MRG]

Not really bling but there was a time when we bought very nice things we liked. I don't need two Wilson's, but we have a pair.

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[Amethyst]

I hope you're kidding. I think athena is cool and I enjoy reading about her stuff. It's impossible to wear everything at one time unless you want to look like a bag lady, so her approach makes sense.

I adore jewelry, have since I was a little girl. What I've spent per year on jewelry adds up to about what other people spend on going out to eat. Which I don't do, because I'm a good cook. Judge all you like. "No sense, no feeling" as my Dad used to say....

By the way, I was in Annapolis as late as last fall (USNA football game) but I never saw a Ferrari there. A Ferrari would be miserable, creeping around traffic circles at 10mph. Annapolitans have boats.

It occurs to me you are the worst of all - a 'bling hoarder'. I think you should be ashamed of yourself.



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[athena53]

It occurs to me you are the worst of all - a 'bling hoarder'. I think you should be ashamed of yourself.
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To each his own. You wanna wear plastic shoes from PayLess, made by slave labor in China, that break and have to be thrown into a landfill and replaced every year? Be my guest. With the exception of my jewelry, which is a definite splurge, my values for buying clothing and shoes- buy good quality and wear it for years-are remnants of a less-materialistic era.

 

[MichaelB]

Surely rayinpenn's post was tongue in cheek. Let's keep it friendly, eh?

 

[explanade]

I don't have any jewelry and no longer buy label clothes as much -- no more $60 Ralph Lauren shirts. Never cared about fancy shoes, no interest at all whatsoever in Rolex or similar watches.

I do buy DOC French or Italian wines but they're at Trader Joe's and usually under $10 a bottle.

I buy Apple gear, which is aspirational in some places like China.

I have a 10 year old Civic with just over 30k so I don't drive enough to justify a fancy car purchase. However, I'm considering leasing a BMW to do it for the European Delivery experience and savings.

But most of these premium products that I own or consider buying are those that I consider to deliver superior performance, like my Nikon gear.

I just ordered some bluetooth headphones for an upcoming trip. Mostly listen to podcasts these days so performance isn't great but I used to like audiophile gear back in the day so I wanted no part of the Bose QC headphones -- Bose has a deserved poor reputation among audiophiles.

I found reviews on some nice gear, some at $400 and above. I went for a $150 model to try out (haven't worn an over the ear set of headphones in a long time). I'm sure there will be a lot of people with Bose QCs in my flights but I think the price is a feature for that product than the sound quality.

 

[Amethyst]

I don't much try to keep up with anybody; that's such a hopeless task.

For some reason, I enjoy having things that absolutely no one else has, or even has thought of. That's why I make my own jewelry now.

At the same time, I do try to stay somewhat within established norms of fashion. I don't want to turn into one of those older ladies who are so eclectic and "original" that they end up looking like a cross between a bag lady and a praying mantis - with 6 items of clothing, huge ethnic jewelry, and big goggly red-framed eyeglasses.

+1

Well said. I imagine that Bling and FIRE are not absolutely mutually exclusive but must be pretty close. Most folks that I know who get into the keeping up with the Jones's mode are never able to voluntarily turn it off.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I don't think there's any moral superiority about eschewing expensive items in favor of cheaper ones, and I don't think most men and perhaps many women see the beauty in a finely made handbag. I don't have one but I do think they are lovely.

Some people think $200 handbags are ridiculously overpriced btw.

 

[Sittingduck]

I am loaded down with bling. I have a gold wedding ring, and carry a $17 pocket knife.

 

[Nemo2]

I don't want to turn into one of those older ladies who are so eclectic and "original" that they end up looking like a cross between a bag lady and a praying mantis - with 6 items of clothing, huge ethnic jewelry, and big goggly red-framed eyeglasses.

Now there's an image it'll be hard to shake from my subconscious!

 

[Marita40]

I have no interest in jewelry, designer clothes, fancy cars, etc. However I just spent relatively big bucks on a beautiful, classic-looking new kitchen (creamy inset cabinets, soapstone countertops, red oak floor, new appliances). It is MY version of bling, and it is fabulous!

 

[mpeirce]

I think the OP's statement about "I'm guessing there owners want to be noticed" is the essence of "Bling". The fairly basic need to be noticed for something.

Maybe it's a closet filled with designer bags or maybe it's a garage filled with high end tools. It all depends on the circle of people you're in or aspire to.

For me it's the new MacBook I picked up this spring. Over priced? Maybe, but sleek and light and very nice. I enjoy it a lot.

Does anyone notice? Well, DS came home from college and noticed. No one else really, but that was enough for me to maintain my position as alpha geek in the household.

 

[Cobra9777]

Certainly not, in the fashion sense...

+1

I buy clothes at the Thrift store. DW says I dress like a beach bum. I always say, "Thank you, that's exactly the look I'm going for." My 2 cars are 19 and 15 years old.

However...

Lots of hobby bling... 8 guitars, a pair of Klipsch corner horns, garage full of Delta and Grizzly machines. DW owns a '06 BMW that she loves, and I hate. I guess the big dreamhouse is bling until we eventually wise up and downsize... 4.5k sq ft on 2.2 acres with a pool and pond.

So yeah, we have some "bling" that makes us happy, but I would not characterize our behavior as "chasing." Most of it we've owned for decades. And certainly our intent is not to impress others.

 

[Meadbh]

According to this definition from Wikipedia, cars, computers, and consumables don't qualify as bling. Unless you are referring to a diamond encrusted car, or whatever.

Bling (or bling-bling) is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious, or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn, or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Oh, they mean my grill....

 

[bclover]

I don't have any jewelry and no longer buy label clothes as much -- no more $60 Ralph Lauren shirts. Never cared about fancy shoes, no interest at all whatsoever in Rolex or similar watches.

I do buy DOC French or Italian wines but they're at Trader Joe's and usually under $10 a bottle.

.

This reminded me of an experience I had last October. South Jersey has a lot of local wineries and I received a groupon for a wine tasting at one of them. I'm not a huge wine drinker and usually just go with the store recommendations but the tour/tasting was fun. I was absolutely FLOORED at what people where dropping on bottles of wine. I mean they had some fancy smancy bottle there for $7K and people were seriously thinking of buying it.

 

[Amethyst]

My dad wore a Timex and spent little on clothes, but people didn't talk down to him. They were impressed with the way he carried himself and spoke, and by his general competence. After retiring from his construction job, he got a job as night manager at a rich-[-]widow's[/-]-people's condo and was treated with respect by the residents. I visited him in his workplace and saw it for myself.

While I may love jewelry - and I really do - I don't kid myself that it somehow makes up for anything I lack as a person. I do not get respect because I wear a 2-carat diamond or an unusual necklace. To the extent I get respect (or disrespect for that matter), it is because of how I move through the world.

Do they both look at me, see my timex, it's cloth band and share that special he's a pathetic non blingers look?

 

[W2R]

At this stage in life, to be honest I don't really care what anybody else thinks of my stuff. Why would I give them that power over me and my purchases? I buy what I want. If I saw some "bling" that I really liked and wanted, for sure I'd buy it.

That said, usually I don't buy bling or trendy stuff because usually it just isn't the kind of thing that happens to appeal to me. If it did, I'd buy it.

I don't wear jewelry at all because that's just not me. The rest of my stuff could probably be described as ultra-practical rather than bling because that is what appeals to me.

 

[Just_Steve]

For me it's the new MacBook I picked up this spring. Over priced? Maybe, but sleek and light and very nice. I enjoy it a lot.

I have a 5 year old MacBook that won't fail, all I need it to do is have a few glitches or maybe freeze up one or two times and I would be in the Apple store at mach speed. Over priced? Not in the slightest.

 

[jjquantz]

Chase? How close do you need to be to be chasing? My golf buddies were talking about how much they've dropped on golf equipment during the past 2 years - several thousand dollars for one of them. I've completely replaced what's in my bag during that time, too. Total cost, about $500. I just buy last year's tech at 25 cents (or less) on the dollar. So, I guess I'm chasing, but I'm so far behind that no one notices.

 

[Sojourner]

People here go on and on about driving 10+ year old cars but will turn around and drop thousands of dollars on travel.
Well why is travel an acceptable use of money but a expensive purse is not? [...] I would bet a sizable chunk of change that people spend way more on their travel than I do on my LV bag, yet from the tone of this thread guess which one would be consider "bad"?

Seems to me there is a fundamental difference between bling (like a $1,000+ designer bag) and expensive travel. Travel is something most people do to enrich their lives, to have interesting adventures and create lasting memories of unique and fulfilling experiences. Travel (especially international) creates a deeper understanding and appreciation of the richness and diversity of the world we live in, and this is something you really can't get without seeing the world up close and in person. Bling, on the other hand, is something most people purchase to basically "show off" or to be noticed by others. Sure, there are probably some who buy bling because they love the way a particular thing looks or are buying it for its intrinsic beauty or craftsmanship. But honestly, let's be real... most people carrying around those gold-and-diamond studded iPhone cases are just trying to tell the world "Hey, look at me, I'm rich and hip and know how to dress and accessorize just like the coolest celebrities." Hardly anyone travels to show off or to boost their social status within our celebrity-obsessed culture.

Of course, at the end of the day, it's your money and you spend it however you want to make yourself happy. There is nothing inherently "bad" about bling, since it clearly seems to make some people happy and give them a sense of self-satisfaction. Personally, I think travel is far more enriching and rewarding, with a much greater positive and long-lasting impact on one's life.

 

[Meadbh]

Sometimes I travel to see other people's bling.

This restorer is applying new gold leaf on all those curlicues at St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta. The amount of bling in Maltese churches is staggering.