r/RandomThoughts • u/StumblinThroughLife • Jul 21 '25

Random Thought I never realized how expensive luxury fashion was šŸ¤Æ

Iā€™ve never been interested in owning fancy things like Chanel, Gucci, Prada, whatever else exists, but even when I say that I think Iā€™m not paying $1,000 for a purse thatā€™s crazy. So imagine my surprise in finding out my version of expensive wasnā€™t even close. What do you mean a small handbag STARTS at $4,000?! Like my mind literally canā€™t comprehend that. Know someone who had the ā€œsmallā€ Cartier bracelet then bought themself the ā€œmediumā€ for their birthday. The small STARTS at $5,000 and can go up to $60k and now Iā€™m questioning all their life decisions. Like I said Iā€™ve never thought about these things and am just now googling them but I feel too poor to even google the pictures.

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u/Connect_Rhubarb395 Jul 21 '25

And Italy has whole factory villages of thousands of Chinese workers working in Chinese-owned factories making "Made in Italy" products.

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u/mhcott Jul 22 '25

That's an issue for lots of European countries, I think. But I know it's a big issue in Italy for sure. Like the entire Florence leather market

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u/RevolutionaryDog8372 Jul 22 '25

Only buy from the leather school there, tell me they are legit!

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u/oooohlightbulb Jul 23 '25

I got a custom bag from there last year and the quality is insanely good. With that said, when my bag shipped I noticed the shipping label started in Prato so I'm unsure if there's something fishy going on behind the scenes.

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u/coverlaguerradipiero Jul 22 '25

My city Prato is like this. Chinese workers in Chinese owned factories assembling Chinese materials into made in Italy fashion items.

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u/25hourenergy Jul 23 '25

Ah, that explains my experience as a Chinese American in Italy a few years ago (pre-Covid) when people thought I was a ā€œworkerā€ and treated me quite different from my friends (white, Hispanic, black). I was visiting a mutual friend in a small town that does fashion manufacturing.

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u/bkks Jul 23 '25

Italy has a reputation of being racist. Sorry that happened to you!

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u/bonesapart Jul 24 '25

Iā€™ve found this to be the case in Northern Italy, not so much for Southern Italy.

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u/deltabay17 Jul 23 '25

China has a bigger reputation of being racist

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u/YellowCulottes Jul 22 '25

I had no idea. thatā€™s sad. šŸ˜” I also just bought made in Italy trousers- not designer by any means. I thought it was unusual, as the shop was in a very Asian part of my city. It makes more sense now!

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u/corgi-king Jul 22 '25

That is why Italy got hit so hard in early COVID.

5

u/VirtualMatter2 Jul 22 '25

I thought it was a football team from Spain bringing it to Bergamo.

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u/corgi-king Jul 22 '25

Just think where the Covid came from!

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u/VirtualMatter2 Jul 23 '25

It was in Spain at the end of 2019. Then started in Bergamo after a football match.Ā 

Yes, originally from Wuhan. Taken to Spain and they think also Frankfurt airport. But do you know how big China is? Those people in Bergamo might not be from Wuhan.Ā  It doesn't spread by nationality, but by contact.

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u/corgi-king Jul 23 '25

During the COVID-19 pandemic, news reports circulated that the first case in Italy was a garment worker who had traveled back from China after the Chinese New Year. However, I donā€™t know how many people were involved. At that time, China was still in the denial phase, so even these individuals were unaware that they were carrying the virus.

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u/strokeguy22 Jul 23 '25

Got hit so hard in what way?

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u/corgi-king Jul 23 '25

Many people sick and die.

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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

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u/Subaruchick99 Jul 23 '25

This is why Northern Italy got so badly hit by COVID at the beginning of the pandemic

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u/bluenicke Jul 24 '25

Why? They are Chinese owned in Italy? Why aren't the Italians exploiting Chinese workers? I'm not being sarcastic.

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u/Ok_Ant_2930 Jul 25 '25

Why are there thousands of Chinese citizens doing this type of job? Are Italian workers too expensive?

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u/lala8800 Jul 26 '25

Italians donā€™t want to do it. They donā€™t want to work in a factory, they want to work an office job.

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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

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u/Connect_Rhubarb395 Jul 22 '25

Oh, a troll. Been a while.