I'm not one for designer handbags. There, I've said it. I think growing up with a mother who worked in a leading ad agency taught me everything I need to know about aspirations versus needs.
I don't NEED a swanky designer handbag. I need a bag that will take me from supermarket to school, shoots to walking in the park. In short, I need a utility bag. Until a designer comes up with a bag which covers those needs I will stick to heavy duty sacking...
It's not that I haven't ever mixed and matched my outfit to suit a clutch or a huge holdall in primary colours. Yes, I own a beaded evening bag. I'm talking about those bags that are for sale in department stores and market stalls alike. The heavily-logoed designer bag.
I'm fairly certain most designers make these for a giggle. I imagine the planning meeting goes something like 'how many logos and novelty initials can we shoehorn into this piece?' 'a lot? - go for it'. These pieces are the designer's vanity and PR and nothing else. Like a size 0 'sample' SOMEbody is going to want it, but it's not meant for mainstream use.
Until sweatshops starting realising that it takes literally minutes to duplicate a logo and stick some initials on a zip tag and turning these bags out faster than you or I could pick up our keys and get out the door, people either bought nice discreet designer numbers which looked a million dollars but didn't draw the eye away from the person using it, or a huge garish cheap one, and everyone knew where they were. Now, we've got horribly shoddy versions of quality bags with hideous logos on every street corner. They're not even particularly cheap any more. These bags will fall apart with frequent use so it's clear they're not assembled by craftsmen/women.
Why are people buying hideous bags which offend the eyes of all who stumble across them. I say stumble but you and I know a few people who hold these things like a newborn babe, ensuring we get a flash of the fake name.
Don't get me started on 'handbag parties' either. These are designed so that the easily-duped can eye up and purchase a suitcase full of these, one for every day of the week, because that's how long they'll last. I've heard that 'women collect bags because of empty-womb syndrome'. Is that even a thing? People are buying bags because we're not having Victorian-sized families any more?
I can't stand people coming to visit me in my home town and saying they're 'scared' to bring their designer handbag. First of all, the east London of today is not populated by Fagin's brood, and secondly, your bag is a big fat fake. You and I know it, so pack it in.
If any designer is making a super strong utility bag with a good catch and in a one-colour suits all outfits, you can reach me via this blog.
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