Say It Ain't So Already

$200,000+ For…a Purse

December 11, 2011 at 12:17 PM Leave a comment

$203,150 purse: Hermes Bag Sells for What?!

File this one under, “what lousy economy?” Earlier this week, an anonymous collector shelled out $203,150 for a purse.

Sold at the Heritage Auction house in Dallas, the purse is a Red Hermès crocodile Birkin-style handbag, with “hardware” – that is, the buckles, clasps and so on – made from solid 18-karat white gold and diamonds.  The 30 cm tote is a world record setter for the most expensive purse ever sold at a public auction.

I suppose all things are relative, just like they say.  If you have millions of dollars to your name, spending $203,150 on a purse isn’t all that big a deal.  But as a food bank volunteer I know what it’s like to have the rare batch of fresh blueberries or day-old coffee cake to offer clients — whose budgets are stretched so thin those are unaffordable items — and who are accustomed to not-much-more than tuna and canned beans week after week.  So, from where I sit, nothing better illustrates the chasm that exists amongst the people in our society than this.

Entry filed under: At the Food Bank, Corporatocracy, Financial Crisis. Tags: .