Stupid Sexist Study: Designer Duds Keep Other Women Off Your Man

Cosmopolitan.com
A new study found that a woman who is wearing luxury items and designer brands is perceived to have a more devoted partner...
A new study found that a woman who is wearing luxury items and designer brands is perceived to have a more devoted partner...

You know that new Marc Jacobs bag you're coveting right now? Well, guess what, ladies: The real reason you want it is because, somewhere in the depths of your womanly brain, you think it will keep other chicks from stealing your man.

By Natasha Burton

Yeah. So says a RIDICULOUS new study by researchers at the University of Minnesota, who talked to 649 women and found that buying designer duds is a tactic of sorts to tell other women to step away from our boyfriends.

"We found that a woman who is wearing luxury items and designer brands is perceived to have a more devoted partner and as a result other women are less likely to flirt with him," says Ph.D. student Yajin Wang, one of the authors of the study. "Regardless of who actually purchased the items, other women inferred that the man had something to do with it and is thus more devoted to her."

Related: 10 Websites That Will Change The Way You Shop Online

So…let's get this straight: No matter who bought the handbag in question, other women assume that a woman could never afford her own designer bag, and thus, a man had to have bought it for you, and therefore, he's off-limits because he's making it rain designer ish.

Not only does this concept make no sense-wouldn't you want to poach a BF who's handing out pricey handbags?-but I find it hard to believe that this is the reason women want expensive, couture stuff. These findings are downright sexist, and make women look, well, kinda dumb. (Which, brings up another question, who the heck are those 649 ladies these researchers talked to for this study?!)

Wang and her partner-in-research Vladas Griskevicius have studied women, shopping and luxury items before, finding that when we're feeling not-so-great about our relationships, we tend to splurge on expensive stuff and shop more in general, which totally makes sense.

Related: Our Fave New Shopping Routine: Shopping

But this whole business about thinking a chick's BF is more devoted to her because she's carrying a Gucci bag? And wanting designer crap so other women won't flirt with our men? I'm sorry, but no.

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