Collection at the Tipping Point

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#16
I was like you and only owned one bag at a time up until 2014 when I bought a pristine preloved LV Josephine PM that was a steal ($450). Two days later, I bought a pristine preloved caviar Chanel hobo with tassel that was also a steal ($700). Over the next year, I bought three vintage Coach bags ... the most expensive being about $250 cos it too was pristine, from their Italian Sonoma line and in a hard-to-find color (tomato red). After that, I just knew I was done. I also had the Coach Kristin I'd been using prior to all this, so six was a good round number for me. I just knew it was time to stop. Total spent? $1,600.

Now I have enough different colors to switch out regularly to match outfits or depending on season, and all are timeless styles (at least to me). I don't get overwhelmed and I never lose track of what I have. Since they are rotated frequently, all stay in great shape. It's just easy and stress free.
 
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#17
Summerfriend said:
"Time to get my bag game in order" is EXACTLY the head space I've been in. I started out with a whole vision for what I wanted in a collection, and, well, when the vision is in place, it's hard not to just go for it (especially when good-condition discontinued items become available). The slope is so slippery though! I hope the plotting-hunting-thinking-about-bags stage is easy to leave behind once I'm DONE.
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It was for me. Since I bought that Sonoma bag a year ago, I've had absolutely NO desire to buy any more. I don't even look at handbags now.
 
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#18
GeorgiaGirl67 said:
I was like you and only owned one bag at a time up until 2014 when I bought a pristine preloved LV Josephine PM that was a steal ($450). Two days later, I bought a pristine preloved caviar Chanel hobo with tassel that was also a steal ($700). Over the next year, I bought three vintage Coach bags ... the most expensive being about $250 cos it too was pristine, from their Italian Sonoma line and in a hard-to-find color (tomato red). After that, I just knew I was done. I also had the Coach Kristin I'd been using prior to all this, so six was a good round number for me. I just knew it was time to stop. Total spent? $1,600.

Now I have enough different colors to switch out regularly to match outfits or depending on season, and all are timeless styles (at least to me). I don't get overwhelmed and I never lose track of what I have. Since they are rotated frequently, all stay in great shape. It's just easy and stress free.
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This is awesome! I'm so glad to hear that a handbag-buying PHASE can be just that - a phase. Thank you for sharing! You're exactly where I'm hoping to stay.
 
#21
ladysarah said:
That sounds like a good, solid collection. I think that I need a few different bags tipi suit different occasions, but not so many as to drive me insane. It's definitely a fine balance. Just checking and I think I use 3-4 different bags every season.
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Thank you! I clicked on your link and I've been reading your post on "Real Fashion vs. Fast Fashion." It articulates so many principles that I think are relevant to my current bag thinking! Wonderful blog!
 
#22
I'm thinking about the same thing, Summerfriend. My resolution is to not buy beyond my allotted space in my closet. I have one shelf for handbags. If I want something that doesn't fit on that shelf, some other piece is going to have to go. So my mental process will be, "Is this potential purchase going to be better than X piece I already have that I'll have to sell to make room?"
 
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#24
When DH and I were looking for a house several years ago, we toured one that we could afford but had much more space than we needed, and instead we eventually chose a smaller house better suited for our needs. Yet I couldn't shake the remorse of not buying the House That Got Away. A friend of mine asked, "Why did that gigantic house so appeal to you?" After thinking about it, I said it was symbolic of how hard DH and I had worked on our educations and our careers to be able to afford a status house like that -- its walk-in closets were bigger than my bedroom in the house I grew up in. She replied, "Well can't you know that, can't you feel the satisfaction of that symbolism, without having to actually buy the house?" Her words hit me like a thunderbolt. Yes. It was the satisfaction of what it stood for in my life that mattered, not the purchase itself.

In the ensuing years, I've tried to apply this principle to other luxury purchases such as handbags. I can just hear my friend's voice in my ear: "You can look at that bag and know it is beautiful, and know you have enough money to buy it. You can have the satisfaction of that knowledge and all it symbolizes without having to actually buy that bag."

I don't know if this would resonate with anyone else -- we all have complicated reasons for being interested in handbags -- but it has definitely helped me.
 
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#25
Claudia Herzog said:
When DH and I were looking for a house several years ago, we toured one that we could afford but had much more space than we needed, and instead we eventually chose a smaller house better suited for our needs. Yet I couldn't shake the remorse of not buying the House That Got Away. A friend of mine asked, "Why did that gigantic house so appeal to you?" After thinking about it, I said it was symbolic of how hard DH and I had worked on our educations and our careers to be able to afford a status house like that -- its walk-in closets were bigger than my bedroom in the house I grew up in. She replied, "Well can't you know that, can't you feel the satisfaction of that symbolism, without having to actually buy the house?" Her words hit me like a thunderbolt. Yes. It was the satisfaction of what it stood for in my life that mattered, not the purchase itself.

In the ensuing years, I've tried to apply this principle to other luxury purchases such as handbags. I can just hear my friend's voice in my ear: "You can look at that bag and know it is beautiful, and know you have enough money to buy it. You can have the satisfaction of that knowledge and all it symbolizes without having to actually buy that bag."

I don't know if this would resonate with anyone else -- we all have complicated reasons for being interested in handbags -- but it has definitely helped me.
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I love this post! :heart::heart::heart:
 
#26
It seems to me that you have wisely and thoughtfully established a wonderful capsule collection of bags. Given how careful you have been so far about making a plan and sticking with it, I'm confident you won't be driven into a "buying frenzy" in the future. :panic:


Enjoy your beautiful new bag collection! :smile:
 
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#28
You guys, remember when I was at the tipping point?

I think I've just gone past it. For the first time, I feel like I have too many bags. :shocked:

I've pretty much filled every "niche" in my bag life, and now, when I contemplate a new bag, I feel like adding one will displace another and I'll end up with bags just sitting around not being used. Mayday!

I was being totally cool about it all, until I started looking for the perfect carry-on/travel bag, which led me to: a Balenciaga Day, a vintage LV Saumur 35, and now 4 Longchamps (and I still want 2 more). Mind you - I don't really travel that much. So searching for the perfect bag to take through airports, along cobblestoned streets, through museums, and on the Paris Metro is really, really reasonable and practical of me. :shocked:

*waves from down the rabbit hole*
 
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#29
Hey, who's this in my rabbit hole? I feel you--I am at the point where I think I have too many bags and yet I still don't have all the styles/colors I think I need. In general, I like my collection, and I use all of my bags, but I am already out of shelf space, and it's time to start figuring out what I would really use all the time, whether I already own it or still need to buy it.
 
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#30
Annabel Lee said:
Hey, who's this in my rabbit hole? I feel you--I am at the point where I think I have too many bags and yet I still don't have all the styles/colors I think I need. In general, I like my collection, and I use all of my bags, but I am already out of shelf space, and it's time to start figuring out what I would really use all the time, whether I already own it or still need to buy it.
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I know; how is this possible? How can I SIMULTANEOUSLY feel like a) I have too many and am starting to duplicate, but b) there are still things that are "missing?" Ridiculous. :panic:
 
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