I am content with my collection but that doesn't mean that it won't change over time. It's natural for tastes to change so I've learned that the idea of just completing the ideal collection and then stopping is not realistic. When I first started, I picked a lot if things that were impractical function-wise and some that I outgrew style-wise very quickly. Now that I've found a more comfortable style in terms if clothes, I know better what works for me and I stick to those criteria when buying. There will always be bags I admire on other people but I know I would be miserable and inconvenienced carrying them myself so I no longer want those bags. It never feels good to me to fight the bag when I'm using it and no matter how great it looks if it's a pain to use then why make my life harder for the sake of a bag?
I've also gotten more comfortable with the size of my collection - I like there to be a variety of sizes and colors and styles and materials. In my head I like the idea of having 5 bags I use constantly but in reality the size that works for me is more like 15, because I like to have some choices and I like color. Sure there are bags that I hardly use but none of them were that expensive and when I feel like the holes in my collection are filled I stop wanting similar bags. I tried selling a lot of them but I found that if the hole reappeared I'd want to look again and will eventually buy something else. Might as well just keep the bag and not be on the constant buy cycle.
I know that I will buy the occasional new one and outgrow some old ones but that's fine. You would never expect to wear the exact same clothes for 20 years, so why expect a bag collection to stay the same? The difference is that instead of being obsessed with impractical bags, I'm more sure that I'll stick to ones that work for me and give me an option I didn't have before. It helps that I don't think too much about the premier designers so I am not seeing thousands of dollars of regret when I look at the bags. I like the style and color of a bag over the brand name, so there is always something that is very similar for a lower price.
I've also gotten more comfortable with the size of my collection - I like there to be a variety of sizes and colors and styles and materials. In my head I like the idea of having 5 bags I use constantly but in reality the size that works for me is more like 15, because I like to have some choices and I like color. Sure there are bags that I hardly use but none of them were that expensive and when I feel like the holes in my collection are filled I stop wanting similar bags. I tried selling a lot of them but I found that if the hole reappeared I'd want to look again and will eventually buy something else. Might as well just keep the bag and not be on the constant buy cycle.
I know that I will buy the occasional new one and outgrow some old ones but that's fine. You would never expect to wear the exact same clothes for 20 years, so why expect a bag collection to stay the same? The difference is that instead of being obsessed with impractical bags, I'm more sure that I'll stick to ones that work for me and give me an option I didn't have before. It helps that I don't think too much about the premier designers so I am not seeing thousands of dollars of regret when I look at the bags. I like the style and color of a bag over the brand name, so there is always something that is very similar for a lower price.
