A woman took a flight to Los Angeles just to shop for beaded bags. She posted her experience to TikTok, but she probably didn’t expect the tables to turn on her entirely. Instead of celebrating her finds, commenters described her haul as overconsumption and evidence of a shopping addiction.
TikToker Maya Valentino (@maya.dannie), a San Francisco shopping enthusiast and self-described beaded bag addict, took a flight from San Francisco to the greater Los Angeles area just to find some beaded bags at a Burbank T.J. Maxx.
While many viewers were excited about her participating in some freewill shopping and enjoying herself in-store, others had negative things to say about her purchasing habits. Her original video received 3.4 million views on TikTok.
Why did she fly to L.A.?
In Valentino’s video, she described flying out to Los Angeles just to go to TJ Maxx. She had never been to a specific TJ Maxx location in Burbank that she visited, so she wanted to see what they had available.
While Valentino flying out to Los Angeles may be completely surprising for some, it makes sense given her longstanding history with beaded bags. The TikToker has made posts defending her collection, which has been covered by People and the New York Post, respectively.
In the store, she ended up finding more than a few beaded bags that caught her eye. There was a bag that featured an intricate beaded design of women doing yoga. She quickly added it to her cart. Then, she saw two different bags that had various fish and sea life beaded onto them. She placed those into her cart, too, as she wanted to grab one bag for her friend.
All in all, she ended up spending $309 on beaded bags, something that she was incredibly happy about.
Commenters shame her for overconsuming
Some commenters thought that Valentino’s “freewill” shopping was somewhat fun. Others? Not so much.
“They’re just gonna collect dust on your shelves 100 [percent],” one viewer shared.
“They don’t even look that good though.. I feel like this is just overconsumerism,” another commenter added.
Throughout Valentino’s comment section, she earned more than just ire for her choices in beaded bags. While the content creator seemingly had a lot of fun picking out the styles of bags she liked, others chastised her, calling the bags “not even mid” in the comments section.
But it wasn’t necessarily just that the content creator loved beaded bags (which earned its own, separate set of comments). Commenters were frustrated with the fact that Valentino even had the money to spend that much on bags that weren’t appealing to them to begin with.
Accusations that Valentino was overconsuming or had a bona fide shopping addiction seemingly rang true for many audience members. Viewers questioned how a person could have the discretionary funds to fly to the Greater Los Angeles area just to purchase beaded bags. Or, how a person could spend $309 just on beaded bags.
Why are beaded bags considered ‘tacky’?
Many commenters emphasized that they’d rather buy a Hermès Birkin than a beaded bag. Strangely enough, beaded bags are still a popular commodity, directly contrasting commenters offering their takes on Valentino’s post. Articles from publications like Marie Claire said the trend to purchase beaded bags wasn’t going anywhere in Fall 2025. Similarly, many designers have issued their very own beaded bags in 2026 that show
It’s possible that commenters just thought that Valentino’s particular choices for beaded bags weren’t to their taste. On TikTok, hitting the wrong audience is something that happens to many content creators every once and a while. The demographic that Valentino captured with her post may not have approached the recent beaded bag trend with as much excitement as she did.
But, commenters may also just prefer the beaded bags from other companies in comparison to those from TJ Maxx. TJ Maxx sports beaded bags from companies like Made In India and Alessia Bianchi. Notably, these bags became extremely popular in 2024, according to one article by the New York Post. They were incredibly divisive, however, with commenters adding that they were “ugly” and out of fashion.
In 2026, it may be that the originally divisive bags have swayed into negative perception, with the original trend starters moving to different brands, while those who always hated the bags remain staunchly against them.
Why are people pointing toward overconsumption to begin with?
In recent history, more and more people have become aware that influencers’ primary occupation is to influence their followers to make aspirational purchases. Influencers shop for items, purchase items, and show off items with the goal of creating a lifestyle that is advantageous and seemingly fulfilling. Social media followers follow along and seek out that lifestyle in their day-to-day lives.
But, more and more people are becoming de-influenced and thereby are not interested in the same trends they used to enjoy. As gas prices increase and inflation skyrockets, interest in influencer shopping has changed.
@maya.dannie The best $309 I have ever spent at a @TJ Maxx and I’m not sorry about it!!!!! @baconandbeauty if you’re ready this please dm me! ? #tjmaxx #tjmaxxfinds #tjmaxxhaul #beadedbag #tjmaxxshopping ♬ original sound – MAYA V.
The Mary Sue reached out to Valentino and TJX Companies, Inc. via email for more information.
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