2023 Resolution: Shopping my Own Bags and SLG Collection

[Vintage Leather]

A long standing tradition in this thread is to remind ourselves of how wonderful our own collections are by showcasing them. We can see how far we have come, collection wise, and we reminded that we have all (or most of) what we need making it easier to shop our own closets.



• New theme weeks start each Sunday

• Don’t jump ahead but, if you miss a week, please do show your bags “late”.

• Show bags individually or in a group

• You do NOT have to wear the bags that week

• For added fun, show old pictures from previous years to demonstrate how you have curated it over time.

• This is completely voluntary. There is no pressure to post at any time.





So what are the showcases? In the Fall, we group our bags by makers! Feel free to show bags, small leather goods, or however it is easiest to organize!

August 13 - Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta

August 20 - Burberry, Celine

August 27 - Coach, Chanel

September 3 - Chloe, Dior

September 10 - Dooney & Bourke, Fendi

September 17 - Ferragamo, Givenchy

September 24 - Goyard, Gucci

October 1 - Hermes, Kate Spade

October 8 - Loewe, Longchamp

October 15 - Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs

October 22 - Michael Kors, Miu Miu

October 29 - Mulberry, Prada

November 5 - Proenza Schouler, Rebecca Minkoff

November 12 - Saint Laurent, Tods

November 19 - Tory Burch, Valentino

November 26 - Bags by Jewelers: Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany Co, Van Cleef & Arpels. Alternatively, the pillboxes, compacts and other lovelies made by jewelers that fit in your bag.

December 3 - independent artisans and custom bags.

 

[stacy_natalie]

Aww, thank you!
When I was that little girl I didn´t go by cute, though. I was usually referred to as fat.
I always loved my red dolls pram. It was so posh. The fabric looks a bit like damask- quite unusual for 70ies dolls prams. Most of the other girls had very bright coloured plastic patent prams.

Meanwhile I know it is a German design by Streng- I found the baby version...

Love this. My mom actually pushed me around on a similar pram when I was a baby in France (my parents are American but lived there). No child is "fat", you look precious!

You did articulate it very well! And I totally share your opinion. I wear my old furs and exotic bags to honour the animals by loving the skins they sacrificed decades ago by loving the coats and bags and proudly wearing them. Throwing an old fur or bag into the bin feels so wrong to me. You died- killing you for your skin was wrong, but people didn´t know better back then- and now your skin is so worthless that people throw it out in disgust? Never!

I love this. I struggle sometimes bc I have real lamb skin bags, etc and furs (including a vintage sheared lamb with mink collar that was my mother's - treasured bc it's the only thing I have that was her's. Also rabbit, fox, chinchilla) but I also eat steak and lamb so.... unless we're all vegetarians, we shouldn't feel guilty.

Merry Christmas to me! Not the best lighting but couldn’t wait to share my new Pretty!

View attachment 5915016

Happy to see JC featured here. One of my favorite brands but not commonly mentioned in this channel.

 

[Bag peace]

Merry Christmas to me! Not the best lighting but couldn’t wait to share my new Pretty!

Perfect Christmas present! It's gorgeous!
Is it the regular bon bon or the mini?

 

[dcooney4]

Aww, thank you!
When I was that little girl I didn´t go by cute, though. I was usually referred to as fat.
I always loved my red dolls pram. It was so posh. The fabric looks a bit like damask- quite unusual for 70ies dolls prams. Most of the other girls had very bright coloured plastic patent prams.

Meanwhile I know it is a German design by Streng- I found the baby version...

I adore the prams. When I was little, I had one for my dolls. Then when I had my first child, I bought one that had a separate, piece that attached for when he was older. I loved that pram. I loved laying the baby in it and I put a white netting over it to keep people and bugs off my baby. It was built like a tank. I could put multiple groceries bags underneath it. It could go over small snowbanks in winter.

 

[dcooney4]

Merry Christmas to me! Not the best lighting but couldn’t wait to share my new Pretty!

View attachment 5915016

So pretty!

 

[JenJBS]

This is fantastic!

Thank you!

Happy to see JC featured here. One of my favorite brands but not commonly mentioned in this channel.

He does have some fantastic designs!

Perfect Christmas present! It's gorgeous!
Is it the regular bon bon or the mini?

Thank you! Regular, which still barely fits my phone. I don't want to think about how small the mini must be.

So pretty!

Thank you!

 

[dcooney4]

You did articulate it very well! And I totally share your opinion. I wear my old furs and exotic bags to honour the animals by loving the skins they sacrificed decades ago by loving the coats and bags and proudly wearing them. Throwing an old fur or bag into the bin feels so wrong to me. You died- killing you for your skin was wrong, but people didn´t know better back then- and now your skin is so worthless that people throw it out in disgust? Never!
For example: years ago a neighbour came over with a plastic bag, out of which he pulled a fox stole- a really old one with head and feet. He used a stick to do this, because he was disgusted by the stole and asked me whether I wanted it or should he better burn it. I took it happily. The neighbour is around 60. His grandfather killed the fox while hunting and had it made into a stole for the grandmother. The neighbours´son remembers playing with the stole as a little boy.
It was dirty and the tail was very tattered. I ozoned the whole thing, vacuum cleaned it, took the lining off, washed and reattached it and sourced a new tail which I found on ebay, sold by the daughter of a hunter who had passed away. Now my dear "Pjotr" looks very nice! (He got the slavic name, because I already had a fox stole like him that goes by the name of Hugo and came from a Polish trader at a market 30 years ago.)

There might be pics of my exotic bags somewhere in here. I don´t remember taking photos of my furs. I have a few - bought off the floor at markets, off ebay or given to me by family and friends.

Here are a few bags.
View attachment 5915025View attachment 5915030View attachment 5915032View attachment 5915034View attachment 5915035View attachment 5915036

These are so cool. I love the red one .

 

[cowgirlsboots]

I adore the prams. When I was little, I had one for my dolls. Then when I had my first child, I bought one that had a separate, piece that attached for when he was older. I loved that pram. I loved laying the baby in it and I put a white netting over it to keep people and bugs off my baby. It was built like a tank. I could put multiple groceries bags underneath it. It could go over small snowbanks in winter.

If you like prams, you might enjoy looking at my pram collection website.
prachtstueckwerk.weebly.com
Sorry, it's all in German and I have not worked on it for ages, but there are lots of photos.

 

[whateve]

My most carried bag this year is a bag I bought this year, Balenciaga mini pompon in ultraviolet. I have another in the same style in mineral blue I didn't carry at all this year! No excuse because I still like it. The color is more neutral, kind of like a denim, so you would think I would have reached for it more. One of the reasons the ultraviolet was carried so much is that I used it as my only bag when I went on vacation. This last month or two most of my bags have been packed up for remodeling so I've been carrying the few I can find easily (this is one of them). This isn't my favorite bag but it is one of my favorites. It isn't perfect because the front pocket is too small for my phone.

 

[dcooney4]

If you like prams, you might enjoy looking at my pram collection website.
prachtstueckwerk.weebly.com
Sorry, it's all in German and I have not worked on it for ages, but there are lots of photos.

I will have to take a look right after the holidays. I love Prams. I can read German just very slowly. lol

 

[JenJBS]

My most carried bag this year is a bag I bought this year, Balenciaga mini pompon in ultraviolet. I have another in the same style in mineral blue I didn't carry at all this year! No excuse because I still like it. The color is more neutral, kind of like a denim, so you would think I would have reached for it more. One of the reasons the ultraviolet was carried so much is that I used it as my only bag when I went on vacation. This last month or two most of my bags have been packed up for remodeling so I've been carrying the few I can find easily (this is one of them). This isn't my favorite bag but it is one of my favorites. It isn't perfect because the front pocket is too small for my phone.

Such a beautiful color!

 

[Katinahat]

Dearest Kat! So good to see you back.
I'm so incredibly proud of you for reporting. It's incredibly difficult but absolutely the right thing to do. It may be the one thing that brings you peace, once and for all.
You've been so brave in sharing your experience on here and with your family. You deserve to be free of this burden and I hope with all my heart that this is one step closer to that freedom.
I'm so proud of you. You're a superwoman.
Be well and hopefully we'll see more of you around here in the new year.


I believe you should. We often outgrow things that we thought would be forever. Life happens, circumstances change. If there are things you're not using and genuinely won't miss, let them go.
Your story isn't tied to the physical object. You'll always remember your first Mulbs, even if it's not sitting on the shelf. There are others that bring you joy now and you can focus on those. Life should be filled with the things that make you instantly smile.

I've had to let go of some of my bespoke creations- some wore out entirely, one I sold recently. I reminded myself that the memory of acquiring the bag from those artisans will always be with me. I had them, loved them, and released them. It's okay to do that and decluttering can give you room to breathe.

Put them away for a bit and, if you don't miss them, let them go and bring joy to others. If you do miss them, then you know you're not ready yet and can bring them back into your rotation and fall in love with them all over again. Win-win.

I was just thinking about you yesterday. I was thinking of selling some of my Mulberry items that I am not using, and it made me think of you. Glad to hear you are dealing with the past. I hope to see you here more often. You were missed. I am having the same problem trying to decide if my small Bayswater and my Darley that has never been used should go. I am not going to rush it.

So great to see you here! I’ve been wondering how you’re doing and appreciate the update. You are so brave and strong, and I admire all that you are doing to address things with the authorities. I wish you all the best and hope that you find peace.

On whether to keep, or sell, your bags, perhaps hang onto those you think you might miss, especially your beloved Mulberry, a little while longer? Given the year you’ve had, perhaps it’s too soon to make such a huge decision? Agree with @jblended that removing the bags on the potential cutting block from your wardrobe, but not out of your life, would be a great way to test the waters; you can always bring them back in if you decide you miss them. While I don’t think it’s been active recently, @diane278 started a thread some time ago where she talked about her closet for departing bags. It’s a good read, annd others chimed in about how they determined what to keep, or cull, from their collections. Maybe that will give you some inspiration?

@Katinahat , I cannot say it better than @jblended and others have. Concentrate on your health and wellbeing, and you will know when it’s the right time to let go of things That you once loved. Glad to see you here again! Hugs

So good to hear from you, and glad that you are doing well. You have been missed.
Regarding the bags, I agree with others to set aside the ones you are unsure about for a little bit, and see how you feel in a month or two. When it comes to letting go of bags, you may want to ask yourself how easy it will be to replace it if you miss it down the road. There are ebbs and flows in our lives and although you have not used them for a while, that may change in the future. Ultimately, trust your inner voice and do whatever feels right to you. Hugs!

It´s so nice to see you back!

Hi Kat i hope the new year brings healing and love into your life. You sound incredibly brave and strong

I echo what the others said about waiting to be sure about which bags to let go of. Try carrying them all to see if any spark that joy, and if not, as others suggested, sometimes as we change and grow, we outgrow our bags. And it can be fun to let go of old ones and replace with new and different bags.

Love what u said about how we often outgrow things we thought would be forever……it’s so true. Letting go of things that no longer work for us can bring such peace and satisfaction too. Especually if they move on to folks who will enjoy them.

I might be the odd one out here but i adore exotics and own many different kinds, all are older Bottega…Old Bottega exotics are incredible quality and i have not really had issues, aside from slight peeling of snakeskin scales….i’ve never gotten strange looks using my ostrich, maybe its where i live? A friend refers to them as my chicken pox bags tho

Wow this looks really good! Will they honor the repair if future issues arise in that same area?

Thank you all for your lovely welcome and kind thoughts. This always was such a supportive place to be. Your advice is very good. They bags are in a cupboard but I can see them when I open the doors. I’ll pop them in their dust bags and put them away for a while, then decide.

I won’t be back yet properly. For my health, I have to focus on living very much in my reality not escaping from it. There are steps still to take that could be difficult but progress is being made.

I wish you all festive joy and an amazing 2024 when it comes. Be healthy and happy.

 

[Bag peace]

Happy to Christmas to all those who celebrate!

 

[SakuraSakura]

Thank you everyone! The store opens within the next two weeks. I'm looking forward to creating a healthy, collaborative work environment. I have to say I'm pretty excited.

I bought myself a Coach bag as a reward. It's the Coachtopia Ergo in Mini Checkerboard Upcrafted Leather. I ensured that I purchased the upcrafted leather instead of the bonded stuff. While I'm not thrilled that the lining is Coachtopia leather, I have accepted it. I've been eyeing this piece up for quite sometime. It is supposed to arrive within the next few days. I can't wait.

Nearly a month later and I have an update ... I quit! Happy Holidays everybody.

 

[More bags]

Best wishes for a smooth recovery from Covid @jblended @lill_canele, for anyone suffering illness, and a healthy 2024 to @Katinahat and everyone.

Merry Christma to those who celebrate, and all the best in 2024 to you and your families.

 

[dcooney4]

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and a wonderful day to everyone.