I have always had a love for luxury items in my life and I have been blessed enough to be able to rack up quite the collection! However, not all purchases are a good one. I started my luxury journey about 10 years ago now and while most of my purchases have been solid (I still own my first designer purse and heels!), I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a few misses as well. There are four luxury purchases that stand out to me that I regret more than the others and all four have a common theme, you see.
Gucci Giant Monogram Sweater:
I worked for Gucci for about a year at one (low) point in my life. The only positive thing to come out of that awful job was their private employee sales. I’m not kidding you when I say that most of my paycheck went back to them… Seeing how cheap we could purchase luxury items certainly made me impulse purchase and grab things I didn’t need or even like that much. Like this Gucci sweater! I saw this a few times on influencers or Pinterest and impulse purchased.
First off, it was way too big. And as much as I lied to myself about it being “stylishly oversized”, no, it’s just large. Secondly, it was SO itchy. Mohair should be illegal as a sweater. It’s not that soft, very uncomfortable, and scratchy. Finally, it was anything but discreet. Look, I don’t mind a bit of logo here and there, but historically, I’ve never gone for obvious branded items. It always bugged me that we are willing to pay hundreds, even thousands, of dollars just to be a walking billboard ad for different brands. It is crazy when you think about it.
Gucci monogram, I am sorry to say, is a bit tacky. I don’t mind a touch of it on some shoes, a belt, scarves, or even some of their bags (even though you’re literally paying for plastic covered cotton, guys. That’s the case for Louis Vuitton monogram, too). But all over a sweater? In GIANT print? It’s a no from me.
On top of that, whenever I wore this particular luxury item I felt like I was minutes away from being robbed. It sends off a signal that you have money, whether that’s true or not, and you become a target.
The full price of this retailed for close to a grand. A grand to be constantly scratching yourself and to be the center of (bad) attention? We can do better. Naturally, I sold this sweater about a year after purchasing.
Luxury Item Regret: Aquazzura Tequila Sandals
This one physically hurts my soul to admit, but this was an awful purchase. I bought these on a whim right before leaving the States after seeing them on an influencer. Don’t get me wrong, they are a work of art. But that’s just it. They belong behind glass, not on my feet. Let me explain…
The coloring of these sandals is outstanding. Who doesn’t want a rainbow on their feet? Well, apparently my clothes because these sandals go with just about nothing in my wardrobe. Rainbow is hard to match, and the beige leather does not help. It rules out any dark color and forces you into the lights. Personally, I don’t wear light colors when going out. And purse matching? Well, I must confess that a rainbow purse is not in my closet, nor will it ever be.
Despite this, I did find one outfit to wear it with a year (!) after purchasing, as you can see above. It was not my best outfit, but not my worst either. At this point, I could have accepted a pair of gorgeous heels that I seldom wear. It happens sometimes. What I can’t accept is how absolutely chewed up they looked after one night out! Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos. But imagine if a dog went to town on the heels and ripped the leather into ribbons. That’s what happened.
Look, I’m a seasoned heel wearer. I am rough with them and they often get damaged that’s okay, shoes are meant to be worn. Never have I ever seen damage like this. Granted, my heel got stuck a few times in between wood panels, but this was nothing new to me and none of my heels reacted like this before. I ended up sending them in to a (now bankrupt) company who fixed them like new for £155, adding on to their already hefty pricetag. However, they still wobble and are uneven. Plus, the leather damages and stains like nobodies business. While I have worn these for a couple of photoshoots, I have only worn them max three times, including the first, disastrous night. And it has been for ‘car, restaurant, car’ situations to avoid damage.
These are my second most expensive pair of shoes and my most expensive heel. If I would have known how little I’d wear them and how damaged they get when you even look at them wrong, I never would have purchased them.
Before you make a fashion purchase, not necessarily luxury only, imagine yourself wearing them with three completely different outfits that are currently in your wardrobe. If you can’t, then you won’t wear them. I should have taken my own advice on that one. I still own these as I do find them gorgeous, but I know they’ll probably just stay as an art piece in my collection and come out to play every other year. Maybe.
Versace Silk Blouse:
Keeping in the theme of terrible luxury item impulse purchases without proper thinking… Versace, you’re up! Versace is probably my favorite luxury brand, I love what they do on the more classic, wearable side compared to their loud, printy side. When I lived in Cannes, I had a really good relationship with the boutique and was often invited to events and, of course, their private sales. I used to have this terrible notion that if I went to browse in a luxury boutique, I had to purchase, which is ridiculous.
So, when I was invited to this private sale, I decided to make a terrible decision and purchase this blouse because I thought I loved it. The truth is, I was hyped up by my sales associate, buzzing from my coffee in the Versace porcelain cup pictured above, and felt like I had to buy something because I showed up to browse the sales… Thank goodness the whole set was out of my budget and I only got the blouse.
Honestly, I don’t get why I bought this. It’s not that cute of a pattern. It’s patchwork, which I have never liked. There is nothing classic about this blouse. Heck, you even have purple leopard print! And I am not a fan of leopard print… The colors are lovely, but very much not my style. Unlike the Aquazzura sandals though, this luxury item was a bit simpler to style. The problem? The fit. It was tight in weird places and actually had a strange wrap-around situation,
There is this long sort of fabric belt, which is attached to the blouse, which you have to wrap around yourself and finish in a neat little bow. This causes the fabric under to sort of “bunch up” and flare out in an unflattering sort of peplum, eventually exposing my stomach, while the middle where my chest was wide open. This meant I had to wear something under as to not flash my goods to everyone. It just wasn’t flattering.
I will say I tried very hard to make it work. I even pulled it out for my birthday that year! But honestly, I never felt confident in it and ended up selling it shortly thereafter.
Ladies – never feel pressured to purchase just because you are in a high-end or luxury store. As an ex-luxury employee, I can assure you that we all get paid salary. Sure, some are paid more heavily on commission, but their job is to give their clients an experience. There is no need to try on everything with zero intention of purchasing, of course, but you also don’t need to buy just because you “feel bad”. Purchase because you love it and can see yourself wearing it and nothing less!
Balenciaga Jeans:
My last item was another employee sale special. Gucci is owned by Kering, who owns a plethora of other brands including Balenciaga. I absolutely detest modern Balenciaga. I truly think Mr. Cristobal Balenciaga is rolling in his grave, seeing what his beautiful brand has been turned into… Once again, I got excited with the low prices, the shiny brand names, and decided that today was the day I was going to buy designer jeans. Despite the fact that I have always said that designer jeans aren’t worth the luxury price tag…
These arrived at home and while they were my size, I have never had a pair of jeans so ill-fitted in my life. The low rise made even Dirrty-era Christina Aguilera gasp. While it fit my hips perfectly, the crotch was incredibly tight and the thighs even more. Then the calves? LOOSE. I don’t know how they did it, but Balenciaga managed to make a low rise, painted-on jean that finished in a straight cut. Nobody asked for that. Nobody.
I wore these. Once. And I couldn’t even sit down. The drive over to work was…. Interesting. I sold them shortly after.
Jeans are not worth the luxury price tag. Levi’s, Express, Frame, Diesel, 7 For All Mankind, they all do incredible jeans at reasonable prices (Frame & Diesel both have solid sales). The quality is top notch and the price? A fraction of what designer charges. In the end, you’re paying hundreds of dollars more for a designer button that literally nobody but yourself will notice. It truly is not worth it.
Final Thoughts On Luxury Items I Regret:
Did you notice the recurring theme with these four items? All of them were purchased during private sales or influenced. Crazy, right? I can say with confidence that none of my purchases that I have actually put thought into have ever turned to regrets. If I’m being honest, I actually have a bunch of other luxury items that I could have added to this list, and all of them were purchased in sales or influenced. That’s not a coincidence, that’s a pattern.
My biggest takeaways from these expensive mistakes is that I need to stop and think about a purchase before executing. Do I have something similar in my wardrobe? Can I think of three new outfits with it? Is it on my “to purchase” list or is this just a want (which isn’t a bad thing or deal breaker in moderation!). If I’m still hesitating at that point, I give it a day or two. If I’m still wanting the item by the end, I’ll purchase. But I’d say more than half of the time, I no longer want it.
Finally, and I touched on this above, but make a list of all of the items that you actually need. The gaps in your wardrobe. And when a sale rolls around, stick to that list. For example, I had a pair of Topshop coated leather leggings that finally had their last season. They no longer make them, so I added a pair of coated leather jeans to my list. A few weeks later, I saw there was a private name-brand sale for winter clothes, a category in which a lot of items on my list belonged to, and I found a gorgeous pair of Frame coated leather bootcut jeans at 90% off. The price made me giddy but truth be told, I’ve worn these jeans so much since purchasing and that makes me so much happier. Cost per wear? Cents.
Make sure to check out my post on My Best Designer Purchases Of All Time, too.
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Stay Chaotic,
Tess
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