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When it comes to a taste for the finer things in life, New Yorkers have it in the bag.
A new survey ranked our state as the “most bougie” in the US, thanks to ritzy residents’ insatiable appetite for classy couture, glam gems and dazzling designer handbags.
The Empire State was granted its “most bougie” moniker via an analysis conducted by gold and silver retailer SD Bullion. The report reviewed the Google trend data for 50 keywords related to expensive taste including brands, products and precious metals — and New York took the top spot for interest in authentic luxury labels.
“Bougie,” slang from “bourgeoisie,” has often used as an insult meaning someone with a lot of money but no taste.
However, in the Big Apple, the superlative still isn’t good enough for some upscale Upper East Siders with a hunger for all things haute. Instead, stylish mamas like Victoria Lagg are taking the city’s rep for swankiness to new heights as leaders of the trending “Birkin Mom” movement.
“A Birkin Mom is a chic, effortless mom who has refined style, confidence in parenting and is the epitome is class and elegance,” Lagg, 32, a lifestyle content creator and mom of three, told The Post.
“She [always] has a Birkin at hand, even when running errands with her kids.”
With a pair of red-bottomed Christian Louboutin heels on her feet, any of her three small children clutching her well-manicured hands and a $20,000-plus Hermes tote draped over her shoulder, Lagg struts these city streets in style.
As a top-tier tastemaker, the sleek brunette — who typically spends $10,000 a month on coveted designer purses to added to her collection of over 60 bags — regularly stamps her TikTok posts with #BirkinMom, a hashtag with over 171.6 million views, to neatly describe her aristocratic aesthetic.
‘There’s nothing wrong with being bougie. In New York it’s accepted, whereas in a smaller town or city you can get strange looks.’
Victoria Lagg, 34, is an UES-based #BirkinMom with expensive tastes
She typically spends $10,000 a month on coveted designer purses to add to her collection of over 60 bags.
“There’s nothing wrong with being bougie,” Lagg proudly told The Post. “In New York it’s accepted — whereas in a smaller town or city you can get strange looks.”
Birkin bags, handmade leather offerings from Hermes, have become synonymous with otherworldly opulence.
Fashionmongers hoping to keep up with the A-lister mom likes of Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham, who all tote the Himalayan Birkin, one of the rarest and most expensive carryalls the fashion house produces, can snag the bag for upwards of $500,000 on the resale market. Last week, a lucky Drake concertgoer got her paws on a $30,000 pink Birkin the rapper generously gifted during a performance in Los Angeles.
“I ain’t cheap,” Drake, 36, muttered as he handed it off to the fortunate fan in the front-row.
Meanwhile, Lagg — whose most cherished accessory is her $28,000 Birkin in Nata — told The Post boasting a closet full of in-demand duds is a point of pride in the handbag hierarchy of this concrete jungle.
“In New York, everyone has a unique style, because people are unapologetically themselves and want to stand out,” Lagg said. “I would think everyone should choose items that have longevity, better quality and are overall more desirable. I really enjoy collecting pieces from many fashion houses including Dior and Chanel, Bottega and Loro Piana.”
Meanwhile, the new “most bougie” survey also shouted at states such as California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Nevada for top-billing as the most chichi locations across the nation.
‘I will absolutely wear a dupe every now and then — I’m bougie but I can also be g–damn cheap.’
Izzy Anaya, 43, a self-proclaimed “rich mom” influencer who still knows a good deal when she sees one.
However, West Virginia, Wyoming, Kentucky, South Dakota and Montana ranked as the leading states in which dwellers don’t mind sporting copycat couture — more popularly referred to on social media as “knockoffs” or “dupes.”
Lagg emphasized her disdain for dupes to The Post, declaring those who sport imitations are “cheating” the fashion industry.
But fellow #BirkinMom Izzy Anaya, a stay-at-home mother in Manhattan who monthly spends between $20,000 to $40,000 on fab finery, says fashion wannabes on a budget shouldn’t feel bad about buying faux regalia.
In fact, the diva claims that some of the richest parents in New York City, including herself, prefer rocking replicas over the real thing.
“After I made a TikTok about my dupes, I had so many wealthy women — girls who I never thought in a million years would ever wear something fake — message me for tips on where I get my stuff,” said Anaya, 43, a “rich mom” influencer.
She told The Post she typically scores her reproductions while strolling Canal Street downtown or via her private international dealer.
Her husband, a consultant who Anaya chose not to name for privacy purposes, funds her frequent splurges, which include posh shopping sprees, extravagant dinners, summers in Central America, buzzy spa treatments and cosmetic procedures as well as buying a 10-carat aquamarine emerald ring and matching earrings for over $20,000 on a whim.
And she’s not ashamed about mixing a few phony pieces in with her costly collection of original goodies.
“I live in giant townhouse in the middle of Manhattan with four bathrooms — nobody has four bathrooms,” she bragged with a laugh. “I’m extremely bougie, my kids are bougie AF and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
However, she admitted: “I will absolutely wear a dupe every now and then — I’m bougie but I can also be goddamn cheap.”