2019 resolution - shopping my own bag and wallet collection. Any one else?

[ElainePG]

wow, you've progressed this far! 27 pages and yet it's still 2018!!
Hope, all had a great Christmas day, those who don't celebrate just had fun and @ElainePG happy belated BDay wishes, i was thinking of you on 25th, but was not online to post
we had fun, although we are orthodox and our xmas will be in Jan (Orthodox church runs on old calendar and is 3 weeks behind) we had our catholic friends popped over and i always cook something special and a turkey, plus kids start getting pressies, so it was a great fun and we are full of spirit and anticipating the NY and another round of xmas
i found a bag in our local secondary market that is a sort of a grail for all Bal fans, and it was it great (almost new) condition and we agreed on the price with the Seller, plus 5 more bags sold in the consignment, so things are great
i scrolled thru all what i missed and hit the 'like' buttons, but i must say those pics of old Coach bags are the leather is TDF!! i don't have any Coach, but some look really gorgeous!

Glad you had a great day on the 25th, celebrating with your friends. Thank you for the birthday wishes.

What an interesting Bal bag! I'm really not very familiar with Bal bags, even though I have three of them. Which one is this? Congrats on finding a grail in such good condition.

 

[Sparkletastic]

THANK YOU to everyone for all the input on my bag dilemmas / questions. You’ve really helped me think things through. Right now (and I reserve the right to change my mind LOL!) I’m landing here:

Ivory Chanel Flap - I don’t love the bag. But it’s rare and a classic. It’s very possible my taste will change on this one. I don’t need the money from the bag. So this will be my one “museum piece” for a little while longer. I may end up gifting it to DD after she finishes grad school (she hasn’t started yet but based on her timeline that would give me 4 ish years to figure out how I feel about the bag.)

Polene Numero Six - I do love the look of the bag. It’s fun and feminine but not girly. To clarify, my phone will fit but at a diagonal which means the already tiny bit of interior room will be greatly reduced. And as @ElainePG said the opening is a bit “fiddly.” This would be a novelty bag in my collection hence the colors I’m looking at as they’re colors I don’t typically buy but love. So I maaaaaay be willing to deal with those issues. But, the bag isn’t going anywhere so I’m going to hold on this for 30 - 60 days. During that time I’m going to use all of my smallest bags to see how I feel about compromising on space.

And, a couple of you said you would be interested in a Boy with a top handle. Chanel has released several models with that. A top handle black Boy w/rhw or shw is actually what I’ve been considering adding to my collection to replace the black patent classic flap I sold. Here are just two examples I pulled randomly from Google.

 

[eleanors36]

A lot of my bags have been from doing my homework. There are been many bags I've stalked for ages, waiting for the perfect deal. Most of my vintage bags are in this category. Sometimes I got too impatient and paid more than I should. My Coach Bleecker large flaps were like this. My preferred color was wine but when a rust one appeared on ebay, I bought it. Then a month later a wine one appeared for half the price, so I got that one too. Now I can't say that I like one more than the other. I probably said I wanted a Ranch bag for over a year before I found one listed at a bargain price. I also searched for my red shoulder sac for a long time after trying out a black one and realizing I liked the style.

Other bags I have are happy accidents. I stumbled across them and they turned out to be just what I wanted.

Your Bleeker flap bags are so beautiful!

 

[ksuromax]

Glad you had a great day on the 25th, celebrating with your friends. Thank you for the birthday wishes.

What an interesting Bal bag! I'm really not very familiar with Bal bags, even though I have three of them. Which one is this? Congrats on finding a grail in such good condition.

it's a Day, i have 6 more in various colours, this style works really well for me, and i am happy to be able to add this one to my collection!

 

[ElainePG]

Now here’s the dilemma. As @vink said, if I sell it, I’ll likely never find it again. It’s fairly rare on the resale market because it has the bijoux chain which was only manufactured one year (Chanel has had other styles of bijoux chains) So, I’m scared 5 years from now I’ll be kicking myself when CF’s and larger bags come back in style. This may be the exception to my rule. It may need to be a museum piece in my collection that doesn’t get worn. What do you ladies think? Help!

If you have space for it, and you aren't craving a different designer's ivory bag, I'd tuck it away and see if you fall back in love with it in a year or two (or five). Since you've pared down your collection from 150 to 25, I'd bet you have space for one museum piece!

On the other hand, if (now or in the future) you discover that you need an ivory bag to wear with specific outfits, and you fall in love with one from a different designer, that would be the time to sell. You'd probably get a good price, since they are so scarce on the resale market.

 

[eleanors36]

I never understood the practice of selling bags to purchase bags. You are always going to be selling those bags at a loss, and you'll have to likely sell 3 or 4 to get enough to buy one new one. That doesn't make sense to me. Eventually, you'll run out of bags to sell and won't have enough money to get the new one.

Very true!!

 

[ElainePG]

I think it’s fine to have a couple of “museum” bags, as long as you don’t need the money that would come from selling them. BUT, I also know when something isn’t getting used, I tend to get antsy about it (my red Kelly is the exception). I think you should keep your eyes open for a bag in that color by one of the other designers you listed, and see how you feel about it once you find that bag. If it’s total love, then buy the new bag and sell the Chanel. I think this is a case where you may need to find the perfect replacement bag before you’ll feel comfortable selling the original.

I'm looking forward to seeing your photo of Miss Kelly if we do our "color challenge" again this year!

 

[ElainePG]

it's a Day, i have 6 more in various colours, this style works really well for me, and i am happy to be able to add this one to my collection!

Is this a discontinued style, like the Town? I really love my one and only Town bag, and wish I had purchased a second one in navy with silver hardware back when they were fairly available on the secondary market.

 

[ksuromax]

Is this a discontinued style, like the Town? I really love my one and only Town bag, and wish I had purchased a second one in navy with silver hardware back when they were fairly available on the secondary market.

Yes, it sadly is, but secondary market still has plenty to offer
Town was made for shorter period of time, hence, they are fewer and not as common as Day, or City, but still it's possible to track one down, just keep checking the evil bay

 

[ghoulish]

Is this a discontinued style, like the Town? I really love my one and only Town bag, and wish I had purchased a second one in navy with silver hardware back when they were fairly available on the secondary market.

I agree! My Town bag is my favorite bag in my collection. That sounds like a lovely color combo.

 

[whateve]

Your Bleeker flap bags are so beautiful!

Thank you! The Bleecker bags from 2007-2008 are my favorite Coach besides vintage. I know everyone loves 2006 Legacy but I prefer Bleecker. There were some gorgeous styles besides my flaps.

it's a Day, i have 6 more in various colours, this style works really well for me, and i am happy to be able to add this one to my collection!

I worry that a Day would look too big on me but I guess it isn't any bigger than baseball Cervo hobo. I'm sure I'd like carrying it because it is just a longer version of the club, that I love.

 

[ksuromax]

Thank you! The Bleecker bags from 2007-2008 are my favorite Coach besides vintage. I know everyone loves 2006 Legacy but I prefer Bleecker. There were some gorgeous styles besides my flaps.

I worry that a Day would look too big on me but I guess it isn't any bigger than baseball Cervo hobo. I'm sure I'd like carrying it because it is just a longer version of the club, that I love.

it cannot look too big (if not stuffed up to the brim) coz it's very smooshy, and folds in and looks very compact on the shoulder.
in BV Ref library i posted cross brand comparison with lots of pics, check them out and let me know if you need any other particular ones, i'll take them for you

 

[whateve]

it cannot look too big (if not stuffed up to the brim) coz it's very smooshy, and folds in and looks very compact on the shoulder.
in BV Ref library i posted cross brand comparison with lots of pics, check them out and let me know if you need any other particular ones, i'll take them for you

Thanks! Going to look now.

 

[Annabel Lee]

@Annabel Lee
Your Tod and Coco Boy look very stuning in unusual shapes/patterns. Thanks for sharing!

I love your Coco Boy — very classic and yet unique!

And I agree — if Chanel made a Boy with a handle, I’d be very intrigued.

Thank you both!

THANK YOU to everyone for all the input on my bag dilemmas / questions. You’ve really helped me think things through. Right now (and I reserve the right to change my mind LOL!) I’m landing here:

Ivory Chanel Flap - I don’t love the bag. But it’s rare and a classic. It’s very possible my taste will change on this one. I don’t need the money from the bag. So this will be my one “museum piece” for a little while longer. I may end up gifting it to DD after she finishes grad school (she hasn’t started yet but based on her timeline that would give me 4 ish years to figure out how I feel about the bag.)

Polene Numero Six - I do love the look of the bag. It’s fun and feminine but not girly. To clarify, my phone will fit but at a diagonal which means the already tiny bit of interior room will be greatly reduced. And as @ElainePG said the opening is a bit “fiddly.” This would be a novelty bag in my collection hence the colors I’m looking at as they’re colors I don’t typically buy but love. So I maaaaaay be willing to deal with those issues. But, the bag isn’t going anywhere so I’m going to hold on this for 30 - 60 days. During that time I’m going to use all of my smallest bags to see how I feel about compromising on space.

And, a couple of you said you would be interested in a Boy with a top handle. Chanel has released several models with that. A top handle black Boy w/rhw or shw is actually what I’ve been considering adding to my collection to replace the black patent classic flap I sold. Here are just two examples I pulled randomly from Google. View attachment 4289796View attachment 4289797

Glad you came to a decision you're comfortable with on both bags

And WOW, those Chanels That second one is particular is TDF.

 

[Miss_Dawn]

This is a fabulous story! It cracked me up.

Reminds me of when you break up with a boy in high school, because he's just plain boring... and then a month later you see him with a really attractive girl, and suddenly you wonder why you ever dumped him, because he looks simply fascinating!

I know, right? I feel so susceptible to influence!!

Sure! The things I mainly buy from Amazon are hyaluronic acid serum, maracuja oil, and natural deodorant. The hyaluronic acid serum is made of just water, sodium hyaluronate (which is the kind that binds water best to your face), and the preservative which is also a natural ingredient.

The maracuja oil is the fraction of the price of the Tarte's, and is pure while Tarte is diluted with vitamin e oil (tocopherol), which isn't necessarily a bad ingredient but why are you paying so much for such a common ingredient when you can have the pure version for much less?

The way I do my skincare I wash with Purpose cleanser (which I'd like to replace with something slightly less drying. It's good and recommended for pregnant women, but I'd like to go even more natural one day). Then I spray my face with water and apply the hyaluronic acid serum. Then I use the Muji high moisturizing toning water (which is less natural, but doesn't have any irritating or toxic ingredients according to cosdna) as an extra boost of hydration which really helps out my dehydrated skin (there's a real difference between dehydrated and dry skin!) I seal the moisture in with a couple drops of maracuja oil (2 in the summer, 3 in the winter) and that's it! If it's really dry, I put a bit of Burt's Bees sensitive skin moisturizer on the corners of my mouth and nose.

Twice a week, I use a Caudalie toner overnight to help with my occasional acne breakouts and use their moisturizing mask to keep my skin moisturized with the toner. Using the Caudalie AHA toner is enough exfoliation - physical exfoliation is too harsh, as well as using this toner or stronger concentrations of acids.

It's not perfect, but it gets better and better! Hope this book I wrote helps LOL!

It sounds like you know exactly what works for you

As some of you may know, I’m on vacation. Today was a shopping day! I’m proud to say I didn’t get any bag! Well this outlet doesn’t house the big brands actually. But there’s Saks Off Fifth where my sister and I bough the same Tory burch shoes, except for the size! Twinning! Btw, the scarf at Coach was tempting at 70%off, but I held off! Besides, I forgot to put my cards/cash in the travel wallet. I think it was a blessing in disguise since, otherwise, I would have bought more!

Marvellous restraint @msd_bags. Well done