Purses, Sunglasses, and Dogs that Fit into Hand Bags

Thanks Louis Vuitton. Thanks Versace. Thanks Armani. You men and other high-end designers have successfully made the women within the University of Miami bubble more interested in you than the real men on campus. You successfully created a world where a majority of women and some men wear to class what they will wear to a South Beach club that same night.

The designer fashion trends spread way beyond UM’s women and men, who are commonly known as metrosexuals. Since we live in one of the largest cities in the country, with late-night, hot-spot South Beach as our neighbor, it is inevitable that the need to dress to impress will carry over from the clubs to the classes.

As a male student sits in class next to a woman with a designer bag, wallet, and sunglasses, there can be an immediate intimidation factor. Is this a woman who needs everything laid out on a red carpet? Will she only take interest in me for my bank account? I have no money in my wallet but dining dollars on my cane card, will she enjoy a romantic meal together at Chartwells? These questions and others similar may run through the heads of some men.

Without a doubt, there are men with deep wallets who are fearless when it comes to the stigma of the fashion designers. However, for those who are not in this monetary situation, women with an exceedingly large amount of designer paraphernalia create an invisible wall to a group of men.

It doesn’t help the situation if the designer bag is a cheap knock off. First, men generally cannot tell the difference between a real and fake Louis Vuitton purse. And second, if you have a fake purse, you probably want a real one and a man who can give you one.

When a man sees groups of women pile into taxi cabs headed for South Beach each weekend, he may begin to wonder if these women are the majority. Let’s face it; the appeal of Miami draws large crowds, so inevitably the majority of women one encounters at UM want to experience the thrilling night life. If a man chooses to limit his association with “designer women” be it by choice or intimidation, finding women other than Paris Hilton look-a-likes becomes a great challenge.

The fact exists that private institutions, like UM, attract more affluent students. Therefore, we see this large portion of “designer women” enter every year as freshmen. The typical, “I’m a college student and don’t have any money,” image declines in private colleges. Instead the, “I’m a college student and can go to South Beach every weekend,” image abounds.

This article published in "The Hurricane"