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In China, alpha males carry designer purses
- cma 16y ago"That figure is just 7% in the U.S." Should set off some bullshit flags on their methodology for classification.
- coryl 16y agoMy cousin recently visited home from China, and brought his designer purse along with him. I was kind of amused.
- georgieporgie 16y agoWas it really a purse, or more along the lines of a soft briefcase or messenger bag? I ask because the image in the article showed what looked to me like a soft briefcase with a long shoulder strap. Incidentally, here is a random link demonstrating that Indiana Jones carried a purse: http://thesatchelpages.com/keeping-up-with-the-jones-bags/ http://thesatchelpages.com/keeping-up-with-the-jones-bags/
- Joakal 16y agoIt's a satchel, not a purse. [0] [0] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Satchel_%28bag%29 https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Satchel_%28ba...
- angus77 16y agoI'm so disappointed that nobody's added Ford Prefect's satchel to the Satchels in Literature or Satchels in Popular Culture sections of this article.
- lurker17 16y agoThe top businessmen in China all carry Pracla purses.
- misterbwong 16y agoThe USA variant of this is the briefcase or (more recently) the messenger/laptop bag. Not quite as expensive, but (arguably) still used as an indicator of social status.
- whatrocks 16y agoBackpack for me. Although I do consider it a minor victory when I can make it out with just iPhone, keys, and wallet in pockets.
- russell 16y agoI recently bought a messenger bag. Does that make me an alpha male or a sissy? But I have learned by personal experience how women accumulate all that crap ion their purses.
- pasbesoin 16y agoPut 40 pounds of mail [1] in one and hang it off your shoulder, and suddenly it isn't so effete. ;-) [1] At one time, the maximum load permitted by USPS regs. And yes, they got that heavy. Especially when e.g. Time and Newsweek Tuesday (and a few other glossy rags) coincided with a Spiegel catalog (ugh).
- fanboy123 16y agoActually I would think the US version would be a nice watch. The article seems to stress that it is a status indicator for business purposes.
- c2 16y agoReminded me of this article about Chinese women: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/chinese-women-millionaires-enter-man-s-world-with-400-000-maseratis.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/chinese-women-milli... Seems in the West men buy sports cars and women buy luxury handbags, and it's the reverse in the East. It probably doesn't come down to any significant cultural differences either. Buying expensive things is a way for some people to feel more confident about themselves, or to spoil themselves, or some area in between. Basically, it's a curious statistic, but ultimately a non-story for actually doing business.
- k3dz 16y agomaybe in China.. but definitely not in all of the East
- c2 16y agoVery true point, China has a good record of gender equality. Much better then it's neighbors and also the West.
- Helianthus16 16y agoFoot binding? Not saying things might not be generally 'equal' for women in China now, but things are generally 'equal' for women in the West. For certain values of generally. Seems to me societies have traditionally objectified/oppressed women world over.
- psykotic 16y ago> Foot binding? One unequivocally positive outcome of the communists winning over the nationalists that even an ardent anti-communist like Jung Chang will attest to was their gender equality reforms. The first and most symbolic act was a serious crackdown on foot binding.
- Helianthus16 16y ago
- dmix 16y agoThis is a very common sight in Toronto, which has a large asian population.
- GanjaHacker 16y agoSince it's China may I assume a good portion of the handbags are the same counterfeits you buy for $10 on a street corner in Manhattan?
- teye 16y agoThe 20-year-old office clerk at a Beijing cosmetics manufacturer knows it could set him back more than $1,000. He'll have to save for months. But he said it would be money well spent. "As a man, you must have one of those bags," he said. "It will bring you status, dignity and boost your image." Petrifying though that may be, that's only months. We saddle ourselves with six years of payments for the status symbols we can't afford.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- colkassad 16y agoA similar fad was popular in Eastern Europe when I lived there (may still be): http://www.exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=8264&IBLOCK_ID=35 http://www.exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=8264&...
- TheCondor 16y agoShouldn't it be "In China, alpha males are not Alpha Males" ?
- nowarninglabel 16y ago"Your country has no need of charismatic leaders that can't be controlled. Docile consumers, that's the way to go."
- stcredzero 16y agoThis is one of the big rifts between foreign born immigrant Asians and their children. (I'm such a child.) A lot of children of immigrants are embarrassed by their parent's obsession with material things and signaling. In actuality, this behavior is quite similar to the signaling through conspicuous consumption of other North Americans. However, culturally different practices stand out, while the local ways of doing things blend into the background.
- drinian 16y agoSpending months of your salary on a designer handbag, or whatever it is they think the culture values, is not a way to signal anything other than "I'm an idiot."
- stcredzero 16y agoHow about 3 months of your salary on a small stone of no special rarity or particular utility, just because an international cartel succeeded in telling people they should? The entire industrialized world engages in this foolery. This roundly shows the hypocrisy of those from the west making snide comments about Chinese engaging in signaling. It's a part of North American culture to engage in such signaling as a matter of course. The majority of all retail establishments would lose a big chunk of their profits without such tendencies. It's the same sort of thing as people criticizing ghetto kids for buying Nike shoes. I wonder how many of those critics save enough for their own retirement?
- drinian 16y agoWhat makes you think that the same Chinese who base their self-worth on Coach handbags don't also aspire to DeBeers diamonds? I stand by my comment, but doubly so because China is far from an industrialized nation. The people buying these things can't even drink their houses' tap water.
- jcitme 16y agoAs a Chinese person: fuck you. What decade do you think this is, the 1940's? Can't afford tap water? This is the kind of racism that people have to worry about, not stuff like censoring Mark Twain. Notions of the lower class of another nation does more damage than directly addressing issues ever will. Much of the cities in china are just as industrialized, if not more so, than counterparts in the USA. The upper middle class is a growing section of the population that produces a demand for more flashy products such as diamond rings or handbags. Doubly so as for the diamonds; the western nations is not above signaling with SUVs and other gimmicks (well gas guzzlers are less of a concern in europe, but not my point here). Pointing out that people not in a western country will save for a few months to buy an expensive item smacks of hypocrisy, especially when such people often demonstrates that they don't know the concept of saving in the first place. (Living within their means, anyone?)
- drivebyacct2 16y agoWait, other countries and cultures don't adhere to the United States finely ingrained, unforgiving gender stereotypes? Let's have a laugh, they have girly-men. Sigh.
- hetman 16y agoIt's amazing how often we take for granted that many cultural habits are nothing more than exactly that. Instead there's this tendency to assume they result from some sort of greater underlying truth. The reversal of colour gender association in the mid 20th century is a great example which is often very surprising to people.
- MrFoof 16y agoIt's not a purse! It's a European men's carry-all. Regarding the "7% of men in the U.S.", I wonder how many of that sample bought them as gifts for women? I mean, I've stepped into Coach once to buy a wristlet, but it was because my sister had it on her wish list as a gift. Then again, Coach does make men's accessories. I have a belt from coach, which my sister gave me as a gift. To be entirely honest, it's held up far better than any other belt I've ever owned.
- ericd 16y agoYeah, Coach makes some very solid men's stuff - a wallet I bought from them was a tank, and looked great to boot. Their stuff costs more than average, but I think it also lasts longer.
- brisance 16y agoI've never been to China, so I was a little surprised to read that the largest bill denomination is equivalent to just US$15. I wonder why the payment card industry or contact-less payment systems like NFC have not taken off like they have been for decades in other Asian economies like Japan and Korea.
- jcitme 16y agothey have. google "octopus card" it's used EVERYWHERE. similar systems are in place in shanghai and beijing. alternatively, you can also look up WHY the country is cash based. it's an interesting read.
- patrickgzill 16y agoI know many Filipinos both in the USA and in the Philippines - as soon as the husband makes enough $$$, the first conspicuous purchase is Louis Vuitton, or for the more wealthy, Chanel (whose bags are truly beautiful, and I say that as a dude.)