Ever since I was in elementary school, I have been thrifting with my mom. I started at a time when thrifting was not seen as something fun to do in your past time, but as a way to look down on lower-income families. I was constantly teased by classmates that I could not afford new clothes. However, starting thrifting at such a young age has made me adept at finding the best pieces.
Mirakomi x Louis Vuttion Pochette
My favorite find at a thrift store was a Mirakomi Louis Vuttion Pochette handbag with gold studs across the strap and a colorful Louis Vuitton monogram. I was around the age of 8 or 9 when my mom and I stepped into a Goodwill. I remember she was walking around for some kitchen utensils we needed and I was entertaining my curiosity in the handbag sections. On top of clothing racks were baskets of purses stacked on top of each other. Through the chaos, I spotted the Mirakomi design and begged my mom for the purse. She was hesitant but after following her around the store with the purse in hand, she couldn’t refuse to buy a Louis Vuttion for $10. I still cannot believe I was able to find that bag and at such a young age determine its significance. I bet my classmates wish they went thrifting when they were my age too, huh?
Coach Hobo Handbag
My interest in buying vintage designer pieces did not stop there but took a hiatus until I was in middle school. I had grown interested in past Coach items such as its hobo handbag collection from the early 2000s. During the 2010s, Coach began losing its popularity as a brand because it failed to evolve with the times and current fashion trends. Knowing the phrase, “trends come and go”, I looked towards Coach’s previous successful fashion trends such as the hobo bag with its signature C monogram. In seventh grade, I learned about Goodwill’s auction site where items from home goods to luxury designers could be found and bid on. I researched Coach’s hobo bag and found some listed on the auction starting at $5. After bidding against several people, I bought three vintage Coach purses for an average of $15 each in rare colors. Now, these same purses are back in trend as the 2000s continue to have a chokehold on today’s fashion and are worth three times the amount I paid.
Christian Dior Diorissimo Trotter Bag
Christian Dior is my forever “it” brand. My friends and I joke about how I will likely die and be buried in Dior, so of course it is my prized vintage handbag collection. I have invested the most amount of money into my Dior collection because of its potential to highly increase in value and the extra confidence boost that comes with carrying one of these bags. I have been watching Dior Saddle bags since I was around 12 years old. When I started, the bag cost around $400-500. Now, that same purse is worth $1,500. So, I snatched the chance to start investing in Dior when I began to make enough money. A year ago, I bought my first Christian Dior bag from John Galliano’s 2005 Fall/Winter collection. In my opinion, buying a designer handbag is similar to the expression about knowing when to marry someone- when you know, you know. As soon as my eyes spotted the bag I knew it had to be in my collection with the red leather and iconic Dior monogram. My investment is already paying off by the bag doubling in value over the past year.
