You are never too fat for your handbag. Shoes will scuff, clothes will get holes or stains, but a handbag is for life.
I was with my little 8 month niece last Sunday. I was doing a couple of wedding shopping bits and my sister in law and brother joined me. We sat down to have some cupcakes and coffee. While my niece was on my lap she kept on trying to grab my handbag. To which both her parent promptly said
“ She completely obsessed with handbags already”
To which I said
“ If I don’t have any daughters she can have my collection, when I am too old to care about them”
Yes that is right I am in the possession of a couple of designer handbags which are heirloom worthy. I also have a feeling from my fiancée’s family tree that I am not going to have any daughters. (No ‘X’ chromosome sperm if you must know, Henry the VIII would be very jealous). I think every woman should own a least one really good handbag in their life time. Or several to get even wear between all of them. I know some women like Chanel, Celine or Mulberry, but something about the Balenciaga bag just really spoke to me.
I first noticed the Balenciaga bags about 4 years ago in airport arrivals. I was in the line to get through passport control in the US, and lady who was opposite me in the line but about 20 people behind and this beautiful handbag tucked in the crook of her arm. I think from memory she had a ‘velo’ bag with rose gold hard ware in Navy coloured leather. Now I like handbags, I really like handbags, but this was the first time in public I had actively gwaped and drooled like an idiot over someone else’s bag. I loved it so much I actually asked the lady where her handbag was from. She answered ‘It’s a Balenciaga.’ When I turned 30 I decided to treat myself to my ultimate handbag choice. Due to the price of it I decided that ‘the’ bag did not belong on the arm of my 20-something self, and I waited til I was 30 to tote this baby around. The bag in question is my Balenciaga part-time in anthracite coloured leather, with giant rose gold hardware.
I had wanted this particular bag for 4 years (I googled the brand after airport incident) before I finally got my mitts on it, and because I waited for it is very special to me. The giant ’21’ hardware is currently discontinued in the Balenciaga bags and has been replaced with a lighter ’12’ hardware. However due to the price of the bag, they really don’t sell that quickly so if you go to department stores such as Selfridges London they will usually have a couple in the back if you ask. In fact if you ask the ladies in Selfridges they will get out their whole back catalogue if you want, and are still super nice even if you don’t buy anything. Which I admit I have done a couple of times over the years and walked away with a full wallet . I advise that you do peruse several times to get a acquainted with the bag, so when the times comes to buy it from Ebay you know exactly what to look for. ;) Another great source is Purse forum who will post reputable sellers of Balenciaga bags and accessories on Ebay. If you have the patience Members of the Purse Forum will authenticate your bag for you as well. Ebay is a fantastic source for Designer bags, but as with buying from private sellers just cover yourself with the right precautions. (I am sure you know what they are without me having to go into detail.) It would have been amazing to get a Balenciaga bag from Selfridges, but it was just too expensive. I think I would have been really sick afterwards especially seeing as I got mine for nearly half the price off ebay, brand new with tags. If you can let another lady have buyer’s regret, be smart and try and buy their ‘buyer’s regret bag’ for half the price. Trust me whatever you want at some stage it will appear on ebay.
As you can see from the photos the leather changes colour with each setting. It’s really a beautiful green/blue/grey/black so it goes with a number of outfits. It also has really pretty rose gold hardware which I am completely in love with. Good things really do come to those who wait. I think that if I had just got this in my twenties this would probably be in a bin somewhere with several cigarette burns in the leather. Because I decided that this was a grown up bag I am really am treating it with kid gloves every time I use it. The average woman in Britain would rather a new handbag than a holiday so clearly I am not the only one obsessed with handbags. However I think I would still rather go on holiday…..
What bag have you promised yourselves? I always think an expensive handbag is a treat and should be bought after you have achieved something like getting a new job, and reaching a certain age. Thanks for reading. Carrie x
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