2021 Resolution: Shopping my own bag and SLG collection. Any one else?

[Sparkletastic]

NOVEMBER ACTIVITIES

1. Bags by Brand Showcase!

Each week, share photos of your bags from the specified brands. Choose a posed “beauty” shot or get your bags out and about in action shots!

We highlight 3 brands per week: 2 premier and 1 contemporary in alphabetical order as listed on tPF. Any brands not listed are showcased in our last week. Brands change to the next set each Sunday.

Our first brand week starts now - Sunday, Oct 31. Please share photos of bags from these brands:

• Bottega Venetta
• Burberry
• Alexander Wang

Tip: Grab your photos from last year in the 2020 resolution thread. Search your user name and the brand to find your photos.

2. Special Stories
Thanks @Claudia Herzog for the suggestion

Wear a bag that has a backstory involving a person, place, or opportunity for which you feel grateful.

 

[momasaurus]

I would de

@Jereni @Sparkletastic
I have had a weird time of adjustment during all this too. My nanny job was put on hiatus for the last 14 months while the mom worked from home, then she quit her job and has not started a new one yet. My at home spa biz definitely slowed down after the surge in January and bag sales have sucked. So in many ways, I am not working for the first time in my life. I have enough trickling in and in savings to take care of my personal bills for the rest of this year if need be and my DH has always earned wayyyyy more than me. I try to contribute by keeping the house clean and cooking, which I don’t mind doing. I am OCD about the house and a much better cook than my DH, so I would do it anyway. But it all leaves me in a place I have a hard time with at times...I was so used to being the head of the household and the boss for so very long. In fact, my son’s nickname for me is Boss Lady. I do have my weekly visits with my mom and now the yard needs attention again, plus I help a woman with office work/organizing here and there, so I am able to keep occupied. But not with purpose, I guess you could say. Just in the last few weeks I have spent time with two different women I have gotten to know and really enjoyed myself. I have never really had many close friendships, and female friendships have always been a challenge for me because I and/or my life circumstances are/have been very atypical in a lot of ways. Plus when you work as intensely with people as I have always done in my work, I need time away from people to recharge and have balance. It was so nice to go to lunch and hang with these women...doing what other women do with their friends. I like these women and it is really nice to be able to be a part of myself I don’t get to be with my DH or my family. I think this is a time where everybody is kind of looking at their normal life and reevaluating a bit. Which makes you look at who you are, how you relate to others and define yourself in relation to others. Which is a good thing...keeps us real and in control of our lives, instead of just living by rote and letting our routine control us.

I know I am rambling, but bottom line-I know what you mean and right there with you.

I would definitely enjoy lunch with you! I totally get all this.

 

[BowieFan1971]

@momasaurus
I would enjoy that too! I would love to have lunch with any of the terrific ladies on this thread!!!

 

[BowieFan1971]

Malfunction

 

[BowieFan1971]

sorry...don’t know what’s up this morning...

 

[doni]

So much to catch up!

In the interim, I need to get my sparkle back. Need socialization. Need people. Need travel. Need to dress in something other than yoga pants and t-shirts.

There with you. Here shops/bars/restaurants (including outside)/gyms/venues of any type/schools... have been closed since beginning of December...
But so far, there is no rule saying one has to wear yoga pants and t-shirts

My April stats:
Bags in: 0
Bags out: 1
SLGs in: 0
SLGs out: 0

I bought a malachite Kelly dog bracelet, but most importantly - NO scarves!!! I am seriously trying to cut back. Friends are in a buying frenzy (luckily nothing they are lusting after appeals to me), and I am resisting. I wonder if I can make it through another month......?

Congrats! I am sure you can, keep postponing things to June! We are here to cheer you all the way
(says as she checks again that giant triangle Hermes silk in VC... )

@Jereni @Sparkletastic
Plus when you work as intensely with people as I have always done in my work, I need time away from people to recharge and have balance. It was so nice to go to lunch and hang with these women...doing what other women do with their friends. I like these women and it is really nice to be able to be a part of myself I don’t get to be with my DH or my family. I think this is a time where everybody is kind of looking at their normal life and reevaluating a bit. Which makes you look at who you are, how you relate to others and define yourself in relation to others. Which is a good thing...keeps us real and in control of our lives, instead of just living by rote and letting our routine control us.

I know I am rambling, but bottom line-I know what you mean and right there with you.

I consider girlfriends an essential element of any woman’s life.
Also, one of the big pluses of being a woman, particularly as time goes by.

I have always been the type to make friends easy with men. Enjoyed being one of the boys, both at work and leisure. But every year I appreciated my female friends more and more. They are such a fundamental part of me and my everyday life, I don’t know what I’d do without them.

You know the most common regret of women when they die? Not having spent enough time with their friends.
(men’s most common regret is not having spent enough time with their families).

 

[doni]

@doni, as per our prior post, DH arranged for the cuff in my avatar for our 30th wedding anniversary.

OMG. No words. That is breathtaking.

Congratulations on your anniversary, wow, you got together young! So nice.

(shouldn’t I be notified when someone quotes my @name? I am not...)

 

[doni]

Before I go on reading backwards, my stats for the month:

Bags in: 2 (I know... one may go back...)
Bags out: 2 up for sale (so I am even).
Blazers/Jackets in/out: 0

And I have bought more clothes stuff that I had for a while, season changes does that to me, and I am still finding out how to dress for my new life, I guess.

 

[880]

OMG. No words. That is breathtaking.

Congratulations on your anniversary, wow, you got together young! So nice.

(shouldn’t I be notified when someone quotes my @name? I am not...)

Thanks so much! We got married a few years out of college and before grad school, age 23
re the cuff, it was a dream from HS that I never ever in a million years thought would ever come to pass. we are all very very fortunate to be here; to have our health and to be able to chat about very first world things.

if you want to be notified, you can click on your avatar and choose preferences. Then scroll down until the section entitled select notification when. . . And then you can check your choice

even with career ans season changes, you’re still in sports coats/jackets and trousers or jeans as per your style post some time ago? or has that changed?

hugs

 

[cowgirlsboots]

I won’t ever buy a bag anymore unless I know I’ll love and use it. So, I will sit on my hands rather than buy even if I can return it. I just am “over” that phase of my collecting.
The Versaces are cute and intriguing but not crave bags so I really need to leave them be. Plus I have no idea of their quality level since I haven’t seen them in person. I would use the black Chanel in a medium size a lot but it’s not a bag I can get excited about which is one reason I sold the black C jumbo I had.

That´s such a clear statement! Congratulations on perfectly knowing your point of view!
So the Chanel wouldn´t be more than "just a bag"- not worth spending a fortune on!
Re not sending back anymore you are definetely a lot further advanced into you collection. I still tend to buy items knowing I can send them back or sell them one easily to get my hands on them, check out their quality, try them on... I haven´t ever done this with an expensive bag, though. Usually I go for cheap vintage to check out whether a shape would be good for me. The last time I did it was when getting the Goldpfeil in the Dior "Bobby" shape for 5 Euro. Clear verdict: not for me! It´s listed for sale and hopefully will shift soon.

 

[cowgirlsboots]

There with you. Here shops/bars/restaurants (including outside)/gyms/venues of any type/schools... have been closed since beginning of December...
But so far, there is no rule saying one has to wear yoga pants and t-shirts

I´m in Germany, too and hate the lockdown situation. Meanwhile I´m craving for brick and mortar shops to re-open, dreaming of being able to go to TK Maxx to browse for hours just for browsing´s sake.
You make me laugh: no, there´s no rule to wear yoga pants... but there are far too many other rules.

 

[BowieFan1971]

So much to catch up!



There with you. Here shops/bars/restaurants (including outside)/gyms/venues of any type/schools... have been closed since beginning of December...
But so far, there is no rule saying one has to wear yoga pants and t-shirts



Congrats! I am sure you can, keep postponing things to June! We are here to cheer you all the way
(says as she checks again that giant triangle Hermes silk in VC... )



I consider girlfriends an essential element of any woman’s life.
Also, one of the big pluses of being a woman, particularly as time goes by.

I have always been the type to make friends easy with men. Enjoyed being one of the boys, both at work and leisure. But every year I appreciated my female friends more and more. They are such a fundamental part of me and my everyday life, I don’t know what I’d do without them.

You know the most common regret of women when they die? Not having spent enough time with their friends.
(men’s most common regret is not having spent enough time with their families).

I think I have not had good luck with female friends...like there is a gap in understanding somewhere. As one if you all guessed from my clothes and bag choices, I am a no-nonsense person, who sees things as they are and calls it accordingly. There is an element of I don’t know what to call it- lack of straightforwardness, lack of desire to be direct, need to be liked to the point of playing games or dishonesty?- to many of my experiences with female friendships that I don’t care for or have patience/tolerance for. It’s like there are rules or expectations and I don’t know what they are. The only friendships I have gotten seriously burned in have been female friendships. I guess with these women, I need to take things as they come and see, but it has been nice.

 

[momasaurus]

@momasaurus
I would enjoy that too! I would love to have lunch with any of the terrific ladies on this thread!!!

In the before times, we used to have meetups! Lunch and shopping.

 

[whateve]

That´s such a clear statement! Congratulations on perfectly knowing your point of view!
So the Chanel wouldn´t be more than "just a bag"- not worth spending a fortune on!
Re not sending back anymore you are definetely a lot further advanced into you collection. I still tend to buy items knowing I can send them back or sell them one easily to get my hands on them, check out their quality, try them on... I haven´t ever done this with an expensive bag, though. Usually I go for cheap vintage to check out whether a shape would be good for me. The last time I did it was when getting the Goldpfeil in the Dior "Bobby" shape for 5 Euro. Clear verdict: not for me! It´s listed for sale and hopefully will shift soon.

One thing dawned on me last night. I don't know why I didn't consider it before. Because most of my bags are found in thrift stores or sold second hand online, in many cases, I'm not buying the dream bag I've been looking for but a bag that appeals to me when I see it. Often, I'm making compromises when I buy that bag. It may not be the perfect color or condition but it is the one that is available. For example, my first Balenciaga was found in a thrift store for under $40. I loved the style but I'd prefer a different color. But when would I ever find a Balenciaga that cheap again? It was a cheap way to try out the brand. I think many of the bags in my collection are compromises. I often buy them to try out the brand or style without risking too much money. Then I'm stuck having to sell them when I find a better color, or I keep them because I'll never find the perfect one in my price range and almost is better than nothing.

 

[880]

In the before times, we used to have meetups! Lunch and shopping.

Loved those! Another TPFer reminded me that there used to be Friday meets at H wall st. And a bunch of us would line up early for private day H sample sale. I got my troika bolide, a Paris Bombay, and a 42 briefcase for DH at different sample sale dates. . . At one of them, someone (I didn’t know her) scored a kelly. It was like a legend.

@BowieFan1971, girlfriends can involve a lot of drama sometimes

@whateve, there is a place for that type of placeholder bag! Sometimes you try someth8ng you wouldn’t have normally and it’s fabulous!

 

[BowieFan1971]

One thing dawned on me last night. I don't know why I didn't consider it before. Because most of my bags are found in thrift stores or sold second hand online, in many cases, I'm not buying the dream bag I've been looking for but a bag that appeals to me when I see it. Often, I'm making compromises when I buy that bag. It may not be the perfect color or condition but it is the one that is available. For example, my first Balenciaga was found in a thrift store for under $40. I loved the style but I'd prefer a different color. But when would I ever find a Balenciaga that cheap again? It was a cheap way to try out the brand. I think many of the bags in my collection are compromises. I often buy them to try out the brand or style without risking too much money. Then I'm stuck having to sell them when I find a better color, or I keep them because I'll never find the perfect one in my price range and almost is better than nothing.

+1
I have always had to compromise on something in order to get what I want at the price I can afford/want to pay. Most of the time it works out fine, but there have been times I realized after I received the bag and saw it/used it, that it was too much compromise or the wrong compromise. That’s life. But if you always buy at the right price, it’s not as bad because you can get your money back.