Last week, I read about Refinery29 staffs’ first fashion splurges and it got me thinking. Back in the day, my fashion choices were quite different, but not too skewed at the end of the day.  I wanted to join in on the fun and I thought it would be interesting to hear about your first fashion splurges too!

I was 18 and it was my first summer out of college. I was attending a private school and boy, was it a stereotypical one. It was the first time I had seen designer apparel and accessories in person.  It seemed that all the girls had the Louis pouchette or the Dior saddlebag.  And of course, they all had Chanel sunglasses and pearls. I felt so out of place.

During that summer, I worked at Express and Aldo a staggering amount of hours. I was living with my parents, so my only real expense was gas and the occasional meal out.  My weekly haunt was Filene’s Basement, which was huge and bursting with designer duds.

And then I found my baby, the Prada tessuto pouch. It was $125 but I had never been more proud. My parents weren’t exactly thrilled, even though I’m pretty sure I fibbed about the price. I used the bag heavily through college, but a little bit too much so. I ended up ripping the strap and after that, I don’t exactly remember what happened to it. I think it’s very telling that my first big purchase was a Prada bag, which opened the door to a few more and hopefully many more to come!

What was your first fashion splurge?