Keep or keep searching?

[serenityneow]

I’ve been searching for a true red day to night crossbody bag for what seems like forever. I found this new Jil Sander medium red crossbody bag for a very good price and it ticks a lot of boxes. It’s true red, can fit my double glasses case (sunglasses + reading glasses) or a small umbrella, is minimalist, and the strap is a good crossbody length. On the other hand, I wish it had silver hardware, a wider strap, and was a slightly deeper red. I think I could get a preloved excellent condition Celine Trio for the price I paid for this, which would have a slightly sleeker/evening-appropriate look but would not hold my glasses case or umbrella. Thoughts? And/or other bag ideas? I’d like to keep this under $750 if possible, and this bag meets that price point. The quality does seem to be excellent, and the leather and shape remind me of my Celine Box. TIA!

 

[Deneuveness]

My vote is to keep! The bag is gorgeous and it checks more boxes than not.

 

[AnnaLou]

My vote is to return it and get what you really want.

The gold hardware is minimal but you prefer silver tone. Also, it isn't really the color you want. I agree with you on having a slightly deeper shade. This one (at least in photo) is a candy-red color, which is nice, but if that's not what you are going for, you may find it more limiting than the color you really want. (Is it just the angle of the photo or is the left side of the bag taller than the right?) Also, the slight wrinkling at the top left would bug me. It is minimal, but it isn't there on the right side so would be something that kept drawing my eye. Anything +$500 and designed with minimalism as it's design focus, should really avoid noticeable irregularities.

Don't get something too small to hold your glasses case and other essentials (phone, wallet, spare lipstick, keys, etc.). You will end up having to carry 2 bags or leaving some things at home. At that point, you're having to try too hard to make a bag work when it should work for you, not the other way around.

At this price-point, I think you can hold out for what you really want. If you are willing to "make do" and settle for "almost there" then maybe try department stores and/or TJ Maxx/Marshalls type of places to get something much less expensive. You can still get good quality and pay much less while still getting to the "almost but not quite" level.

Although my first suggestion is to keep searching for what you really love.

 

[indiaink]

I’ve been searching for a true red day to night crossbody bag for what seems like forever. I found this new Jil Sander medium red crossbody bag for a very good price and it ticks a lot of boxes. It’s true red, can fit my double glasses case (sunglasses + reading glasses) or a small umbrella, is minimalist, and the strap is a good crossbody length. On the other hand, I wish it had silver hardware, a wider strap, and was a slightly deeper red. I think I could get a preloved excellent condition Celine Trio for the price I paid for this, which would have a slightly sleeker/evening-appropriate look but would not hold my glasses case or umbrella. Thoughts? And/or other bag ideas? I’d like to keep this under $750 if possible, and this bag meets that price point. The quality does seem to be excellent, and the leather and shape remind me of my Celine Box. TIA!

View attachment 5715578

I can almost imagine what happened: you were scrolling or walking by, looked down, and there it was! The bag you’ve been searching for! Purchase made, you realize, with sinking heart, that it wasn't quite what you thought… and now you’re worried that you won’t find anything even this close so maybe you should keep it.

Stop. Return it. Keep looking. The one you’re looking for will show up eventually.

been there, done that, a true red is hard to come by, but you will.

 

[Amazona]

Does "ticks a lot of boxes" make you feel like you're A) getting something you will love long haul and you've spent your money wisely, or B) settling for something that's almost but not quite what you want? If you're not sure, it's B. And if it's B, return and keep looking.

 

[serenityneow]

Thanks, all. I'm honestly still torn, because at this price point I don't think I can find everything I want, and for a red bag I'll wear occasionally I don't really want to spend more, but I'm leaning toward returning.

 

[A bottle of Red]

There's a thread devoted to red bags, perhaps you can find inspiration there ? I don't know how to link but if you search red bag it will come up

 

[serenityneow]

Hi all, I’m pretty sure I’m going to keep this bag. I thought I wanted a deeper red and silver hardware, but the more I look at this bag the more I love it. To me, the color is a beautiful soft red and the hardware is minimal and a beautiful soft gold. I often like gold jewelry with black clothes, and can picture this bag with lots of those outfits. A red bag with silver hardware, by contrast, wouldn’t work at all. And after looking at many red bags with gold hardware, I love this one even more. Deep red + bold gold is common and almost always looks garish to me.

I can also picture this bag with white and navy clothes and again, I usually wear gold jewelry with those colors. In short, I feel like this bag has a unique, lovely and versatile softness for a red bag with gold hardware.

Worst case scenario—it’s a spring/summer red bag best for day and casual evenings. That’s ok with me. I’d be kidding myself if I said one red bag would satisfy my intense craving for red bags anyway!

Postscript—I learned that the bag is the Jil Sander medium Taos bag, which is not a current style. Farfetch has a green one on sale for $1850.

❤️