Do you baby your bags?

[Tinagirl11]

I am very careful the first few weeks I carry my bag but afterwards, not so much. I am not reckless with my bags though - I don't carry them in the pouring rain but when it's lightly drizzling I wouldn't think twice about bringing my epsom Birkin with me. I am not afraid of placing my bag on the ground but cover my bag with my jacket or shrug if I'm at a restaurant with sizzling plates. I remove the stickers right after purchase, keeping them on is one of my pet peeves. I also make sure I put anything that could spill or is sticky in a pouch or ziplock bag before I dump them inside. I use twillies because I'm a mild germophobe, I like the option of washing the twillies every once in a while to keep handles hygienic. I don't use any interior protectors or bag organizers but I'm guilty of overstuffing my bags every now and again.

 

[Demi8]

Unless carrying one those ugly, orange Home Depot nylon shopping bags, my instinct is to baby nearly everything I own. Heck, I even take care of those by folding them meticulously, and sliding them into a small Ziploc. In public, I even dab spots on my Nike's. I have Felix Unger (the Odd Couple), syndrome. It's a habit I'm trying to break myself out of, as I'd like to be more of a carefree individual, similar to a well-dressed Frenchwoman that tosses vicuña sweaters onto her soggy bathroom floor.

So I'm sort of forcing myself to rest my Birkin on the dirty floor of our car, and to allow her to rest comfortably inside of filthy shopping carts. *sigh* I've vowed to allow the scratches, greasy handles, corner wear (gasp), and whatever else might come. I did purchase Ardennes leather, for goodness sake, as I wanted a workhorse bag. But I need to relax.

With that said, I will purchase another Birkin, one that I will pamper a bit more than my current girl.

 

[QuelleFromage]

I will say, one thing I will not do is let my bag be more comfortable than I am. So if I'm eating at a place that has barstools and no purse hangers, yes, the bag goes on the floor (gasp shock). I'm not holding a bag in my lap for a meal. Nor am I asking a maitre'd to get the bag a chair. I love when there's a little purse stool and all, but it is a bag. And floors, while not nice, are actually much cleaner than surfaces that are touched a lot by human hands, like doorknobs and subway handles.

I carry non-box, non-exotic bags in rain (of course in a total downpour I try to avoid it) and they are still pristine. Cows do get rained on!

I guess I view my bags the same way as the other expensive things that I truly value.....it's not about the owning, it's about the experience. I drive a fast, pricey sports car and I wouldn't keep it garaged - that would miss the point.

 

[Hermezzy]

I will say, one thing I will not do is let my bag be more comfortable than I am. So if I'm eating at a place that has barstools and no purse hangers, yes, the bag goes on the floor (gasp shock). I'm not holding a bag in my lap for a meal. Nor am I asking a maitre'd to get the bag a chair. I love when there's a little purse stool and all, but it is a bag. And floors, while not nice, are actually much cleaner than surfaces that are touched a lot by human hands, like doorknobs and subway handles.

I carry non-box, non-exotic bags in rain (of course in a total downpour I try to avoid it) and they are still pristine. Cows do get rained on!

I guess I view my bags the same way as the other expensive things that I truly value.....it's not about the owning, it's about the experience. I drive a fast, pricey sports car and I wouldn't keep it garaged - that would miss the point.

I so completely agree with this, Quelle! A stradivarius does nothing for the world behind glass in a museum. H may be beautiful but the reason I love it so much is because it is also tough, resilient, and is made to last. I have plenty of excellent bag spa products that I got from docride; touching up my bags with them is more a joy than a chore.

 

[PurseOnFleek]

That's no turtle: That's the craftsman who is working on our special orders.

Lmao!!!

 

[Bunbun3821]

I baby my bags....never go on the floor...she goes with me wherever I go...idc if I'm weird. Sits on the couch with me when Mr and hubby watching a movie

 

[luxi_max]

.

 

[Mindi B]

I will say, one thing I will not do is let my bag be more comfortable than I am. So if I'm eating at a place that has barstools and no purse hangers, yes, the bag goes on the floor (gasp shock). I'm not holding a bag in my lap for a meal. Nor am I asking a maitre'd to get the bag a chair. I love when there's a little purse stool and all, but it is a bag. And floors, while not nice, are actually much cleaner than surfaces that are touched a lot by human hands, like doorknobs and subway handles.
I carry non-box, non-exotic bags in rain (of course in a total downpour I try to avoid it) and they are still pristine. Cows do get rained on!
I guess I view my bags the same way as the other expensive things that I truly value.....it's not about the owning, it's about the experience. I drive a fast, pricey sports car and I wouldn't keep it garaged - that would miss the point.

Great post, QF. If I could like it five times, I would.
ETA: A key point for me is that no other person should ever be made to feel uneasy about or due to any "thing" of mine. In a "people versus stuff" showdown, people win every time. Like a previous poster, I was raised by a parent who fetishized pristine objects: if, as a child, I bumped against a piece of furniture, it was the furniture that received his concern and attention, while I was berated for being careless. It is hard to overstate how harmful to a child's psyche this is. And since stuff is inevitably subject to wear and tear, regardless of how careful one is, this attitude also tends to bring misery to those who hold it. So extreme "babying" and fussing over every tiny "flaw" on an item is a bete noire to me.

 

[ehy12]

Lmao!!!

LOL[emoji204]

 

[QuelleFromage]

Great post, QF. If I could like it five times, I would.
ETA: A key point for me is that no other person should ever be made to feel uneasy about or due to any "thing" of mine. In a "people versus stuff" showdown, people win every time. Like a previous poster, I was raised by a parent who fetishized pristine objects: if, as a child, I bumped against a piece of furniture, it was the furniture that received his concern and attention, while I was berated for being careless. It is hard to overstate how harmful to a child's psyche this is. And since stuff is inevitably subject to wear and tear, regardless of how careful one is, this attitude also tends to bring misery to those who hold it. So extreme "babying" and fussing over every tiny "flaw" on an item is a bete noire to me.

YES! This. I know exactly what you mean. In real life, kids, babies, and dogs make messes (so do adults). I don't want to be upset at a living thing because an inanimate object got bumped or bruised. I too had to shed the aftereffects of a family that did not think this way.
When my admittedly expensive-object-collecting husband starting living with me and my very bad puppy, the puppy promptly ate an entire stereo cable. (DH uses a stereo cable that costs as much as a Kelly.) DH took a deep breath and bought into the fact that nothing was more important than the messy, imperfect souls around him. This is why he's a keeper. (And yes, Very Bad Puppy did chew on an H bag once. My fault for leaving a Larabar inside )

 

[ladysarah]

This is such a hilarious thread - love everyone's comments. I generally try to hide my madness and pretend I am normal by carrying my bags in a non chalant way. My LSH ( long suffering husband) demands that I do so. To the more experienced observer though my bag obsession is revealed in the detail...I never handle my bags if i put hand cream on, an obvious reluctance to place on floor, avoiding aggressive or overfrendly dogs in park, small children etc etc.

 

[golconda]

NOT afraid of germs. What I want is immunity.
I am a retired dentist, so old that I practiced in the days before dentists wore gloves, can you imagine? I was first in my group practice to wear them and all laughed at me. There were no cheap gloves then and the only ones available were surgical gloves, which were $1 a pair at the time.
That said,I am not afraid of catching a disease from my Birkin, no matter where it has been.

 

[Keren16]

I baby my bags to an absurd extent. It's just plain stupid! I buy them & plan to wear, then they sit in my closet in their bag, in the box. It would appear I only own a few.
When I take a special one out to wear, something happens to it by accident. I am very careful.
I have to get over this habit but it is not easy. I've been this way a major part of my life
My philosophy is the more you wear a bag ((or jewelry, or other things) the more it becomes part of you. So why can't I follow those thoughts [emoji189] [emoji189][emoji189]???

 

[leuleu]

YES! This. I know exactly what you mean. In real life, kids, babies, and dogs make messes (so do adults). I don't want to be upset at a living thing because an inanimate object got bumped or bruised. I too had to shed the aftereffects of a family that did not think this way.
When my admittedly expensive-object-collecting husband starting living with me and my very bad puppy, the puppy promptly ate an entire stereo cable. (DH uses a stereo cable that costs as much as a Kelly.) DH took a deep breath and bought into the fact that nothing was more important than the messy, imperfect souls around him. This is why he's a keeper. (And yes, Very Bad Puppy did chew on an H bag once. My fault for leaving a Larabar inside )

Looked at Larabar : seems to be delicious. Only in USA ?

 

[Israeli_Flava]

I looked through this thread and never once did I read that PEOPLE are less important than the H bags we own..... scratching my head.... terrible to even think anyone would think that way.

After reading this thread, I realize that I probably don't baby my bags any more than most of us. I just really enjoy them and enoy "dressing them up". I do take really good care of them and don't want them to get dirty or slouchy... but if they do... Oh well. It hurts but I get over it and send it to spa.

Bag never goes on the floor though. That's a never...
I've really enjoyed reading everybody's perspective on the topic.