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DO I LOOK TRASHY?
I recreated Kim Kardashian’s $1,700 Balenciaga ‘garbage bag’ for $1.65 and people laughed at me on the street
WHEN writers use the term "street style," they usually mean casual, everyday fashion - but Balenciaga's latest drop interprets it much more literally.
The brand's luxury "garbage bag" has a sticker price of $1,790, and while I don't have that much cash to spare on a purse, I recreated the look on a budget.
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I'm not the only fashion icon to sport a trash purse this year.
Balenciaga muse Kim Kardashian, who attended the fashion house's runway show wrapped in yellow caution tape, was gifted one of the bags, drawing criticism online.
My version of the Balenciaga purse was actually made from three store-brand trash bags: one that acted as an exterior shell, one filled with air to give it volume, and one that I tied off into a half-size.
Using fashion tape, I affixed that smaller pouch to the lining of my "shell" bag, so my belongings wouldn't get lost in the giant purse.
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It also added a second layer of plastic, just in case the bag ripped.
For good measure, I made a Balenciaga tag from a yellow posterboard, just in case anyone had questions about what I was recreating.
The total price of my purse materials was $1.65.
I tried to pair my new purse with an outfit that would look Kardashian-esque, but my everyday style is nothing like Kim Kardashian's.
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Unlike Kim Kardashian, who dresses like a beautiful glass of oat milk, I don't have a lot of neutrals in my closet.
I dress like a summer camp counselor who is trying to sneak into a rated R movie.
The one thing Kim and I have in common is our love of ludicrous shoes.
I brought out my transparent, chunky boots – a style she's worn before – tucked a white tee into a bodycon skirt, and went on my merry way.
My first sounding board was a group of my neighbors, who were sitting outside while I walked to the subway.
I took a quick, informal poll: do you like my purse?
Everyone generally seemed to approve.
Michael, 33, said it looked "right" with my outfit.
Then he noticed the Balenciaga label.
"Yeah!" he said. "It's designer! I think it's dope."
Angel, 34, was the only woman in the group who had a similarly-sized purse.
I asked her if she would ever upgrade to an XXL trash bag like mine.
"No, I would never, ever carry that," she said, smiling.
"But it's nice if you like it."
As I made my way downtown, I was surprised to find myself sharing a train car with a man carrying an enormous upright bass.
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The carrying case had handles, which, in my mind, qualifies it as a purse.
Only a few blocks from my house, and I wasn't even carrying the most ridiculous bag on the train!
I disembarked at Rockefeller Center, ready to gauge reactions from my fellow New Yorkers.
As I walked up Fifth Avenue, home to plenty of designer fashion brands, I got a few sideways glances.
The looks of disgust and annoyance were definitely there, but fleeting.
Far more people glanced past me in disinterest, or squinted at my outfit in confusion, while a few broke into smiles.
On at least ten occasions, I noticed someone looking at my trash bag, then catch sight of my handwritten Balenciaga tag and laugh out loud.
A few times, someone shouted from afar: "I like your bag!"
Several people also cheered me on for carrying "a designer purse."
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One critic of the brand pointed to me as he walked past, addressing the friend who walked beside him.
"That's what I thought when I saw it on the runway," he said, and the two of them laughed at my "trashy" purse.
When it came time to interview people on the street, I hit the jackpot immediately: the first woman I spoke to was a fashion student.
Tilly, 23, immediately recognized what I was going for with my look.
Her friends had encouraged her to speak to me because she's a huge fan of Kim Kardashian.
"I really like her style. But no, I'd never wear it," Tilly said, gesturing at my trash bag.
"Even the luxury one."
Tilly said she could never make the style "work" as Kim does.
"It's just different when she does it," she said.
When I asked a stylish-looking tourist for her opinion, she deferred me to her son, Corrado.
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The teenager said his personal style is ";luxury sportswear," and that he admires Balenciaga, but the trash pouch is not for him.
"I don't feel like it's for even just one penny," he said.
Ruben Munarov, 32, said he'd be more likely to carry the actual trash bag than the luxury version, but he'd prefer to pass on either.
"To each their own," he said.
"It's whatever floats their boat. Maybe they're running out of s**t to wear."
He even had a suggestion for other luxury brands: "a garbage bag suit for the winter collection."
Munarov added that he wouldn't be surprised if people tried selling "luxury trash bags" like mine on the streets of New York, alongside the replica Chanel and Louis Vuitton purses available for purchase.
"Coming to Canal Street near you," he joked.
It seemed that no one I talked to would want to carry Balenciaga's trash pouch.
Emily Musgrove, 22, said the piece just wouldn't mesh with the rest of her wardrobe.
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"For me, it's more about the style than the designer," she explained.
It also could've been the convenience factor.
Balenciaga's bag and mine have more than aesthetics in common.
Size is also an issue, and my giant purse was difficult to navigate when I needed my MetroCard, my wallet, or my lip balm.
I walked over to Saks Fifth Avenue – took my sack to Saks, that is – and posed in front of the famous storefront.
As I snapped pictures, one New York driver honked, waved, and gave me a thumbs-up.
Even though nobody else wanted to carry a (real or leather) trash purse, everyone seemed happy for me and my decision to do so.
And people were delighted when they "got" the joke. Several people recognized that my bag was a reference to the runway version, but no one was mean or critical of my cheap knockoff.
Ahead of this experiment, I told my brother about what it would entail.
"But you're in New York," he said.
"Why would anyone care if you carry a trash bag as a purse?"
To some degree, I think he was right.
There's too much going on in New York for people to notice or mind what you're carrying as a purse.
It seemed like the people who engaged me in conversation were just happy to be in on the joke.
When I went into a coffee shop to get a cold beverage after all that walking, the barista Jake, 24, immediately grinned at my bag.
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I waited a long time, and when I got up to the counter, he complimented my purse as I searched its depths for my wallet.
"It's fire!" he said.
"Jake, I have something to tell you," I said gravely.
"It's fake. It's a knockoff. It isn't actually Balenciaga."
Just as seriously, he shot me down.
"That's real," he insisted, inspecting it further. "Yes. It is. It's real."
I wouldn't carry a homemade trash bag purse again – but not because I was embarrassed.
It's strictly an issue of durability.
By the time I got home, the interior lining of my bag had torn, and there were smaller tears along the drawstring at the top.
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Even though I liked the statement-making bag as an aesthetic choice, it's not practical for long-term use in the city, especially since I love to load my purses with lots of stuff.
But if anyone wants to gift me the sturdy, leather trash pouch by Balenciaga, I'll use it until it is (really, actually, finally) trash.
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