I am brand new to TPF and this thread looked like a great place to start. I still don't know how I stumbled on to this website, but I have been hooked for the last 24 hours or so just cruising around eye balling everyone's fabulous bags, reading the threads, etc. My husband thinks I already have a HB problem, but I am a mere amateur here. I look forward to making the move to pro.
My love of bags started in the 8th or 9th grade. For Christmas I wanted an Etienne Ainger burgundy shoulder bag (I can't find the name, but it was the ONLY bag to carry), but got the burgundy leather Bermuda (with the wood handles) instead. I remember being crushed that I didn't get the one I wanted and having a bag that was "different" than the IT bag of the early 1980's. Had I known then how much now I enjoy carrying a bag that is different from what everyone else is carrying I would have never gotten rid of it when I was a silly teen. Thanks to this website, I am now trolling eBay looking for a replacement...
After that I couldn't afford designer bags until I was deep into my 30's, so I did all my HB shopping at Ross and TJ Maxx type stores. I remember the first bag I ever spent $100 on. It was an orange suede
Nordstrom label bag that I still have. I was in my late 20's or early 30's. It was the most money I had ever spent on a purse. I still love that bag for the fall. After that I was hooked. My first real designer label bag was a Kenneth Cole black leather hobo with silver hardware that I bought in Las Vegas. It looked so Rock 'n Roll. And, I won it in a bet with my husband. I don't remember what we were betting on, but I won and I still love that bag.
After the KC I bought a beautiful tan leather Banana Republic tote. Then my first LV off of eBay. It was a vintage Noe that I literally wore out. I called it my gateway bag. I finally sold it at a consignment store after I had gotten two other LV bags (Batignolles Horizontal as a Christmas present and a Stressa PM I bought at the Paris LV mothership). I now also have several wallets and other small LV accessories. All but one in monogram. I have yet to really branch out.
One of my absolute, all-time favorite handbag designers is Lockheart. I have four of their bags and I love every one. Two were anniversary presents. And the other two were because I just couldn't stop thinking about them.
I have other bags, of course. Most of which are mid-priced, every day bags. I love them all. I love that most of my bags have a story. I always think about the history of each bag when I pull them out of their dust bags. My handbags are my version scrapbooking. Now, I keep the bags I love no matter the price point and I rarely get rid of one, unless is was super trendy or a cheap impulse buy.
I can tell this website is going to be dangerous....I can't wait to start posting pictures of my favorite bags (after I figure out how get them small enough...I mentioned my amateur status at the start) and finding new loves and memories. Sorry for the length of my first post, but I am just so damn excited to find people who actually want to talk about handbags! (Insert giddy giggle here.)
From there I moved into LV and ADORE Isabella Fiore. Despite this I find I am REALLY attracted to anything unique and different. I have purses that are made of Candy Land boards and liscense plates. I also used to have a cigar box purse that I LOVED but was stolen. I have found that the older I get, the less the brand name means and the more you carry the purse, as opposed to it carrying you! 
