Some early-career professionals avoid bringing luxury bags to the office because they say flashy accessories can spark assumptions about money and priorities. Career coaches have advised workers against wearing designer items to the workplace.

Aliyah Muhammad, a 28-year-old software engineer who typically wears a Cartier watch and clothing from Pleats Please Issey Miyake, does not wear noticeably designer items like a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag at work. The Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag retails for $2,170.

Emily Durham worked as a recruiter across banking and tech for almost a decade before pivoting to full-time career coaching in 2024. Early in her recruiting career, a manager passed over Durham for an advancement opportunity after learning she had used her year-end bonus to buy a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag. The manager reasoned that of two candidates with the same tenure, the one who had purchased a designer bag did not need a pay increase, so they gave the raise to the other candidate.

"We run the risk when we show up to interviews dressed in designer that companies might perceive you to not need the money," Durham said.

"You might have people who are, frankly, subconsciously, quite sexist with their relationship to fashion and dressing, who now look at you and think, 'Oh, you're high maintenance,'" Durham said.

Louise Thompson, a leadership and career coach, noted gender differences in workplace fashion concerns. "I've never had a man come to me and ask me questions about the signals that his work wear or appearance might be sending," Thompson said.

For Kimberly McArthur, who works in sales and marketing for an oil and gas company, dressing up and carrying a designer bag to the office is one way she signals ambition in her male-dominated workplace. "We're always told growing up that you dress for the job you want, not the job you have," McArthur said.

A 2022 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people are less likely to cooperate with those who signal status, for example, by donning luxury goods.

"It's not your responsibility to have to carry what someone else might be feeling about your designer handbag. However, I do also think you've got to be intentional and recognize that everything you say, the way you behave, the way you choose to dress, your appearance — they're all part of your communication style. They're all signals," Thompson said.