The outfit looks terrific! And the scarf is tied beautifully.
2017 resolution - shopping my own bag and wallet collection. Any one else?
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My last bag purchase was Nov. 23 and already I am restless! But I still haven't gotten my 2 November purchases, so I will not likely shop before I receive them - the first one in 2 weeks time (minimum) and the other early January. But I target at least 3 months ban. I do hope I'll make it. I know there will be sales around Christmas, so I'm hoping for the best!
This past weekend, I was thinking a lot about my bags and bag use behavior. I think I have said this before, but I will say it again, I have realized that there is no forever bags for me! So I know buying really expensive bags may not be cost effective. There are always current bags that I will lust for and that my older bags will not be used as much. Bags from Prada, Gucci, LV, etc after some time will still feel old. But it will be too expensive to buy newer styles again especially that the resale market is not that good here. Maybe I will just stay with the contemporary brands I like like Furla and Massaccessi.
This past weekend, I was thinking a lot about my bags and bag use behavior. I think I have said this before, but I will say it again, I have realized that there is no forever bags for me! So I know buying really expensive bags may not be cost effective. There are always current bags that I will lust for and that my older bags will not be used as much. Bags from Prada, Gucci, LV, etc after some time will still feel old. But it will be too expensive to buy newer styles again especially that the resale market is not that good here. Maybe I will just stay with the contemporary brands I like like Furla and Massaccessi.
Knowing what works best for you is great. I like contemporary brands and premier, but I buy mostly contemporary because premier doesn't always work with my lifestyle.
I’m thinking a lot about my bag use behavior too. I like buying premier because as I think Sparkle said, it makes me feel spoiled. And I’m OK with having a smaller collection in exchange for having those high-end bags. But some of those premiere bags don’t get used as much as I want them to be. They are either too small or have fussy clasps or don’t always fit my super-casual lifestyle. I’ll wear a Kelly with jeans, but I won’t wear it to the animal shelter, IYKWIM.
The only contemporary brand I’ve bought in years is Longchamp. Coach seems to be stepping up their game as well. I just don’t want to buy a bag and then not use it because I wish it was premier. Crazy, right? I love seeing ALL different brands on other ladies, just have a mental block with contemporary when it comes to myself. I should really try to get over this because the most important question I have when shopping is “Will I use this?”
You know what’s best for you so you should stick to that plan!
Thank you! They’ve gone very well thus far, one more substantial one in 4 hours and then the last one on Thursday is really inconsequential, I’m just trying to learn better grammar for the local language so I signed myself up for an advanced grammar course (might as well get full use of all the university departments while I’m a grad student for 12 more months or so!).
my Peacock hobo by BV has been at my side today, such an easy and handy bag!
Beautiful dress!!!!!
Your post is really thought provoking for me.
But, first, why are you planning to go on ban? Is it something your truly want / need to do? I haven't tried to ban (before this last month) because I knew I was still refining my collection. It would have been frustrating to have a ban that got in the way of my curating goals. Now that I'm at the tail end of building and need to think about next steps a ban makes sense. I say all this because I want to encourage you to think about it and do whatever is good for you.
Now on to the second part of your post. You say you'll never have forever bags. For 90% of my collection is say YES! A thousand times YES! I like bags that are on trend. So I'm trying to buy more classics than not to avoid churn. But I know that other than possibly my Chanel and Dior flaps, nothing will be satisfying for me in 10-15 years.
How I plan to solve it is I intend to buy on a rotation. Every year I'll add a couple bags and sell / donate a couple of bags. That will keep my collection fresh.
But, I hear you in that your situation is unique. You don't have a good resale market so you can't recoup funds as easily. Perhaps the idea is simply to set a yearly handbag budget. (Like people do with any hobby like cars, playing blackjack or skiing) Then you can decide in any given year if you want to spend it all on an expensive bag or split it amongst 5 less expensive bags.
My big functionality issue is capacity. I can deal with almost anything except no room for my stuff. Drives me crazy.
I used to be in your situation. My most expensive bags weren't getting used because they were "specialty" bags. When I realized this I got really frustrated; it felt like I had money tied up in museum pieces. So, I sold the specialty bags and the less than exciting daily bags and flip flopped. When I know I need a super functional / high use bag (like the black tote), I've "forced" myself to spend well on it and get exactly what I want. And when I want something trendy or that will get less use, I strangle the budget for it (like the rose gold BV pillow I want. I won't use it much so if I buy it, I want to get it at a steal.) Over time this has meant I get lots of use from my most expensive bags and don't invest much in my specialty bags which makes me feel good about both sets of purchases.
I also decided I didn't want anything but premier even for my carefree bags. But I refuse to spend 4 or even mid / high 3 figures on bag that should be able to be thrown around. My solution for that has been to hunt premier bags at crazy low prices (like my Prada jute tote which is one of my beach totes). And I've been careful to get some of these with no / almost no branding since that is a necessity when volunteering, etc. (like my black Jimmy Choo hobo) This approach has given me the best of both worlds - a premier bag that makes me giggles happy at a price point that allows me to chuck it around if need be.
And, to your last point. It absolutely isn't crazy to only want premier. LOL! You want what you want and (budget allowing) shouldn't buy anything but.
Some people only buy contemporary brands like Massaccesi and Coach. They are choosing to spend more to get those brand's bags vs. functional and cute bags available for 1/10th to 1/2 the price. Are they crazy for only / primarily buying contemporary handbags and refusing to buy $30 real leather bag with sub contemporary or no branding? Nope.
Are people crazy to only buy new and not "save money" on preloved or vice versa?
Are people crazy to eschew variety and have a capsule collection of 3-5 bags? Are others crazy to have 250 bags and not use half?
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, get the bags that make you happy. My only suggestion is to make your everyday functional bags your most expensive ones so you feel good about the spend. And, you can always have a couple of back up non branded premier, contemporary or sub contemporary bags for alternative situations.
Definitely that’s the most important question. And sometimes it’s really hard to know ahead of time.
I got rid of a bag in November. My MIL got my RL double zip satchel. I think I already mentioned that but I still am glad about it. She lives quite rural on a farm and never splurges on anything, despite her husband, the farmer, being the richest person in the county they live in(on paper, it’s all land wealth). She actually doesn’t share finances with him, he doesn’t give her any spending access, because he’s worried that her 4 children from a previous marriage might somehow benefit from HIS money. So she takes a part time job driving chicken eggs to stores from a chicken farm, to get some pocket money. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know why a man would marry a woman with 4 kids if he’s really going to be so wrapped up about his inherited wealth somehow getting diluted by her children, in the next and following generation. Surely there are prenups for that purpose and then you can let it go and share your life together without being stingy?
Anyway, seomtimes she likes to dress a little nicer and go to the nearby city and meet a girlfriend, so a nicer purse is not totally useless for her in her farm life. And I’ve never seen her have anything but 20 dollar or less bags, and not any cute ones at that. This one I gave her is selling at the local department store for over three hundred so at least a bit more glam than a canvas sack.
Just popping in guys! November was a 0 in and 0 our for me but in the very early days of December already, I found my bag that got away!!!! As many of you know, my hg is an lv lockit which I managed to procure very early on when I started this thread series, but the one that got away, I never thought I’d find. I walked away from my approx 10 years ago and it lingered - i found it crept into my mind often, and I would google it, trying to find it so I could just look at t but it was elusive. With incredible luck, I found it in a local fb group recently for a crazy price! And amazing interior (which is super important to me on the occasion I buy preloved - a total of 3 times now, which also happen to be bags I’ve really loved and pined for), without further ado, my new to me red Miu Miu - some of you may recognize the collection since I have 2 other bags from the same line. 
So that’s me being bad and clearly breaking my resolution but after 10 years and the conditions surrounding it, it was something meant to be!
So that’s me being bad and clearly breaking my resolution but after 10 years and the conditions surrounding it, it was something meant to be!
Sold an SLG! Yay! Now just one more to go!
My last 3 bags however aren't moving. I guess I can't get too frustrated. Two of the three really are bottom of the barrel and I refuse to price the third competitively because I can't let it go for that price.
Could the bags not moving be due to people waiting on xmas sales? I’m sure if u stick with it till after the new year, they’ll sell. They’ll sell when u least expect
Your post captures the way i’ve been feeling the past couple of days.
Whilst i was sick in bed i went over my wishlist for next year and also reviewed my current collection on my spreadsheet and for some reason I wasn’t excited about adding any new bags.
In fact i’m actually considering taking a break till about mid-year before acquiring anything new. My bags still have that ‘new bag’ look and feel to them which makes me conclude that i still haven’t used them well.
This will probably be my task for next year; break-in my bags as much as possible and get maximum use from them.
My only potential needs are a black tote and a shoulder bag in navy blue. And i have promised myself to stick to just these two items when i’m ready to make a new purchase.
I am going to be very brutal with my collection as well; anything that i am not reaching for on a regular basis MUST leave my collection before i make a new purchase.
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