Woman's Fendi bag as shield to ward off flirtatious women?

A research led by University of Minnesota's Prof. Vladas Griskevicius shows the reason women buy expensive luxury goods - shoes, bags, the works - is to keep other women from approaching their men.

Luxury goods serve as a warning signal to other women, according to the team's survey of 649 women of various ages and relationship statuses, researchers reported on July 25.

"We found that a woman who is wearing luxury items and designer brands is perceived to have a more devoted partner and as a result other women are less likely to flirt with him," said Yajin Wang, a Ph. D. student working for Griskevicius.

In another research by Griskevicius and Wang, women spent 32 percent more money on luxury goods when they felt their relationship was being threatened.

The same was true for single women. "Many single women obviously want designer products, but instead of these products saying back off my current man, the single woman is saying back off from my future man," Wang said.

"Conspicuous consumption for women has a lot to do with subtle status within the female group," she added.

Griskevicius's research has been published in the latest issue of The Journal of Consumer Research.