bag lady
newcomers to the blog - and those with bad memories - won’t know that the introductory paragraph in my sidebar used to declare that i owned “more bags than any woman has a right to” a fact that was and is indisputably true. one day i’ll take a picture of my impressive collection.
i will, however, need a widescreen lens.
but one bag i didn’t have was a carry-on bag. and one thing i will be doing over the next year is travelling. and not in a back-packing kind of way, in a grown-up holiday kind of way. finding my fabby, 360 degree swivelling wheel purple suitcases was easy but finding my carry-on bag was hard. i looked everywhere i could think of online: miss selfridge, oasis, ebags, ebay, topshop, M&S, principles, wallis, warehouse, evans and a few more besides. nothing. i wanted a leather (or at least leatherish) bag with straps big enough to fit over my shoulder and enough room for a couple of books, an ipod, camera, magazine, flight documents, some flight socks(!), mobile phone, lip balm, etc. basically i wanted a large handbag, but sturdy. i was having no luck finding anything large enough that also had long straps and looked attractive - more often it was 1 out of 3. then, last weekend, i went shoe shopping. having had a (very) rare victory, scoring 3 proper pairs of shoes and a couple of £5 pairs for beachwear-type situations, i decided to call in at river island on the way home, as they have a whole floor dedicated to accessories, from earrings to belts to bags. i was sure i’d find something good. but i only saw one bag i liked, and it was £90 - WAY too expensive! and light suede - how long would that last?! so i sighed and resigned myself to another day without my dream bag.
my mum wanted to call in at john lewis on the way home as she’s decided to take up knitting and make herself a scarf. while she was browsing wools, i took a look at their bag selection. there was a red handbag that was very pretty and not bad space-wise, but the straps were a bit short. there were a couple of so-so fiorellis (i know a lot of people like their stuff but i always find it a tad boring) but nothing on any of the other shelves, and i was near the end of the bag section… and then i saw it.
i saw IT. my heart began to beat faster and my palms started to sweat. i dumped my pile of shopping and bent over for a better look at this image of bagly perfection. it was bee-yootiful. black leather with gold ‘hardware’ it had a handle and shoulder strap, front and side pockets and plenty of room inside. it would be ideal for travel but could also be used as a big handbag or even a university bag/laptop holder (if i had a laptop that is). the only glitch was the price, which made me wince. and also cringe. i had never spent that much on a bag. i had never spent more than £42 on bag, and that was painful. but this bag was more than that. it was £565.
NOT REALLY! it was £165, which seems very reasonable once you think about some bags being £565 or more. but still - a painful amount. a sacrifice. an investment. one i’m not ashamed to say i made.
i know some people my age have bought houses or cars but apart from my ipod and computer, this was my biggest purchase ever, certainly the most i’ve spent on one fashion item. but it’s not frivolous (she justified) - it’s something i’ll use a lot and love very much. we are going to be so, so happy together.
finding my dream bag, as superficial as it sounds, makes me realise that all kinds of things are possible. finding my dream bag and more than one pair of shoes that fits me - IN THE SAME DAY? that might just be proof that god exists. that or i’m sometimes very lucky and always obsessed with accessories to an inappropriate degree.
September 19, 2007
I want one!
September 19, 2007
Two words: WORTH. IT. :)
September 19, 2007
You’re so right, Toni! :)
September 19, 2007
While that is gorgeous I have a bone to pick with you!
Every time I find myself gazing adoringly at the £72 Red Direct bag I covet, I hear your voice telling me that you “just couldn’t pay that much” for a bag and I click away to covet it another day!
Not that I need anyone else’s approval before spending £72 on a bag or anything. Oh no. Not me. ;)
September 19, 2007
I find as I get older than I can justify higher and higher prices for handbags. Scarily, I have looked in the window of Prada (Milan, if you must know ;-) ) and thought, “Yeah, that bag is worth the thousands of Euros they’re asking….”
How do you keep your bags? I feel guilty that I don’t have enough room for my modest collection of black and red (cheap) handbags and they’re all squashed in a box until I use them.
(Eeek! I hope this doesn’t come through three times now….)
September 19, 2007
When I saw £565 I almost spit my drink. You’re right, £165 sounds more reasonable now.
Still. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE POUNDS for a purse?? I guess we guys will never understand stuff like that.
Now excuse me, I have to go pick up my new £400 computer…
whaaaaa?? in my defense, it’s just as much a work tool as it is a toy! 0:)
September 19, 2007
yay for beautiful bags! And it IS beautiful, so worth every penny, I say :)
September 19, 2007
Wow, bags really get you guys talking! ;)
Stella, I keep my ‘collection’ in plastic baskets on top of my wardrobe - a bit unsatisfatory, they need their own closet!
Amber, I knew you’d understand!
Nico, yep I don’t think men ever do get it… But £400 is *great* for a computer!
And Keris… oops. This just goes to show that no-one should ever listen to me! Are you sure it was *me* who said that? Have totally blocked it out. *hides*
In my defence, I never had bought a bag for more than £50 before. I shouldn’t have knocked it before I tried it! ;)
New advice: Buy, buy, buy! :)
September 20, 2007
Well I just had a ‘research’ phone call from a man at Crisis (at work, too!) - so mebbe that’s a sign that you (and really, when I say you I mean me) shouldn’t do that ‘buy buy buy’ thing too often… (He wanted money, natch, but I wanted to participate and kept him yacking on the phone for half an hour….)
(Anyhoo, didn’t you say you had a special dust bag to keep your new one safe and shiny?)
;))
September 25, 2007
Hope the two of you have a long and happy life together!