Purpose Women’s conspicuous display of luxury brands is known to serve the purpose of sending signals to other women, but little is known about how men interpret those signals. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate how men interpret the signals sent by women displaying luxury brands. Design/methodology/approach An interpretivist approach and phenomenological methods were applied, involving interviews with selected men in Hong Kong. Findings The men interviewed suggested that if a woman’s overall image matches that of the brands she displays and the situation, luxurious brands can amplify the woman’s beauty and perceived class status. However, if these factors clash, men react negatively and tend to view the woman as engaging in impression management and pretending to have high social status unjustifiably. Research limitations/implications The sample for this phenomenological study was limited to Hong Kong men only. Culture must, almost by definition, influence men’s views toward women and branded products, so similar exploratory research in other cultures seems justified. Practical implications The findings suggest that marketers should offer “brand education” to help make their female consumers aware of the images their products are trying to establish, and what are the appropriate usage situations. Such consumer education would also reduce the risk of negative image transfer from the brand user to the brands. Originality/value The current understanding of female luxury brand signals is limited to female-vs-female intra-sexual competition. By examining how men interpret female luxury brand signals, this research addresses an important research gap.