So, why, if I'm so sensible, am I utterly fascinated by replica handbags? My current collection extends to one Louis Vuitton, one Dior, two Marc Jacobs and two Michael Kors. Many of these were gifts; the ones I paid for were justified by quality, workmanship, versatility and the fact they were on sale. But I know, and anyone who has seen me in a department store knows, that there is much more to my passion than that. And it's not just me; last year women around the world bought over 25 million luxury bags. Experts suggest that women's bags can play crucial roles in regulating their psyches. Handbags can make people feel more worthy, more powerful, more capable—just all around better. This drive to prove ourselves means luxury accessories now make up almost a third of replica handbags uk the roughly $244 billion global luxe market, according to Bain. Back in 2013, a University of Minnesota study suggested women buy designer handbags to signal the devotion of their partners and warn off potential rivals. "When a woman is flaunting designer products, it says to other women 'back off my man'," researcher Vladas Griskevicius said. I wanted to be skeptical, but I felt a little uncomfortable twinge of recognition. I didn't believe my love for handbags uk stemmed from a subconscious desire to ward off romantic rivals. But I did know that a designer handbag seemed like a symbol to the outside world that everything was OK. My fascination with handbags started around a time of replica mulberry great upheaval in my personal life. Could it be that my conspicuous consumption was an attempt to convince the world that everything was fine, maybe even better than before, when in reality I was flailing around in the storm, searching for a place to land and rebuild? "There's a rich literature in materialism that talks about people using material goods to deal with internal discomfort, depression and anxiety," Yajin Wang, assistant professor at the University of Maryland and lead author of the study, told me. |