Ain't that the truth. I have St. John's pieces that I have been wearing for seven + years--adding to them because the dye lot doesn't change and blocking them when I go up or down in weight. :D

I also can't tell you the number of Coach bags that I have that may need a zipper repair, but that is all and I just keep recycling them.

To Refurbish Its Image, Tiffany Risks Profits
 

In todays Wall Street Journal
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To Refurbish Its Image, Tiffany Risks Profits
By Ellen Byron

In the late 1990s, Tiffany & Co.'s silver charm bracelet was a must-have fashion accessory. Teens jammed Tiffany's hushed stores clamoring for the $110 silver bauble. Sales skyrocketed, investors cheered.

Tiffany's managers worried. They knew the bracelet had become a fad, one that could alienate the jewelry firm's older, wealthier, and more conservative clientele. Worse, it could forever damage Tiffany's reputation for luxury.

"The large number of silver customers did represent a fundamental threat -- not just to the business but to the core franchise of our brand," says Tiffany CEO Michael Kowalski.

So in a dramatic gamble, Tiffany decided ...
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http://users1.wsj.com/lmda/do/checkL...hpp_us_pageone

You need to be a paid subscriber to read the rest or just go to the newstand and pick up a copy. It's on the front page.

Wrinkly old unheathly me LOVES silver Tiffany...so it must still be in style.

LOL KR, I was just wondering where you've been.

But the ~*interns*~ say it's ok!

Amen sista!

As an alumna, I also suggest to collegians to shop consignment. Guess how much cool stuff you can get there that isn't the same thing everyone else is wearing!

I used to manage a department of sixteen recent college grads, almost all women. I was paying them $30k a year. They were living in NYC apartments with one or two roommates to make ends meet (and probably eating Ramen noodles). They ALL had real Kate Spades, Coach Bags, Louis, Tiffany pieces and whatever else.

To me, if you don't have $400 in cash to put in the purse, then you shouldn't be carrying a $400 bag.

My 2 cents.

(Currently carrying a $60 Vera Bradley Bag with a knock off Louis checkbook and a wallet from Fossil)

If Tiffany is out, does that mean silverjewlryclub.com is in? Because I'm so all over that.

When I worked at the Limited, Tiffany pieces were some of the "rewards" we could collect at the end of the year. I have the Venetian Link neckalce and bracelet but I rarely wear them these days because I was seeing little (think pre-teen) girls in them. :rolleyes:

Eh, agree to disagree. I'd rather see someone pay $400 for a bag than carry a knockoff.

I have this horrible horrible conscience that stops me from buying expensive things. Everytime I am about to do it, a little voice inside me says 'that money could feed a family in Africa. You don't need [insert item here].'
Then I don't buy it and give the money to charity. I need a job where I can buy nice things and give money away.

Seriously, that was a cool look.

Centaur, it's great that you do that!

Do you find yourself getting obsessive about it? I mean, do you question "should I buy a Starbuck's coffee or just make it at home?" or is there a price cut off?

For me, it kind of comes down the price and usefulness. I have a hard time buying expensive luxury items because I stop and think about better uses for the money, but I waste a ton of money buying little stuff I don't really need.

I never bought any Tiffany silver jewelry, but I do have a Tiffany sterling silver swiss army knife keychain that struck me as really funny. It came in all the Tiffany blue packaging. (It was a gift, but I did show it to the person who got it for me, and oddly, I don't worry about it I'm wasting money when I buy stuff for other people.)

I don't drink Starbucks coffee at all. I'm all about Fair Trade Coffee. I'm as meticulous about it as a vegetarian is about not eating meat.
Well, my example-right after the tsunami, I had money from christmas. I wanted this really nice leather jacket that was on sale, but I knew I couldn't justify spending $100 on something I wanted but didn't need when there were people who'd just had their entire lives wiped out halfway around the world.
It's not a price cutoff, it's just how my conscience feels on a particular day :D
This christmas I didn't know what I wanted from my parents and they kept asking, so finally I showed my mother this website : http://www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com/ and spent $50 investing in a fair trade coffee collaborative.
I am a privileged westerner as is. I have clean water, clothes, food and shelter. I have a cell phone and a computer with internet access. I drive a decent car which I can fill with gas whenever I want, no problem.
Don't get me wrong-I do not begrudge people for wanting and buying expensive items (except Paris Hilton etc. she disgusts me!). It's all a matter of perspective.
Occasionally I do remind myself that I am allowed to spend large amounts of money on things I want because the cost of living is so different over here. Also I can't save the world, as much as I'd like to.
Oh, on topic-I own a fake Tiffany necklace. It looks pretty real, not very, but real enough. I'm not sure where it is actually.

Starbucks was just an example of something one could buy that costs probably five time what it would cost to make something yourself, but that would still wouldn't kick up my "is it immoral to buy this" meter because the amount of money I was handing over wasn't that big. In your case, it would kick up the "is this immoral meter," but for different reasons.

I didn't see the Unwrapped page before. I've been intrigued by Heifer International in the past and we had a fundraising contest at work for them, but never purchased anything on my own.

If only international fundraising could be the next expensive college fashion trend. . .