I’ll say it over and over again… “I am NOT a purse chick”. There’s just something about having an item hanging on my arm or over my shoulders that makes me feel “responsible” for keeping up with it. What can I say, I like to be a free woman. Let me just stick whatever it is- lip gloss, cell phone, debit card, whatever- in my pocket and keep rolling.
While working in New York, my ex-employer would always ask me, “Why don’t you have a Louie, or did you pay over $100 for this or that?” I never understood his infatuation with material items as such. Even when I would take his wife’s latest Gucci bag or $10,000 plus Hermes Birkin bag to the cleaners (returning with a utterly ridiculous cleaning bill – just think about your highest electricity bill as a reference), I still never secretly wished I had such bags.
While I do not choose to purchase purses for myself, I have received a bag or two as a gift. My very first bag (starting as far back as high school) was actually a Coach bag. What I could appreciate about the modest Coach purse, was one: that it didn’t scream- LOOK AT ME! This particular bag was not stamped with a signature logo, so you could not readily identify the designer, but you could always tell that it was quality. On the flip side, my best friend from high school and well into our twenties-thirties ALWAYS had the latest handbag, courtesy of her then boyfriend-now husband. Every single holiday, whether it was a Birthday, Anniversary, or an “I’m sorry babe” gift, his go-to-gift was a handbag (her closet is grossly filled with them). Gucci seemed to be his designer of choice, but more and more she’d grown a maturer liking to New York based designer Coach. Anticipating her next gift, I asked “So, luxury purse are you getting for Christmas?” (no shade- as her collection is truly awesome), to which she replied, “I love Coach, but bought my first Michael Kors and I love it.” She shared how nice MK’s style and design was and the fact that even her teenage daughter (my God daughter, Kalon) has moved over (this is major). In her reasoning, it seems that “Everyone has Coach now,” so she’s on to the next.
If you could use more information on types of bags to purchase for the holiday, or could use tips on how to spot authentic fabrics (ex: Coated PVS or plastic vs. true leather), check out Top Four Affordable Designer Handbags here.
