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.

 

[jayohwhy]

It’s great to have you in the thread! Congratulations on adding baby#2 to your family! Great 2020 additions and overall collection. Which ones do you carry most frequently?

Thank you! After the baby was born I was living in my palms springs mm but I found myself running out of space and sometimes wanting to just carry something like a woc-- basically it became a hot mess. Now I've been wearing my deauville and using my square mini as a woc for when i'm just running into a place and don't need every single little thing. Pre-Baby 2 I was using my jumbo every day and totally miss it. What style of bag do you carry most frequently?

 

[More bags]

May I join for 2021 year, too?
The 2020 thread has been very helpful and a a great pleasure- thank you everyone!

Please don´t expect an inventory from me. Honestly I don´t have a clue how many bags I own and I do not feel like dragging them all out of their (hiding, hibernating, sheltering...) spaces just to count them. I´m into emotions, not numbers. There are lots of bags I am emotionally attached to and certainly some I don´t care for. (The same goes for clothes and shoes.)

My handbag goals for 2021

• no random purchases (aka buy for buying´s sake, buy because "one has to own this brand", ...)
• only buy what I love
• research, research, research... to make sure the bags I think I´d like actually are what I like plus to gain the knowledge to buy preloved without fear of fakes
• what I don´t care for has to go- preferrably be sold
• use the proceeds to upgrade
• wear my handbags, clothes, shoes without fear of ruining them
• enjoy!

Wonderful goals @cowgirlsboots, my favourites are your last two points,

• wear my handbags, clothes, shoes without fear of ruining them
• enjoy!

 

[More bags]

I made a list and I have 36 bags. Half colors and half neutrals:

18 earth tones:

Black -6

Brown -4

Tan-4

Grey -2

Taupe-2



18 colors:

Navy-4

Blue-2

Teal green - 2

Metallic -3

Yellow - 2

Orange-1

Red - 1

Pink-2

Purple-1

What is your ratio of color to non?

Black and Grey: 6+5=11 => 65%
Red/Burgundy and Blue: 4+2=6 => 35%
Current total: 17 bags

I also tallied that I have 16 satchels, only 5 rigid top handles (however - only two lack a shoulder strap of some sort because hand only carry is hard for me), 7 open totes and 8 shoulder/crossbody bags.

I prefer wearing my bags crossbody, and 2/3 of my bags (24 of 36) bags are able to be worn crossbody, so I think that ratio is fine. My second favorite way to wear a bag is on my shoulder, pressed under my arm against my body, about a 12" strap drop whether it's double handles or a hobo strap. Nearly all(save 2) of my purses can be carried like this. So at least a positive realization is that I'm acquiring the types of bags that are in line with my habits, and I feel like the half and half ratio of color to neutral is what I want.

What about you guys, what's your favorite style of carry?

I like crossbody bags, top handle with a long strap and versatile bags with multiple carry options.

 

[More bags]

You and I liked the same points from @cowgirlsboots’ post!

 

[More bags]

Great goals for 2021!

I like your goals some of your are mine as well!

I love numbers 1,2,3 and 5 is a very good idea!

I’m back in!

2020 was different for me for a lot of reasons. This year I worked from home and I didn’t wear my bags out at all. 4 years ago, I sold off a majority of my handbags and I decided that I wanted a curated wardrobe and a quality handbag wardrobe that suits my real life, and items that I love. I culled many items, bought fewer, nicer and better quality things that I use a lot, and I want to continue that mindset.

2021 Goals/Mindset

• 1 handbag purchase, for 2021 to fill a wardrobe gap.
• Stay within my 6% budget of my annual salary for my 2021 purchases.
• Now that I have purchased a few heavy duty cashmere stoles from Brora, and I have acquired many of my HG scarves from Hermes in 2020, my goal is 1-2 scarves per season total no matter the brand.
• Resume shopping my closet, track the number of wears of clothing and bags in a 30 day period using the style app. This way I get a feel for what is/not being used.
• Continue to be selective, on my bag and clothing purchases/replacements, If it’s not a wow, it’s a no!
• 2 jewelry purchases for 2021. After thoughtful analysis, I plan to add two fine jewelry items that suits my style and these will round out my jewelry wardrobe.
• Not to buying for savings or price, if I don’t buy I’ll save more money @papertiger, you're so right.
• Truly enjoying what I have, and not looking for the next new shiny thing as I tick off an item off my list. I can admire things and not buy them.
• Continue to put perceived wants on a 30 Day Delayed Gratification List @More bags

My goal overall is to have a curated wardrobe that truly suits my lifestyle, and not my fantasy one. @More bags what is 100% acquisition success rate? I’m curious.

Thank you!
Great looking goals @keodi!
I am curious about your planned jewelry purchases!

Re: 100% acquisition success rate, I first heard about it from @Sparkletastic. I apply it, simply by seeing if I kept the purchase or decided I didn’t like it/it didn’t work for me and exited the item. This assesses how well I researched and contemplated an item before purchasing it, the goal is to reduce mistakes and impulse purchases. For example,

2016: purchased 3 bags, sold 2 of the 2016 purchased bags (2018 purge), kept 1 => 33% acquisition success rate
2017: purchased 4 bags, sold zero of the 2017 purchased bags, kept 4 => 100% acquisition success rate
2018: purchased 1 bag, sold zero of 2018 purchases, kept 1 => 100%
2019: purchased 2 bags, sold zero of 2019 purchases, kept 2 => 100%
2020: purchased 0
I had 100% purchase successes in 2017, 2018 and 2019. 2016 was the beginning of some lifestyle changes and I didn’t make super purchase choices that year, part of the learning process.
Also within the purchase year I review my usage of acquisitions and give a qualitative comment: Poor, Fair, Good, Great, Excellent.

 

[More bags]

Thank you! After the baby was born I was living in my palms springs mm but I found myself running out of space and sometimes wanting to just carry something like a woc-- basically it became a hot mess. Now I've been wearing my deauville and using my square mini as a woc for when i'm just running into a place and don't need every single little thing. Pre-Baby 2 I was using my jumbo every day and totally miss it. What style of bag do you carry most frequently?

That’s a great question, my most frequently carried bag styles are:

• Crossbody: H Evelyne 29
• Multiple Carry Options/Flap: Reissue 226 (single strap on the shoulder, crossbody or double strapped)
• Top Handle with a long strap: H Bolide 31 and Coco Handle Small (one size larger than the mini)

 

[whateve]

I believe this will be my third year in this thread.
I did better in 2019 than 2020. My goal at the beginning of 2020 was to curate my collection, filling holes, but ending the year without increasing my number of bags or SLGs. That didn't happen, but some of my new acquisitions were items I was hoping to add to my collection during the year. In 2020, I added 15 bags and got rid of 7. I did poorly with wallets too, adding 7 while only parting with 1. I did fairly well on keychains, of which I have a huge collection. I sold 27 and only brought in 8 new ones. Comparatively, in 2019, 6 bags out, 5 in, 53 SLGs out, 10 SLGs in.

I was also planning on tracking "wears" throughout the year like I did in 2019, and using the results to help me determine what needed editing. We went into lockdown mid March, and since then I've only used a purse for an occasional car ride, not even getting out. It didn't make sense to continue tracking.

I succumbed to online shopping this year more than I should have, buying bags even when I knew I would have no opportunity to use them.

My goal for 2021 is to get vaccinated, then enjoy every purse in my collection. I want to focus on what I own and stop shopping. I want to quit selling too. I don't care if I don't reduce the size of my collection this year. I want to have a pressure-free year. The following year is soon enough to worry about reducing my collection's size.

 

[880]

My goal overall is to have a curated wardrobe that truly suits my lifestyle, and not my fantasy one. @More bags what is 100% acquisition success rate? I’m curious.

I’m in for 2021! @keodi summed it up very well for me. And, I admire @More bags statement too.
I have 25 bags, give or take. Mainly neutral bag colors bc my color and pattern focus is in RTW.
I do have metallic blue; fauve barenia; and, black and white graffiti sprouse as pops of color, but those are the least used bags. I love them though, so I doubt I will purge them.
as I refine the closet, I believe that I will purge more bags than I will buy this year. I’d like to continue to buy mindfully and sustainably which usually means vintage Heritage saddle leather, but I will make exceptions for bags I love and will wear a lot.
for styles, this year i gravitated towards handheld with option for a wide crossbody strap. Previously, I loved bittersweet brown as my non black neutral; but this year, I turned to navy and grey.

I found this article charming confirmation that shopping ones own vintage closet and buying vintage are on trend, especially since it’s something I’ve always done. My mom, who likes new things, does point out that at a certain age, wearing vintage just looks old, but at 53 (gen X) I think I still have lots of time

Being a Gen Zer, I’m Excited About the Resurgence of Y2K Handbags - PurseBlog

Y2K fashion. Originally the name given to a computer glitch which people feared would send the new millennium into chaos, the term Y2K has since been adopted by the fashion world to describe trends of…

www.purseblog.com

 

[Purses & Perfumes]

I'm looking forward to shopping my closet in the year ahead. My goals are still in the process of being refined (and I may add to, and modify them as I go along), but I do know a few things:
Purchase less, be mindful and avoid retail therapy kind of purchases -- I like the 30-day delayed gratification idea of @More bags, and hope this will help me in this area.

I have been playing around in my mind the concept of a "core collection" -- what this means to me is the list of bags in the core colors and leathers and styles that I would use frequently. My core collection would also include a couple of bags that may not be used frequently but are absolute loves. So, my core collection would include the following:
Bags that I use frequently and that are akin to building blocks in my wardrobe.
A couple of bags that I may or may not use as frequently but that I love or make me happy.
Ideally, these are forever bags, since I don't like the hassle of selling.

These are the features I like most of my core collection bags to have:
I like bags that are medium-sized and can easily transition from day time to evening.
A top handle semi-structured or structured bag is my preference. I actually think I may already have all the bags I need in my core collection, so the question now is: Do I even need anything else since all my bag needs are probably already fulfilled?

I do have more bags than those listed in my core collection below. I had goals to downsize and re-shape my collection, but those goals have been on the backburner this year, due to the pandemic. But ultimately, if I had to downsize, these are the bags I would keep in my core collection of bags:
Black medium sized day time bag.
Honey-gold brown bag that goes with a lot in my wardrobe.
Beige day time bag.
Navy blue bag -- I wear a lot of blue.
Pink bag -- I love pink, especially for spring and summer.
Tan brown bag.
Dark purple bag -- don't have anything in this color.
One tote bag.
Evening bags: One black, one beige and one gold/metallic -- obviously not really used much in the current pandemic situation.
Also, obviously, the core collection is more relevant in normal times. During this pandemic, washable non-leather bags have been more relevant, but we all hope that life will go back to normal at some point.
Which brings me to my next goal for the year, which is to use and enjoy my bags and rotate as much as possible.

 

[papertiger]

I’m in for 2021! @keodi summed it up very well for me. And, I admire @More bags statement too.
I have 25 bags, give or take. Mainly neutral bag colors bc my color and pattern focus is in RTW.
I do have metallic blue; fauve barenia; and, black and white graffiti sprouse as pops of color, but those are the least used bags. I love them though, so I doubt I will purge them.
as I refine the closet, I believe that I will purge more bags than I will buy this year. I’d like to continue to buy mindfully and sustainably which usually means vintage Heritage saddle leather, but I will make exceptions for bags I love and will wear a lot.
for styles, this year i gravitated towards handheld with option for a wide crossbody strap. Previously, I loved bittersweet brown as my non black neutral; but this year, I turned to navy and grey.

I found this article charming confirmation that shopping ones own vintage closet and buying vintage are on trend, especially since it’s something I’ve always done. My mom, who likes new things, does point out that at a certain age, wearing vintage just looks old, but at 53 (gen X) I think I still have lots of time

Being a Gen Zer, I’m Excited About the Resurgence of Y2K Handbags - PurseBlog

Y2K fashion. Originally the name given to a computer glitch which people feared would send the new millennium into chaos, the term Y2K has since been adopted by the fashion world to describe trends of…

www.purseblog.com

It's always been on-trend, marketing just pretends it's new to make it more mainstream

 

[papertiger]

Great goals for 2021!

I like your goals some of your are mine as well!

I love numbers 1,2,3 and 5 is a very good idea!

I’m back in!

2020 was different for me for a lot of reasons. This year I worked from home and I didn’t wear my bags out at all. 4 years ago, I sold off a majority of my handbags and I decided that I wanted a curated wardrobe and a quality handbag wardrobe that suits my real life, and items that I love. I culled many items, bought fewer, nicer and better quality things that I use a lot, and I want to continue that mindset.

2021 Goals/Mindset

• 1 handbag purchase, for 2021 to fill a wardrobe gap.
• Stay within my 6% budget of my annual salary for my 2021 purchases.
• Now that I have purchased a few heavy duty cashmere stoles from Brora, and I have acquired many of my HG scarves from Hermes in 2020, my goal is 1-2 scarves per season total no matter the brand.
• Resume shopping my closet, track the number of wears of clothing and bags in a 30 day period using the style app. This way I get a feel for what is/not being used.
• Continue to be selective, on my bag and clothing purchases/replacements, If it’s not a wow, it’s a no!
• 2 jewelry purchases for 2021. After thoughtful analysis, I plan to add two fine jewelry items that suits my style and these will round out my jewelry wardrobe.
• Not to buying for savings or price, if I don’t buy I’ll save more money @papertiger, you're so right.
• Truly enjoying what I have, and not looking for the next new shiny thing as I tick off an item off my list. I can admire things and not buy them.
• Continue to put perceived wants on a 30 Day Delayed Gratification List @More bags

My goal overall is to have a curated wardrobe that truly suits my lifestyle, and not my fantasy one. @More bags what is 100% acquisition success rate? I’m curious.

So well considered

Everyone is so organised and detailed. Perhaps I should take a leaf out others' books.

 

[dcooney4]

I believe this will be my third year in this thread.
I did better in 2019 than 2020. My goal at the beginning of 2020 was to curate my collection, filling holes, but ending the year without increasing my number of bags or SLGs. That didn't happen, but some of my new acquisitions were items I was hoping to add to my collection during the year. In 2020, I added 15 bags and got rid of 7. I did poorly with wallets too, adding 7 while only parting with 1. I did fairly well on keychains, of which I have a huge collection. I sold 27 and only brought in 8 new ones. Comparatively, in 2019, 6 bags out, 5 in, 53 SLGs out, 10 SLGs in.

I was also planning on tracking "wears" throughout the year like I did in 2019, and using the results to help me determine what needed editing. We went into lockdown mid March, and since then I've only used a purse for an occasional car ride, not even getting out. It didn't make sense to continue tracking.

I succumbed to online shopping this year more than I should have, buying bags even when I knew I would have no opportunity to use them.

My goal for 2021 is to get vaccinated, then enjoy every purse in my collection. I want to focus on what I own and stop shopping. I want to quit selling too. I don't care if I don't reduce the size of my collection this year. I want to have a pressure-free year. The following year is soon enough to worry about reducing my collection's size.

I need a pressure free year. I have to many others things going on that cause me stress. That is why I made one of my goals just to enjoy my bags.

 

[Lake Effect]

A wonderful holiday season to all and best wishes for the New Year. After coming to tPF several years ago to get more information on how to deeply condition the handful of 1990's Coach bags I owned, I stumbled onto finding out I could buy bags on line that were like new. Then I learned that deep conditioning and refurbishing could bring some (not all!) beat up full grain leather bags back from the dead and give them a whole new life. I must now have about 4 dozen bags alone.

I've mostly lurked and occasionally posted here . I now work from home 4 days a week and frankly, the last 9 months have been a bit of a daze for me. I have been wanting to pull out all my bags and get a census. So why am I not doing it?? I know, the million dollar question So here are some of my goals:

• find all my bags, slg's and fobs, lol, from closets, boxes, where ever they are and count them up and get them properly stored
  • create a list!
  • research new storage options
• categorize the one's that need refurbishing (hobby/project bags) from the bags that don't
• see what bags need conditioning (full grain leather gets thirsty)
  • consider a to do list or schedule
• come up with a list and order conditioning products; find and book mark the pages where I have seen them used
• learn how to take better photos given my current tablet, phone and lighting
• consider the "bag of week" thread; that helped me cull a few bags/styles pre-Covid
• ask myself when I am browsing listings on line: Am I doing this for a little mindless fun (which is absolutely fine)? Do I need to set a time limit on it (so I can move onto some of the above goals)?
• come back here periodically, possibly monthly, even if I can't keep up with thread, and check in with my goals. And why not, I have never seen judgement here.

I will print this out where I can see it every day I'm not concerned about downsizing yet. Letting go of bags has happened organically already.

If I can do this above this upcoming year, that would be a-may-zing!

 

[dcooney4]

A wonderful holiday season to all and best wishes for the New Year. After coming to tPF several years ago to get more information on how to deeply condition the handful of 1990's Coach bags I owned, I stumbled onto finding out I could buy bags on line that were like new. Then I learned that deep conditioning and refurbishing could bring some (not all!) beat up full grain leather bags back from the dead and give them a whole new life. I must have about 4 dozen bags alone.

I've mostly lurked and occasionally posted here . I now work from home 4 days a week and frankly, the last 9 months have been a bit of a daze for me. I have been wanting to pull out all my bags and get a census. So why am I not doing it?? I know, the million dollar question So here are some of my goals:

• find all my bags, slg's and fobs, lol, from closets, boxes, where ever they are and count them up and get them properly stored
  • create a list!
  • research new storage options
• categorize the one's that need refurbishing (hobby/project bags) from the bags that don't
• see what bags need conditioning (full grain leather gets thirsty)
  • consider a to do list or schedule
• come up with a list and order conditioning products; find and book mark the pages where I have seen them used
• learn how to take better photos given my current tablet, phone and lighting
• consider the "bag of week" thread; that helped me cull a few bags/styles pre-Covid
• ask myself when I am browsing listings on line: Am I doing this for a little mindless fun (which is absolutely fine)? Do I need to set a time limit on it (so I can move onto some of the above goals)?
• come back here periodically, possibly monthly, even if I can't keep up with thread, and check in with my goals. And why not, I have never seen judgement here.

I will print this out where I can see it every day I'm not concerned about downsizing yet. Letting go of bags has happened organically already.

If I can do this above this upcoming year, that would be a-may-zing!

You are always welcome to just jump in this thread at anytime.

 

[Lake Effect]

You are always welcome to just jump in this thread at anytime.

Thanks For some reason, I can feel a little intimidated when it is clear posters have a lot of history together. I know that is silly, because I am welcoming to others on the threads I post on regularly.