They say promises are made to be broken. Well, that’s so true in my case. I made a promise in my previous blog entry (What’s In A Bag?) dated August 11, 2008 that I will never splurge on another pricey bag again. I mentioned there how my husband gifted me with a Gucci bag for our third wedding anniversary, which I thought would be my one and only luxury bag in my lifetime, or probably at least for a decade. I was wrong! A year after I got that Gucci bag. I found myself in another bag frenzy. My husband and I were celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary, and we decided to go shopping in the outlets since I was planning to go home to the Philippines for Christmas, and I needed to buy stuff to bring home to families and friends (pasalubongs). The black Mossimo bag I mentioned in my 2008 blog is starting to wear out from my daily use in the office. I’ve been using it for a year, and have grown tired of it. It was starting to fade a bit in color too. I wanted a sturdy bag to hold my daily office essentials but, I don’t want to use my Gucci daily to the office. I am preserving it as much as I can, and stashing bananas, sandwiches and my son’s JuicePlus vitamins everyday is certainly not my idea of preserving my Gucci. Since there’s a Coach store in the outlet, we checked out their bags, and chose a black bag as a wedding anniversary gift from my husband. I justified it wasn’t actually like I was breaking my promise because the Coach bag costs only a fraction compared to what he spent on the Gucci Bag. Sure, Coach is pricey, but not in the same league as Gucci , Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc. Up to this day, I’m still happily toting my Coach bag daily to the office. Case closed with Coach.
Three weeks ago, I accompanied my husband to a posh mall which is an hour drive away from our place. He planned on buying something as an advance birthday gift to himself. It’s something he had long been saving up for years. I’m not going to divulge what it is anymore, but I know he also deserved it. My husband is usually a tightwad. He doesn’t spend much on himself. He buys clothes on sale, and usually does so only on special occasions. He is the type who will spend half of his paycheck and put the rest of it to his savings account. He is also the type who uses credit card, but will pay off everything when it is due. He doesn’t want to incur interest or finance charges. This is one thing admirable of him. He never overspends. He doesn’t live beyond his means. This trait is so much similar to that of my mom which I don’t think I inherited. Anyway, he seemed pleased with his purchase, and since we were already at the mall, I decided to check out some boutiques there, particularly the bags. I don’t know what happened, but I sort of sweet talked him into buying me something too. I was surprised he agreed. Maybe he was in a good mood and was happy with his purchase. Initially, I was thinking of getting a pair of Tory Burch Reva Ballerina flats ($214 tax-inclusive)or a pair of Chanel earrings which costs less than $300. I wasn’t sure yet, so I just kept checking out stores and happened to step into Louis Vuitton boutique, and saw this classic Speedy 30 bag in both Monogram and Damier Ebene designs. I decided to get one of those, but couldn’t decide which design to choose. The Monogram is the most popular one, and since it’s my first LV bag, it would be the best choice. The downside though is the vachetta leather of Monogram has the tendency to darken in color as they age. That’s the only downside to it. The other design is the Damier Ebene which is a more toned-down design that doesn’t scream LV that much. Its brown-checkered design is also classic and sophisticated. Its leather is different from that of the Monogram, and so discoloration is probably less of a problem here. There’s another Damier design which is the Damier Azur, but it’s in white, so I’m not partial to it. After comparing the two designs in each of my arms while looking at the large mirror, I decided on the Damier Ebene (my husband’s choice too). It actually costs less than my Gucci bag. It’s probably $70 lesser in terms of price comparison. This LV bag is really classic. The Damier design has been there since 1888. The Speedy monogram design was popularized by the late Audrey Hepburn. Imagine, that was in 1960’s and it’s still the same bags we see right now. Due to the popularity of the Speedy, they eventually produced designs in Damier to add to the Monogram ones.
Lesson learned? Never make any promises you cannot keep. I made a promise, I broke it. All in the name of vanity. Oh, wait! I’m not all for luxury bags, just to get that straight. I still love good bargains. In fact, I got one nice purple bag from Aldo during the black Saturday sale after Thanksgiving last year. The price? $20!!! If you see the bag, you’d think it’s expensive. It looks stylish and elegant. Here I go again…I’m turning into a bagaholic. I really promise…no, not anymore. No more promises this time.
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