Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

My friend just got back from her super-long Christmas vacation in the States. She was working for a renowned publishing house as a marketing manager. To outsiders, that was quite glamorous. But at our catch-up dinner, she started to complain about how meaningless her current job was. She wanted a new career, in the import business.

She decided to make the change because she was asked to bring two Coach Borough bags to her friend's friend in China. Since she is a Coach VIP, she got a 30 percent discount and put the difference in her pocket. After this deal, she sees a huge demand in China for affordable luxury brands such as Coach, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs and so on. And that's how the money is supposed to roll in.

Of course, she is no trailblazer. If you type Coach Borough into the Chinese shopping Web site Taobao, numerous entries would make your eyes pop out. Nevertheless, my friend still wants to join the crowd and make her contribution to China's promising luxury products market.

She has a point. According to an article on Chinanews.com published this January, among Chinese students living in New York and Boston, 74 percent were asked to make an overseas purchase each season. More than 30 percent of them bring luxury items home. At the same time, their American classmates think that the Chinese counterparts are rich, very rich. When the Americans wear Abercrombie & Fitch to the campus, those silver-spoon Chinese kids dress up as if they just walked off of the set of Gossip Girls.

If you take a walk in downtown Beijing, you would be amazed that big-name luxury stores are everywhere. If you see a girl wearing high street fashion clothes, she will almost always carry a designer bag. Nobody could deny that the Chinese love those skin-deep luxury products. It's an identity statement - people who can afford expensive items belong to a certain class. Those people are the mainstream of China's middle class and elite group. However, designer pieces are not enough. You have to have taste. Otherwise, you are not in their league.

The climate of China's economy, compared to other debt-stricken countries in Europe or North America, still looks fairly good. Some Chinese have become wealthy overnight, knocking them off balance, while others are gaining wealth at a moderate speed. Either way, they want to lead a life that fits their new identity. The easiest way is to shop for designer pieces. However, based on different family and education backgrounds, getting social respect is a separate problem.

The nature of overseas purchasing is evolving. The items that people demand are no longer big-name brands. The new generation in China are smart shoppers and with overseas experience. They are turning their focus to low-key brands, causing a purchase polarization. Tuhao, or low-class new rich, are still fans of LV and Gucci, while stylish girls prefer Alexandra Wang and Stella McCartney's collections.

The trend for luxury brands will not recede at the moment. With the rise of the nation, some Chinese are overwhelmed by the country's new international image, and they are experiencing an identity crisis. Brands might make you look good and rich; but don't forget, after the bling-bling first impression, you still need to talk.

This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.