If it does not fill my heart with joy, then no - I won't keep it. Will sell or donate it. I forget who I heard say this, but someone convinced me to only buy things that I love so much that I want them to last forever, to cherish them until they fall apart (if they do). I won't buy anything that I feel less strongly about.
Reasons for keeping an item in your collection
- Thread starter Antigone
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
I read this thread hoping to find clarity on whether i should keep my bags or not and I am still at a loss. I am moving soon to a tiny apartment and it is clear that there is no space for all of my bags. Some will have to go.
The problem is that I do love my bags, and use them regularly ( I have 2 Mulberry Alexas and 7 Celine bags). I have decided to sell bags with colour since I tend towards neutral shades.
It is a problem however for my red bags. The red Edge bag was my very first Celine and is special to me. I've had it for 3 years and we had gone through special moments together. It is however quite heavy and I've been switching out due to the weight.
The red Trotteur is my to go bag because it is the perfect crossbody bag. It hangs at the right level in all seasons because the strap is adjustable. So i let out a few notches if I am wearing a winter coat and shorten it in summer. And despite the small size, it holds everything I need and more. It is so light I can wear it all day without my neck or shoulders aching. The colour however, is louder than I would have liked.
So I don't know which to keep. It doesn't help that they are so different too.
The problem is that I do love my bags, and use them regularly ( I have 2 Mulberry Alexas and 7 Celine bags). I have decided to sell bags with colour since I tend towards neutral shades.
It is a problem however for my red bags. The red Edge bag was my very first Celine and is special to me. I've had it for 3 years and we had gone through special moments together. It is however quite heavy and I've been switching out due to the weight.
The red Trotteur is my to go bag because it is the perfect crossbody bag. It hangs at the right level in all seasons because the strap is adjustable. So i let out a few notches if I am wearing a winter coat and shorten it in summer. And despite the small size, it holds everything I need and more. It is so light I can wear it all day without my neck or shoulders aching. The colour however, is louder than I would have liked.
So I don't know which to keep. It doesn't help that they are so different too.
If you don't like the color, especially since you prefer neutrals, I would get rid of that one and keep the one in the color/style that makes you want to wear it. If you don't love either of these, it's okay to let them both go and use the ones that make you want to wear them. I love color bags, but if I don't like the shade or feel comfortable with it, I won't chose to wear it; so it's taking up space. I hope that thought helps you decide. You get to keep more of the bags that make you happy to wear them if you get rid of the ones that you don't enjoy much. I just got my first light neutral bags and need to learn how to keep them looking light!
Thank you for your advice and it did give me the impetus to list both bags for sale! now hopefully they go to buyers who will love the bags more than I do
I hate to play devil’s advocate, but do you really need to sell any of these? Nine bags doesn’t sound like a huge amount, especially if you wear them all. I tend towards neutrals as well but sometimes it’s good to have a pop of color.
Both of your red Celine’s are gorgeous, but if you have to sell, I would not sell the bag you say is your “go to bag.” If it’s that useful and you love it, I think you’ll regret selling it. Red functions as a neutral for a lot of ladies here!
I had to sell them as my new space will be tiny. I'm planning to assess again when I have moved and settled in, to see if there's space for more... I'm in two minds about the crossbody really. I've decided to let things be - if the bag has no takers, I'll happily take it back. But if the bag is sold, well then I have more space, which is never a bad thing
Wonderful! I think you have a great attitude about this. And I agree with cats as well you shouldn't get rid of a bag that's your go-to and you love. It sounded like these didn't bring you joy to carry which is why I'd let them go. If you find you have room and later find a bag that is perfect, you'll have the $ and space for it! I also get how stressful clutter can be. I can only have as many bags as I have room for and can easily see/access. I hope you are happy with the outcome whatever happens!Thank you for your advice and it did give me the impetus to list both bags for sale! now hopefully they go to buyers who will love the bags more than I do
Interesting distinction between having a “collection” and “owning bags to use”. I had never thought about that before. I guess I’m in the “collector” category. Most of my bags are vintage and I value them most for the history they represent. Some of them I barely use or not at all, but don’t want to part with them.
Hmmm very interesting revelation!
Hmmm very interesting revelation!
As I get older, I realized that I tend to go for items that would last. Even the bags that I purchase has to be one of those classics & made of the best quality. Bags I still love & have sentimental value, I keep. But really, I've come to do this process before making a purchase instead of impulsively buying items.
I think everyone probably has an individual formula for this. Think about some of the reasons we keep bags:
-Function
-CPW
-Ease of matching to rest of wardrobe
-Love (style, hand-feel, butterflies in the stomach, etc)
-Sentiment (I'm listing that separately since it's possible to have an attachment to a bag you don't necessarily like the look of anymore)
-Convenience (Frequency of need, but maybe also the obstacle/annoyance of selling bags we may have moved on from)
So you could actually give each bag a score based on how much you value each one (I know I'm bound to be missing a few other reasons).
Not everyone is going to value the same things or even have all of these on the list (for example, I don't track CPW at all), so if I wanted to do a points system, it might look like this:
-Love: 50 points
-Ease of matching to rest of wardrobe: 20 points
-Function: 15 points
-Convenience: 10 points
-Sentiment: 5 points
I have an evening bag I don't use often because it doesn't match well and I rarely have occasions that call for it. But that's okay for me, because I don't value convenience as much as I do some other categories. So I might say 50 points for love because it's the most beautiful bag I own, 5 points for ease of matching, 10 for function (it's a little small) 2 for convenience and 5 for sentiment (it was a gift during a tough period). 50+5+10+2+5= 72.
That isn't a very high score, which isn't surprising since it's a bag I don't use often, but the high scores in areas I value bump it up to a passing grade.
On the other hand, I have a bag I know I need to let go because even though it scores well in convenience and function, weighting its use according to what's important to me means it shouldn't have a place in my closet.
-Function
-CPW
-Ease of matching to rest of wardrobe
-Love (style, hand-feel, butterflies in the stomach, etc)
-Sentiment (I'm listing that separately since it's possible to have an attachment to a bag you don't necessarily like the look of anymore)
-Convenience (Frequency of need, but maybe also the obstacle/annoyance of selling bags we may have moved on from)
So you could actually give each bag a score based on how much you value each one (I know I'm bound to be missing a few other reasons).
Not everyone is going to value the same things or even have all of these on the list (for example, I don't track CPW at all), so if I wanted to do a points system, it might look like this:
-Love: 50 points
-Ease of matching to rest of wardrobe: 20 points
-Function: 15 points
-Convenience: 10 points
-Sentiment: 5 points
I have an evening bag I don't use often because it doesn't match well and I rarely have occasions that call for it. But that's okay for me, because I don't value convenience as much as I do some other categories. So I might say 50 points for love because it's the most beautiful bag I own, 5 points for ease of matching, 10 for function (it's a little small) 2 for convenience and 5 for sentiment (it was a gift during a tough period). 50+5+10+2+5= 72.
That isn't a very high score, which isn't surprising since it's a bag I don't use often, but the high scores in areas I value bump it up to a passing grade.
On the other hand, I have a bag I know I need to let go because even though it scores well in convenience and function, weighting its use according to what's important to me means it shouldn't have a place in my closet.
My 2 favorite bags right now are a Coach and a Henri Bendel I only pulled the trigger on because they were on sale and the deal was too good to pass up! If I was being honest with myself, I wouldn’t have bought them for full price because their full price was an absurd amount to spend on a bag (for me). I ended up falling in love after the fact.
my most recent purchase disappointed a bit
I expected lamb skin as I had another bag from the same collection that was lamb. I got calf. But for now, I'm keeping it. It's a nice bag and functional. And unless you touch and feel it, the leather doesn't look much different