My Bags - The Beginning to 2005

I have decided to pay tribute to my handbag collection and note down all the stuff that I have had over time as best as I could. Every bag for me had a story attached so these entries will be a trip down memory lane for me.

Growing up, my mom was never a handbag fanatic and in my memory I only remember a very old and tattered purse that she used to carry on her and thus I've never really developed an interest in handbags. My mom did teach me the important of a wallet and where I should carry my money so I've always had a wallet since consciousness.





By the time I was in high school, I really liked the tri-fold wallets and I had a really cool silver one from Guess that I carried everywhere - big thing back then! You can see from the picture below in likely 2004 how old and tattered that looked by then. It was likely because I never owned any purses or handbags, so the wallet would just sit in my pocket and fall out all the time onto the floor and go missing. I proceeded to give the wallet away in 2005 when I was in Cuba since I no longer used it.

My next wallet is the black Nine West (I think) tri-fold with the silver tip - funny it looks almost like my Ferragamo, I guess my taste is specific. That one was likely purchased towards the end of high school and i used it for a really long time until first second year university. I think I still have this wallet somewhere in storage, but I'm not actually sure.

When I met Mike in first year University (2003), I was still toting my wallet in my pockets and after we started dating, he started to lecture me on my lack of handbags. I still remember the conversations vividly of him trying to convince me why I should have one (girly, put my wallet in, etc.) and it didn't help that my wallets were always getting lost or misplaced. And when I argued back about how I don't want to carry things when I go out, he said, can you at least do it for me? Although I never verbally agreed to it, not long after I bought my first handbag - I bet from the picture you'd never be able to guess which one.



It's the black one with flowers on the top right corner of the picture above. I bought this bag in Montreal, on sale, along with a pair of beloved corks that I wore until it broke apart. At the time, I have no idea what drew me to the pochette but alas, Aldo was the one in 2004 that caught my eye. And then the floodgate opened.

At the time, I had no clue of any brandnames. I remember I had a fake Chanel backpack my grandma bought me when I was 12 and I loved the logo and I had no idea that it actually meant something. So during 2004-2005, I bought a ton of bags but they were all commercial retailers. I was soooo addicted.

There is that black messenger from Gap, fake Burberry-esque bag from taiwan that I bought cuz I liked the pattern and the bear charm dangling. Both donated now.

The Guess bag in the upper left corner of the first pic with the matching wallet is a Christmas or bday present from mike. I remember getting into a fight with him because I wanted to exchange it with something I like but he was upset and thought that it wasn't okay to exchange gifts. It's in storage in Toronto, but i'm considering selling it. The white bag is some italian brand his mom gave me, which i think i donated. The paloma picasso make-up pouch was my favourite present from her, but sadly I had lost it at work in 2006.

The Nine West bags were considered really big purchases for me at the time but I had loved the iridescent pattern. The black one on the right was bought in taiwan. I remember thinking it over for a week before I made Michael take me back to the store to buy it. The matching wallet with red lining and the little red one on the top right corner. The red one was one of my favourite bags at the time - the pattern was so unique! I think I only have the black set left in storage in toronto and gave away the other ones.

Honestly I have no idea what the fate of some of those bags are. I think I still have some of them, but most of them have been given away.

In 2005 I bought my first what one would call my "Holy Grail" bag (for those of you not in the know, it's apparently a term bag lovers use for their ultimate pieces). The Kate Spade Dot Noel Maddie - I guess my thing with the iridescent monogram really struck a chord with me. This was the year when I began to learn about brand names.  I was taught my Mike who Versace, Chanel and Louis Vuitton is, as well as brands like Gucci and Hermes. I started to read about Coach, Dooney & Bourke, L.A.M.B., Kate Spade etc., but never had the money nor genuine interest to purchase one. My favourite at the time was KS, so when we went to NYC that summer, and I saw this Cranberry dot noel on sale for about $300ish, Mike kindly offered to split the bag cost with me and I purchased my first brand named bag. I don't use it very often any more but I still admire this piece of art. It's in Toronto and I use it sometimes when I'm home.