August 31, 2024 at 2:21 am

She Was Proud Of Her Upcycled Purse, But Her Mother-In-Law Tried To Upgrade It With A Luxury Tote. So When She Refused To Try It On, Her Husband Got Angry She Didn’t Just Take The Bag.

by Melissa Triebwasser

Source: Reddit/AITA/Unsplash/Evelyn Semenyuk

They say don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but when the “gift” is more than just a present, maybe it’s time to reevaluate.

In this story from Reddit, the author was given something meant to be a slap in the face, and she let the giver know.

Read the details and decide for yourself if you think she went too far.

AITA for refusing a luxury purse from my MIL

I (27f) refurbish purses, both luxury and sentimental, as a lucrative side hustle.

Sometimes I’ll also go to thrift stores and see if I can find purses that people have discarded and either sell them or give them as gifts.

Everybody is so creative! But she actually is.

About 6 months ago, I found a black Latico Leathers tote that was in great condition and decided to keep it for myself.

I have a pretty maximalist aesthetic so I make it my own by tying various scarves and beads around the handle periodically.

I love this bag and I love it even more than it only cost me $8.

She loves her purse, but conflict comes quickly.

My husband (28m) and I eat dinner at my MIL’s house quite often and she is the originator of the clean girl aesthetic.

Everything in her house is very white and minimal. Her style is also this way and she only wears neutrals.

I say this because when I first came over with my new bag, she had said how loud it was.

From then on, every time we went over to her house she always made some sort of, “you still carrying that thing around everywhere?” comment.

It got to the point that I just started leaving it in the car.

Guess her mother-in-law didn’t appreciate her creativity or her style, but that shouldn’t be a big deal.

A month ago, though, we all went out to a nicer restaurant and I brought my bag in, to which my MIL scoffed and said, “Please leave that ugly thing in the car. It’s so embarrassing.”

This struck a nerve and we had a little tiff over it, to which it ended with her making a comment that she was going to buy me another bag so she didn’t have to look at mine anymore.

In the moment, I didn’t take her seriously and I honestly forgot the whole comment entirely.

Her mother-in-law did not forget.

Last week, we went over for dinner at her house when she met us at the door with a huge smile.

She grabbed my arm and rushed me to the other room and told me she had something to show me.

There was a Kate Spade Perfect Large Tote in a yellow/beige color.

“Put it on!” she said. “Don’t you love it?”

That’s when I realized that she had bought this for me and I said, “I really appreciate the gesture, but if you’re going to get me a bag, it would be nice to go shopping together so that I can get something that is more my style.”

She wasn’t going to take the insult, or the bag.

She told me that it was final sale and when I told her that she should keep it for herself, she blew up and started calling me ungrateful.

I told her I wasn’t going to take something that I wouldn’t use, let alone didn’t like and she started crying.

My husband and I left and he told me I should have just taken the bag and used it when we went out with her.

For me, something expensive like that should be used by someone who really likes it and it’s obvious she bought it to project herself onto me.

AITA?

In-laws can be a problem.

Lets see whose side the commenters of Reddit are on.

The top comment laws into the mother-in-law for trying to change her daughter-in-law over something subjective.

Source: Reddit/AITA

There’s a difference between meaning well and being mean.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Petty and manipulative, says this comment.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Another commenter doesn’t understand why this was such a big deal to begin with.

Source: Reddit/AITA

And lastly, a commenter wishes the author had gone way overboard and made the purse even louder.

Source: Reddit/AITA

I mean… just take the bag.

First world problems!