Now, I've always been materialistic in the sense that I like pretty things, and colorful things, and puttering about furniture stores and thrift shops and the like, but I've never been one to have to have the 'it' bag, or shoes, or car. I like looking, of course, and they're very nice, but I suppose I've been negatively impacted by all the folks I've known that are in their mid 20s and carrying a 5-figure credit card bill not out of necessity, but because they could only shop at BCBG, Fred Segal and Missoni. I suppose it wouldn't be an issue if I made more money, but honestly, I love Target and the feeling of getting a bargain.
Even so, I notice myself stare longingly at a woman's Coach bag when it is tossed carelessly on the floor of the nail salon, or dangling from her shoulder at the mall. I have managed to elevate this one thing to a superior status. To me, a woman with a beautiful, expensive bag looks put together even if she is in jeans and a t-shirt. I long for one, and I know I'll never spend the money because at the end of the day, I can't justify it to myself. I don't even really like Coach bags, but they've taken on this mystique that would make me the perfect woman: groomed, powerful, in control. Is there any object that makes you feel that way, like it would turn you into the person you always wanted to be? A particular car, a dream house in some faraway place, a first-edition novel? If someone gifted you the money for it and you didn't have to justify it, what status-symbol item would you get?