the social media inspired world of luxury

This post is mostly about Louis Vuitton … and how super easy it is to get sucked ALL THE WAY in. Instagram and YouTube are mostly the culprits that reel me in. One day I stumbled upon videos on YouTube of people showing off their collections (a cool way to refer to someone’s stash of designer pieces), what’s in my bag videos (what they carry on a daily basis), un-boxings (new product reveals), reviews (what they like  and don’t like ) and finally wear & tear videos (how a handbag is holding up after 1 year, etc.) Oh … you didn’t know? This is entirely a thing! I even made a couple of videos of my own (#WIMB Gucci Soho Disco, #Bag Swap … peep the actual view count from my videos… 👀).

There are hundreds of channels on YouTube (like tv stations) devoted to luxury goods. There’s one particular YouTuber, Minks4All, who produces a weekly Q&A answering all kinds of questions from users…  It’s a coordinated production! She talks about price increases, bag trends, compares bags across designers, all kinds of stuff (I watch it EVERY WEEK… she was 880k subscribers). BTW, one other term I learned watching YouTube is Small Leather Goods (SLG’s) – those are all the designer items that are not handbags (wallets, coin purses, makeup bags, key holders, etc.). And at Holiday time, you can almost always find shopping guides, like from the YouTuber Tracy Hensel. She will do about 3 videos in varying price points. JUST BEWARE OF CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS… IF YOU LEARN SOMEONE OVER TIME AND THEY ALL OF A SUDDEN START RECOMMENDING RANDOM PRODUCTS, YOU’LL KNOW ITS PAID AND TO #IGNORE IT.

Top luxury designers are Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Dior.

Then there’s Instagram… where one hashtag can change your life! Thinking about getting a certain bag? You can search for it and see how others are styling or wearing it, like the hashtag #lvneverfullmm for Louis Vuitton’s most popular popular tote, the Neverfull. This is how I ended up with my diaper bag, using the hashtag #totesavvy. Using social media platforms to RESEARCH before you BUY is a MUST! Long gone are they days of solely using stock photos from corporate websites to make purchasing decisions.

 

I must admit that I used to watch those videos and wonder how in the world they ended up with such large collections (so many pieces)! … until I realized that I had quite a large collection myself. The answer is either you’re rich … or it was developed over TIME (6 months to a couple of years). I’m actually thinking of posting a collection video myself 💁🏽‍♀️ 👛 (stay tuned to my YouTube Channel just in case something pops up). #pursequeen

Before I end this post, here is the complete list of YouTubers I follow: JerushaCouture (the OG), HappyStylishMommy, 408california408, Kristina BralyLuxMommy, LuxPurseLove, Just Jennifer, HaveLouisWillTravel You can find them all on Instagram as well.

Facebook-vorce

503Have we stooped to a new low? Do spouses really “hide” from their partners in an attempt to avoid being served divorce papers? I really don’t know what to think about this story, especially since I quit Facebook 4 months ago. According to the NYDailyNews, a judge granted a woman in Brooklyn the right to divorce her husband via Facebook.

Baidoo, 26, “is granted permission serve defendant with the divorce summons using a private message through Facebook,” with her lawyer messaging Victor Sena Blood-Dzraku through her account, Cooper wrote. “This transmittal shall be repeated by plaintiff’s attorney to defendant once a week for three consecutive weeks or until acknowledged” by her hard-to-find hubby.

Facebook’s private messaging has a feature that CONFIRMS the recipient (or someone sitting at their computer) read the message. That is proof the message was received. Maybe that means there’s no longer a need to sneak up on someone at a sneaker release party to serve them papers, as was recently reported by TMZ. BUT if anyone pays attention to tech news you’ll know there’s a way to turn read receipts OFF not just on Facebook but on your iPhone as well. In fact, most services/applications/websites offer the ability to turn these off, just check the settings. If only people would read my blog, they’d know these things 🙂