$300 bags, $150 earrings, $60 hats: Mid-priced products are a status symbol for young shoppers

jenny lei launched her handbag company freja in 2019 after struggling to find a work tote for a job interview. she set prices where she'd personally stop bargaining with herself: under $300. freja bags now sell for $258 to $398 — more than a $62 baggu nylon option, less than a $2,700 pre-owned goyard carryall — to tens of thousands of customers each year, mostly in their 20s and 30s. a growing number of gen z and millennial shoppers are gravitating toward mid-priced items across clothing, jewelry and homeware, according to marketing and retail experts. nearly a third of global customers say they're willing to splurge on fashion, per a mckinsey and business of fashion report from january. but a $5,000 pair of earrings is a hard sell; a $150 pair made in gold is easier, especially from a brand advertising artisan craftsmanship or eco-conscious materials. some shoppers buy a small luxury item — like a $60 arc'teryx hat or $160 louis vuitton lipstick — just to own something from a culturally significant retailer. mid-priced products aren't new, but their popularity ebbs and flows. 2000s-era brands like coach, kate spade and michael kors reached non-wealthy shoppers in department stores until many turned to fast fashion after the 2008 financial crisis, says thomaï serdari, a marketing professor at nyu stern. today, social media has supercharged the sector. you can go from brand awareness to purchase within minutes on tiktok shop, says yale lecturer jennie liu. "the meaning of luxury has changed a lot," says lei. "now, luxury is luxury of choice."