The role of designer handbags as a status symbol, 2005

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Man

Identifier: b2233270

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate Communication program. The holdings are bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts degree.

Dates

Creation: 2005

Creator

Mansfield, Alyson (Author, Person)
Novek, Eleanor (Thesis advisor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Collection holdings may not be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (723-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Patrons must complete a Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to gain access to the collection holdings. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 38 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Introduction [excerpt]

Why study designer handbags as a communication problem, one might ask? Well, for the past few years this trend has exploded throughout the female population. Younger and younger girls are carrying handbags made by designers such as Coach, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton (to name a few), which each can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. Workingwomen can afford to splurge on themselves from time to time, however, it is astonishing how many women are spending their hard earned money on designer handbags.

Designer handbags have become status symbols and status symbols are a form of non-verbal communication. When women are carrying their designer handbags they are non-verbally communicating that they are of a higher socioeconomic class, have a better fashion sense and are simply more elite then [sic] other women who do not have a designer bag. Women cannot walk around with the brand of their car or the location of their house tattooed across their forehead in order to communicate their class and status. However, they can walk around with their designer handbag on their shoulders and convey what their car and house can't always express in public....

Extravagant purchases of status symbols deserve the attention of communication scholars because women are making these purchases more frequently for a reason. Within this study I plan on discovering some attributes of designer handbags that will help unveil how and why these accessories are such a symbol of status within the female population, and why women feel the need to non-verbally communicate messages of their status through them.