Bags, Bags and More Bags

I like purses. Call them what you like, bags, purses, handbags, whatever, I love them. I know that I am hardly alone in this intense love of that thing that carries all my crap on a day to day basis. I don't get too crazy. I rarely change my bag to match my outfit, there is too much stuff to move, too much loose change, too many lipsticks floating around in the bottom. I just stick to what I like and change when I get bored.

My purse of choice is Coach. I first encountered the Coach brand in 1992. I was working at Spiegel, the catalog place. In our customer service training, we looked at real orders and pretended to fix them, answer questions etc. One of the items listed on this order was a "Coach Station bag." No one knew what it was. I quickly found a catalog and determined that it was a nice leather purse. I looked at the others and decided that I had to have a Coach Station bag. It was admittedly pricey, over $100. I had never owned a purse that cost more than $20. I never thought about it, I guess. Now, I had a 40% discount and was more than eager to use it!

A few days later, I got a notice that something was waiting in the mailroom for me. I tore into the box like it was Christmas morning! Wrapped in Coach imprinted paper was my navy Coach Station bag. I loved it and put all of my stuff into it immediately, no matter that I was supposed to be working. Work could wait, this was the bag of a lifetime and nothing could keep me from it. I felt the nice leather and played around with the brass hardware. I was in purse love.

Several Coach bags followed this initial purchase. Some with the discount, and when I moved on, I paid full price. I can't count how many I have had and fear that the knowledge would shock me. I have my favorites. My Ali was a thrill that nearly made me pass out. My husband and I took a weekend jaunt to Chicago, one February. I wanted to see this bag. It was beautiful, heavy leather the color of a baseball glove with sturdy brass hardware. We looked like crap, it was cold, we were windblown and red nosed. Hubby was fighting off SARS or some other snotty disease. I approached the salesman and asked if he had an Ali. He looked me up and down and said they had been removed and were only at the flagship store, 3 blocks away. We left, I felt scorned by the hoard of gay salesman. We grabbed a cab and went to the flagship store. I was impressed. There were saleswomen all over and it was a 2 story store! We were approached and I asked if there was an Ali to be seen. I was shown the shelf and there she was! Amazing. My desperately ill husband said to me, "Why don't you get it? I know you have had your eye on it for awhile." I nearly lost conciousness. Before he could come to his senses, it was wrapped and we were in line to pay. Grabbing the bag, I ran out before he could change his mind. I held that bag like it was full of gold. Upon return to our hotel room, I dumped everything out of my other purse, a Kate Landry, and stuffed everything into my new bag. I don't know what caused my husband to give into my Ali whim. I am thinking it might have been too many coffee's from Starbucks. The caffeine somehow muddied his thought process.

Not too long ago, I read a book about purses, Hermes specifically. It was called Bringing Home the Birkin, by Michael Tonello. It was a thoroughly entertaining read. Mr. Tonello chases the Hermes Birkin bag, a purse that costs more than most cars, at least cars that the average person can afford. He has a very successful career eBaying Hermes merchandise, spending over a $1,000,000 to supply his clientele. His trials and tribulations are detailed in this humourous book, all encased in a croc look cover. Wanna read it? I have a copy to give, granted, I read it first, but I don't have Hermes or Coach sponsoring my site, or sending me anything free, so a second hand copy will have to do. If you are interested, leave a comment or picture detailing your favorite bag and what it cost. It doesn't have to be a Coach or even a designer bag, just one that you love. Tell me why you love it, where it was purchased and for how much. I have a purse from Goodwill that I love(almost) as much as my Coach collection, so anything goes. Leave your comments and I will select a comment on September 15th. I can't wait to read the comments! Please leave your name and email address.