How others feel about bags / how you feel about bags

Manelieht

Manelieht

Member
Apr 1, 2014
792
37
#1
I can tell most around me don't share the fascination I have for handbags. When I talk about bags they clearly can't relate...:P
But, I also can't relate to them...:lol: I really don't understand how they feel. I often try to imagine why my sister or friends couldn't care less, but it is hard for me to comprehend.

- My guess is that most just see it as a necessity that they have to use so they can take a few things along. Most often they choose a practical bag that will go with anything and doesn't cost more than 20 bucks (my sister can afford a lot, she just spends it for other things...party etc.).
It doesn't get treated well, is worn with everything and when it falls apart a new one will simply be purchased.

- Then there is me, who plans a new bag purchase months ahead, researches designers, bags and colors to find "le dream bag", enjoy all the detail, the design and material, I save up the little money I have, baby my bags, coordinate them with my outfits, I carry them with pride and just enjoy wearing them and looking at them. I want my bags to last also. My first designer bag is 7 years old and it looks really good still.

What do you think? How do others feel about bags and why are so many women just not that interested, even if they generally enjoy fashion? Maybe a certain group of people is more likely to enjoy handbags?
How do you feel about bags?
 
#2
I am just like you and I am lucky because so is my sister ;) I spend maybe 65% of my thought time thinking about handbags on any given day. I am obsessed with them and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Everyone has a vice, and for us, it is bags, lovely, gorgeous, supple, perfect bags :P
 
#3
Handbags are my "vice". I don't smoke, I drink only socially, and this - I can last on a piece of clothing (dress, top, jeans, jacket) for YEARS. Seriously. I have a staple set of clothing that lasts me 4-7 (sometimes more) years at a time. I do not mind repeating and rotating, and I don't feel the need to buy new clothes, unlike with bags. I am probably an aberration as far as women go, but I don't enjoy shopping for clothes for myself (I do enjoy shopping for clothes for our daughter). I don't enjoy the fitting process, going through the variations. I don't like shopping online for clothes either since I can get OC about fit (which is one of the reasons I hate fitting - it takes long with me since it has to be perfect). My Mom has gone to the extent of buying me clothes because she thinks I should buy more clothes. I told her I can afford to buy my own, thank you very much - but I just don't want to. Weird, yes, but then my obsession went to handbags. I love looking at handbags IRL and online. I used to buy just brand-new in-store, and I would spend hours looking at bags and researching on them online before going to the boutique to make my purchase. Nowadays I have expanded my horizon to buying pre-loved/vintage/older online - so I spend even more time looking at handbags online. :lol:
 
#4
I'm thinking others probably see bags as a means of transporting a few items, but for me, bags are an essential partner - something to give a splash of color to my mostly boring wardrobe. My bag is also my safety blanket; if I know I'm going to be in a situation where I might feel uncomfortable or challenged by someone I always go for a bag that makes me feel like a million bucks.
I plan most of my purchases, some even months ahead which is very uncommon for someone as impulsive as me. I can do with the regret of buying the wrong shoes or pieces of clothing (and returning them) but with bags, I close to never get that feeling because I think about what I buy, where and for what price. If I STILL make a faux pas, it's a real drag. People are a little funny when I tell them about my bag hobby - and I'm probably as baffled when they f.e. tell me they LOVE to go out looking for some little plastic box and make a really big deal of when they find one buried under a rock in some forest... :lol:
 
#6
My sister is 'worse' than me for bags, a long time Mulberry fan and much, much naughtier for shoes, shoes than never touch ground.

My mother was the queen of the bag/shoe/name it, it was she that turned heads with her green LV Epi Noe and Chanel backpack (mine now :P) but I think even she now thinks her daughters have lost the plot LOL, even her eyes start glazing over when we start talking what's coming in A/W or S/S

As for others, I have no problem that others wear charity shop/good will finds or department store value bags or whatever.
 
#7
Among the vice a girl could have, bag is mine. I love shoes too, but they only last a short time for me (probably the way I walk), so for practical purposes, I don't aspire for expensive ones. But with bags, oh, they have become an obsession for me! I have a co-worker who is as passionate about bags as me and we could talk non-stop about bags. But those around us just stare and probably think that we are crazy and wasteful of our money. To each his own really!
 
#9
I have been obsessed with bags since my early childhood! Must have something to do with genetics as my two nieces have a huge collection of bags.
My colleagues are not interested at all, for them a bag is just a useful thing in which they carry their necessities. They know about my addiction of course but they don't criticize.
As for my friends, there is only one with whom I can share about my love for bags.
She is a bag lover too, though she is not obsessed with them.
 
#10
I was always like the thread starter's sister, one cheap bag at a time until it fell apart.

A few years ago, out of nowhere, I suddenly got interested in bags.I have one LV and several Coach, LAMB, KS, MK bags,and one LV and one MK wallet.

I just don't seem to be able to find any clothes that appeal to me anymore (when I was younger I loved clothes, but now it's just whatever I can find that fits) and have foot problems so I can only wear very unfashionable shoes, so my only fashion interest now is bags.

Very few of the people I know in real life care about bags or understand why I do.
 
#11
I'm also one of those who didn't care about handbags at all... until I got interested. It's hard to know how the transition happened, it wasn't as though there was a "light bulb moment" or anything. I think I just started reading bag blogs and becoming more interested in the differences between designers and materials.

Then again, how does anyone get into any hobby, really? I feel like a lot of the time you start off with just a tiny passing interest, and the more you learn, the more you realise there is so much more to learn. I think any specialist topic is like that - it could look fairly one-dimensional to the passer-by, but there is such richness of detail if you dive deeply into it.

To me there's no particular distinction between, say, handbags or cross-stitching or basketball. I have absolutely no interest in cross-stitching or basketball but that's because I haven't really thought about them at all. I think it's entirely possible that, if I had committed myself to genuinely learning more about cross-stitching and basketball, I could have developed a keen interest in both.

What I mean to say is I don't think I'm fundamentally different to my friend who doesn't care about handbags, I don't think I have a "handbag appreciation gene" that she lacks and will always lack. To me it's more about how much you learn and are willing to learn about any new topic/hobby. And the reason that I picked up handbags rather than basketball is purely down to the fact that I like pretty colours and leathers and don't like getting sweaty. :P
 
#12
Silversun said:
I'm also one of those who didn't care about handbags at all... until I got interested. It's hard to know how the transition happened, it wasn't as though there was a "light bulb moment" or anything. I think I just started reading bag blogs and becoming more interested in the differences between designers and materials.

Then again, how does anyone get into any hobby, really? I feel like a lot of the time you start off with just a tiny passing interest, and the more you learn, the more you realise there is so much more to learn. I think any specialist topic is like that - it could look fairly one-dimensional to the passer-by, but there is such richness of detail if you dive deeply into it.

To me there's no particular distinction between, say, handbags or cross-stitching or basketball. I have absolutely no interest in cross-stitching or basketball but that's because I haven't really thought about them at all. I think it's entirely possible that, if I had committed myself to genuinely learning more about cross-stitching and basketball, I could have developed a keen interest in both.

What I mean to say is I don't think I'm fundamentally different to my friend who doesn't care about handbags, I don't think I have a "handbag appreciation gene" that she lacks and will always lack. To me it's more about how much you learn and are willing to learn about any new topic/hobby. And the reason that I picked up handbags rather than basketball is purely down to the fact that I like pretty colours and leathers and don't like getting sweaty. :P
Click to expand...

+1 :smile:
 
#13
While I always liked handbags, it wasn't until much later that I became obsessed with designer handbags. I used to do the whole buy one bag that cost $20 and carry it until it died then go buy another one. TPF actually opened my eyes to a lot and now I have a collection of handbags and am actually starting to coordinate bags with my outfits instead of carrying a bag to death without thinking about it.
I'm turning into a real girl :roflmfao:
 
#14
Until 2 years ago I was in the couldn't-care-less group. I enjoy fashion as a whole and just can't understand why anyone would spend more than 1k on a bag. I have tons and tons of cheap bags of various designs. They don't last so I'll just keep on buying more. Fast forward 2 years and I stumbled upon tpf. Needless to say my eyes were since open to the world of designer bags. Bought 2 Chanel bags right away and never looked back since. I've thrown out all my cheap bags and now I only have designer bags. I hope to stop buying for now and simply enjoy my collection.
I can totally understand both camps as I had belonged to both.
 
#15
I'm very similar in loving handbags. I'm a bit of a snob as well, in the best way possible.
I use to buy cheap, $20 bags and they would not last and I'd get tired of them much more quickly.
When I bought my first leather, designer purse four years ago, I then became much more interested.
I started buying designer, even if they weren't leather. Now, 98% of my purses are leather and designer. I love looking at the different types of styles and sizes. I buy smaller bags for shopping days and larger ones for when carrying it won't be a bother.

I clean them after an extended use and store them in their dust bags/pillow cases. A lot of times I'm too afraid to use them because I don't want them to get dirty or worn. I know it's irrational. But they're so beautiful and costly.

I know many people who don't care about their bags and abuse them. My mother is hard on purses and it makes me cringe.
 
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