Dooney regrets….

[mushroomNgrass]

Hiiiiiiii. So do you have any Dooney and Bourke bags that you regret purchasing?

I will start… UGH…. I DO NOT LIKE THIS BAG….So far this is the only bag I regret purchasing. It’s beautiful, but not really functional for me. It’s Tetris overload because of the tiny opening, and I hate it! I moved into it yesterday and immediately moved out last nite when I got home….
Dooney and Bourke Florentine Satchel 38

 

[mushroomNgrass]

Oh and I mentioned that I didn’t care for north south bags…. Y’all tell me why I keep reaching for the small Sloan? I think I have a love hate relationship ship Sloan. I don’t regret the purchase of the small Sloan one bit. It’s like I want to love her and find a way to make her work better… I’m in her today

 

[lavenderjunkie]

Hiiiiiiii. So do you have any Dooney and Bourke bags that you regret purchasing?

I will start… UGH…. I DO NOT LIKE THIS BAG….So far this is the only bag I regret purchasing. It’s beautiful, but not really functional for me. It’s Tetris overload because of the tiny opening, and I hate it! I moved into it yesterday and immediately moved out last nite when I got home….
Dooney and Bourke Florentine Satchel 38

First I agree with you about north south bags. They are not functional for me either.
I've also learned that structured handbags work better for me. Sometimes it's
subtle differences in the style and leather of the bag that contribute to the issue.
If the leather is firmer, then a north south orientation isn't as much of an issue.
If the top folds over, and the leather is soft and slouchy, then I can't deal with
a north south orientation.

I've also found that my needs have changed over time, so handbags that worked
well is the past don't work anymore. I'm carrying more and different stuff and
have to deal with physical challenges of age.

As for the Flo satchel 38... hmm. You like the medium (large) Flo satchel and the mini,
and you don't like the small (regular) Flo satchel. Is the opening on the 38
that much smaller than the medium? Or is there some element of the design
that makes it harder to get inside? Or does the size of the bag dictate how you use
it and therefore what you put inside and make the zipper length a relative issue
(if you carry larger accessories, a smaller opening is an issue, but if it's a small bag
and you carry smaller items, then a smaller opening might not be a challenge)?

And what about the medium Flo crossbody you just ordered? Does that one work
for you?

My collection includes many handbags that aren't as functional for me as I would like
them to be. Some were favorites of the past (like the zip zip satchel), but now I find
I like a bigger handbag. And others are stunning handbags, but are just too
heavy for me now (many older, larger, Florentine styles). And I've even given
away beautiful Florentine handbags because I could not learn to love the color. 🙄

But sometimes, a handbag that was less than perfect in the past turns out to work
really well for me now. So I'm slow to get rid of handbags unless I decide I won't use
them again since I have others (similar color or function) that I will always reach for
instead. Despite thinning my handbag collection out numerous times, I still have
far to many for my current needs.

 

[mushroomNgrass]

LJ I am really amazed. First the medium crossbody if freaking fabulous! My iPad drops right in,BUT if I put everything else in it then it’s Tetris time. And you know I don’t like to play Tetris. I would definitely think about getting another one of the medium zip crossbody. It’s a great carry and the only reason I moved out was bad weather. I won’t risk the rain with it as I won’t treat it at all.

Now this satchel 38…. The opening is ridiculously small. RIDICULOUSLY SMALL! It might be smaller/tighter than the small satchel. I was able to fit everything from the medium zip crossbody. It was hard to even maneuver my iPad into it empty. I knew then that Houston we have a problem. I don’t know if it’s the way it’s made or what but it seemed smaller than the medium zip crossbody. The satchel 38 was way lighter than most of my Florentine satchels. This might be a bag I am willing to sell. That opening will really drive me crazy! Now and in the future.

The small Sloan I like. I packed it vertically this time with less and so far I’m okay with it.


You know how much I love the mini satchel. I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but the size is perfect and the opening for that bag is wonderful! It’s crazy to me that the smaller bag works, and the next size up does not…. As you know I’m getting ready for retirement and I want to get what I want now while I am working. The winter sale had the pale blue mini and brown tmoro included in that sale. They both sold out before I could get them in my kung fu grip……
Something told me to call the store today. They have the mini on clearance for $189.99. I will be there with my nose on the glass when they open in the morning. I want at least 1 mini maybe 2… black Florentine is in play for the mini.

I AM EXCITED!!!!!! I will try and sneak video for y’all

 

[lavenderjunkie]

LJ I am really amazed. First the medium crossbody if freaking fabulous! My iPad drops right in,BUT if I put everything else in it then it’s Tetris time. And you know I don’t like to play Tetris. I would definitely think about getting another one of the medium zip crossbody. It’s a great carry and the only reason I moved out was bad weather. I won’t risk the rain with it as I won’t treat it at all.

Now this satchel 38…. The opening is ridiculously small. RIDICULOUSLY SMALL! It might be smaller/tighter than the small satchel. I was able to fit everything from the medium zip crossbody. It was hard to even maneuver my iPad into it empty. I knew then that Houston we have a problem. I don’t know if it’s the way it’s made or what but it seemed smaller than the medium zip crossbody. The satchel 38 was way lighter than most of my Florentine satchels. This might be a bag I am willing to sell. That opening will really drive me crazy! Now and in the future.

The small Sloan I like. I packed it vertically this time with less and so far I’m okay with it.


You know how much I love the mini satchel. I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but the size is perfect and the opening for that bag is wonderful! It’s crazy to me that the smaller bag works, and the next size up does not…. As you know I’m getting ready for retirement and I want to get what I want now while I am working. The winter sale had the pale blue mini and brown tmoro included in that sale. They both sold out before I could get them in my kung fu grip……
Something told me to call the store today. They have the mini on clearance for $189.99. I will be there with my nose on the glass when they open in the morning. I want at least 1 mini maybe 2… black Florentine is in play for the mini.

I AM EXCITED!!!!!! I will try and sneak video for y’all

Good luck on your shopping expedition. I hope you find lots of treasures all in perfect
condition. Then you have to choose among the colors and styles.

As we've discussed before, the only way we really know if a handbag will work
for us is by actually using it. I wish I had done that before buying some of my
duplicates. The lure of the sale price and the beautiful colors seemed to have
replaced my common sense at times. It's great that you are getting to use all the
new handbags, even those you see as future retirement carries, so you know
which one to stock up on and which ones to pass on adding more colors.

And, if a bag doesn't work for you, hopefully you can sell it and reset your investment.

 

[mushroomNgrass]

Thank you L.J! I am going for the clearance minis and trying NOT to look at anything else. Of course I’m smelling EVERYTHING Florentine. I do want to see if they have any flo SLGs

 

[RuedeNesle]

Hi mNg!
I'm sorry you're not happy with your bag. I know that feeling well. I prefer not to carry N/S bags, and I don't like any bag that has that "flap" of leather on the sides. It looks like an afterthought to me. Like there was leftover leather.

When I'm sitting in my closet every day trying to downsize my collection, my regrets are the purchases I made knowing I probably wouldn't carry them much. But because they are Dooney (MK and Coach) bags they are in good condition so it's hard to part with them. I thought it would be easy to put aside the bags I rarely carry but seeing them again, and determining their fate, makes me want to hold on to then.

When I moved to SF from Illinois I had just stopped working. The bags I decided to bring with me were the bags I carried the most, which were my work bags. Once I got here it hit me I don't need work bags but more casual bags. Now I have to make sure the bags I keep work for my lifestyle with the family as opposed to walking and busing around the city. I'm trying to save a mix of every style because I do plan to take day trips to the city with my oldest granddaughter.

I'm trying not to have Dooney regrets about bags I didn't keep.
Wish me luck!

 

[lavenderjunkie]

Hi mNg!
I'm sorry you're not happy with your bag. I know that feeling well. I prefer not to carry N/S bags, and I don't like any bag that has that "flap" of leather on the sides. It looks like an afterthought to me. Like there was leftover leather.

When I'm sitting in my closet every day trying to downsize my collection, my regrets are the purchases I made knowing I probably wouldn't carry them much. But because they are Dooney (MK and Coach) bags they are in good condition so it's hard to part with them. I thought it would be easy to put aside the bags I rarely carry but seeing them again, and determining their fate, makes me want to hold on to then.

When I moved to SF from Illinois I had just stopped working. The bags I decided to bring with me were the bags I carried the most, which were my work bags. Once I got here it hit me I don't need work bags but more casual bags. Now I have to make sure the bags I keep work for my lifestyle with the family as opposed to walking and busing around the city. I'm trying to save a mix of every style because I do plan to take day trips to the city with my oldest granddaughter.

I'm trying not to have Dooney regrets about bags I didn't keep.
Wish me luck!

I understand the wish to downsize a collection, especially as needs change.
Just remember.... if you already own it, it's not costing you any money to keep it...
at least for a while as you figure out what your current needs are. And I think
you are smart to keep a mix of styles, maybe even more than one color,
because even as your lifestyle has changes, there are times your handbag
needs will vary.

 

[RuedeNesle]

Thanks LJ!

I don't want to downsize, but my sister is moving to Paris at the end of this month and I have to get all my bags out of the closet she let me use. And my daughter doesn't have enough space for my full current collection. That is what's making this so hard because I'm not ready to part with the amount of bags needed to reduce my collection to a size that will fit the space she has available. There are some non Dooney bags I've already given away.

 

[lavenderjunkie]

Thanks LJ!

I don't want to downsize, but my sister is moving to Paris at the end of this month and I have to get all my bags out of the closet she let me use. And my daughter doesn't have enough space for my full current collection. That is what's making this so hard because I'm not ready to part with the amount of bags needed to reduce my collection to a size that will fit the space she has available. There are some non Dooney bags I've already given away.

A friend of mine once rented a storage space for her overflow handbags. I don't think
it was a great solution because she rarely got to wear the bags at her 'off site storage
location'. Once or twice a year she would swap some bags out. But all in all,
it just postponed the tough decisions to trim down her collection.

 

[mushroomNgrass]

Gosh Rue I’m sorry you have to decide what you want to keep and What to let go. It would be nice to be able to store everything with you. I have vintage coach beauties still in storage. It’s hard to get rid of some things. The storage fees go up constantly. It’s not even been a year and the fees have gone up $100 extra per month. Geez public storage. I feel like I was scammed with a great move in price only to be hosed with an increase after only a couple months….

Im sure I could sell them for a pretty penny but I don’t want to let my vintage coach go. I need to go and get them to incorporate into my collection and carry them again, especially in wet weather. I’ve never had a problem with them getting wet…

I have a nice size Dooney Florentine collection, with basically every bag that I wanted in it. The one regret bag can stay to be revisited later on to see how I feel about it.

 

[mushroomNgrass]

Hi mNg!
I'm sorry you're not happy with your bag. I know that feeling well. I prefer not to carry N/S bags, and I don't like any bag that has that "flap" of leather on the sides. It looks like an afterthought to me. Like there was leftover leather.

When I'm sitting in my closet every day trying to downsize my collection, my regrets are the purchases I made knowing I probably wouldn't carry them much. But because they are Dooney (MK and Coach) bags they are in good condition so it's hard to part with them. I thought it would be easy to put aside the bags I rarely carry but seeing them again, and determining their fate, makes me want to hold on to then.

When I moved to SF from Illinois I had just stopped working. The bags I decided to bring with me were the bags I carried the most, which were my work bags. Once I got here it hit me I don't need work bags but more casual bags. Now I have to make sure the bags I keep work for my lifestyle with the family as opposed to walking and busing around the city. I'm trying to save a mix of every style because I do plan to take day trips to the city with my oldest granddaughter.

I'm trying not to have Dooney regrets about bags I didn't keep.
Wish me luck!

I can really understand that Rue. I’ll be in the same not working boat. I’m not really using my bags for work tho. I can’t even take my bag into my job.

I hope you don’t have any regrets about the bags that don’t make the cut.

 

[RuedeNesle]

Thanks LJ and mNg!
Packing has me sleeping at the oddest times. I find myself dozing off in the afternoon and waking up around midnight and I'm awake for the rest of the night.

We were actually considering renting a storage space because we really don't have time to properly reduce some of our sellable (is that a word?) Items. I threw away a KS bag, one of my backpacks and two of my Aimee Kestenberg bags out of frustration the other day. I'm sure I threw away more but I'm trying not to think about it in case I threw out something I should have kept.

mNg, thanks for the warning about fee increases. I don't want to rent a storage unit and then get priced out of it. Especially since the majority of the items will be my sister's things and I don't want to worry about relocating them. Her son is supposed to drive from Houston to get her stuff but he's very busy and managing finances so it could be a long time before he gets here.

Don't sell your vintage Dooney bags. You won't get enough money to replace the joy you feel owning them. (I guess everything has a price. ) I'm looking at my collection and I can honestly say I don't own anything (except a Belvedere Ambler) that is currently available outside of the secondary market. ( I own a Coach Rowan, but the first edition with the outside zipper pocket in the front, which I love.) I have to be careful because if I sell something l love it will be hard to replace it.

 

[lavenderjunkie]

Thanks LJ and mNg!
Packing has me sleeping at the oddest times. I find myself dozing off in the afternoon and waking up around midnight and I'm awake for the rest of the night.

We were actually considering renting a storage space because we really don't have time to properly reduce some of our sellable (is that a word?) Items. I threw away a KS bag, one of my backpacks and two of my Aimee Kestenberg bags out of frustration the other day. I'm sure I threw away more but I'm trying not to think about it in case I threw out something I should have kept.

mNg, thanks for the warning about fee increases. I don't want to rent a storage unit and then get priced out of it. Especially since the majority of the items will be my sister's things and I don't want to worry about relocating them. Her son is supposed to drive from Houston to get her stuff but he's very busy and managing finances so it could be a long time before he gets here.

Don't sell your vintage Dooney bags. You won't get enough money to replace the joy you feel owning them. (I guess everything has a price. ) I'm looking at my collection and I can honestly say I don't own anything (except a Belvedere Ambler) that is currently available outside of the secondary market. ( I own a Coach Rowan, but the first edition with the outside zipper pocket in the front, which I love.) I have to be careful because if I sell something l love it will be hard to replace it.

Consider gifting bags you decide you can't keep. Yes, you can try to sell them, but that
takes time and effort (and it's a hassle). Or you can donate to a good cause.... maybe
a women's organization that helps women dress for interviews and jobs.

I find that giving handbags to those I know helps me get comfortable with parting with
the bags I love but no longer see using. Maybe it's self-serving, but when I give
a bag (or a bunch of bags) to someone I know who will use and appreciate them, I don't
feel as if I wasted the money buying the bags in the first place. I'm sharing the joy
with someone who I care about... so we both end up benefiting. Several of my friends
have daughters, and they are part of my gifting circle too.

On occasion I've even
given nearly new items (not handbags) to someone who lives in my building whose
name I didn't even know. I saw her wearing hats every Sunday when she returned
from church. I had a large collection of 'go to church' hats (back in the day). Many
still had tags on them. She thought I was crazy, but agreed to come look at them
and left with a bunch.... I asked her to share them with her friends if she decided she
wasn't going to use them. We now wave to each other across the garage.

Beautiful things should be shared. It's good for us, for others, and for the planet.

 

[RuedeNesle]

Consider gifting bags you decide you can't keep. Yes, you can try to sell them, but that
takes time and effort (and it's a hassle). Or you can donate to a good cause.... maybe
a women's organization that helps women dress for interviews and jobs.

I find that giving handbags to those I know helps me get comfortable with parting with
the bags I love but no longer see using. Maybe it's self-serving, but when I give
a bag (or a bunch of bags) to someone I know who will use and appreciate them, I don't
feel as if I wasted the money buying the bags in the first place. I'm sharing the joy
with someone who I care about... so we both end up benefiting. Several of my friends
have daughters, and they are part of my gifting circle too.

On occasion I've even
given nearly new items (not handbags) to someone who lives in my building whose
name I didn't even know. I saw her wearing hats every Sunday when she returned
from church. I had a large collection of 'go to church' hats (back in the day). Many
still had tags on them. She thought I was crazy, but agreed to come look at them
and left with a bunch.... I asked her to share them with her friends if she decided she
wasn't going to use them. We now wave to each other across the garage.

Beautiful things should be shared. It's good for us, for others, and for the planet.

I donated bags before I moved here in 2014. I really want to do that again. If I ever decide which bags I don't want I'll offer those to family and friends first and donate the rest.