And now for the complaints department: I have been hunting for a new handbag for years, it seems, and the situation has gone from bad to out of reach.
Like thousands of dollars out of reach.
On the contemporary level, where bag prices are also rising, almost every maker embosses initials in tacky gold front and centre. If not the embossed logo, it’s a shiny gold plaque. If not the shiny plaque, it’s shiny, heavy hardware. And if it’s not any of the above, it’s a price in the stratosphere– though a price in the stratsophere does not guarantee you won’t get a crass metal logo.
Only the Hermès Kelly and Birkin knockoffs from certain makers lack the logo. So call me a cynic when I figure the reason for that.
As far as I am concerned, the only logo that’s acceptable is the CC – and only if it’s on the classic 2.55 Chanel or similar.
I have haunted The Bay, Ogilvy’s and Holt Renfrew, M0851, Club Monaco and Roots, not to mention Winners, and have spent way too much time on Love That Bag, LXR&Co and The Real Real (new find! thanks Audrey), but what I want is too expensive even when it’s on major discount and slightly worn. And who knows what slightly worn really means.
Among bags that are somewhat within reach and I have considered are the Mackage Derry and Mansur Gavriel bucket bags – neither a good option for someone who cannot find her cellphone nine times out of 10 – and early Kate Spades, before the gold embossing became so prominent. That just goes to show you how long I have been looking.
I am currently on my third M0851 messenger – so that’s enough already, although the leather lasts forever.
Which brings me to all I want for Christmas, but I’m not telling, and I’m not asking. Hint: there is no metal or logo on it anywhere and it is instantly recognizable.
Cute graphics at The Real Real, an online luxury resale site.
Love That Bag seems to do a handy business in Chanel resales.
The LXR Co. Birkin Bar.
