The Handbag
So to explore this subject further, on a sunny Saturday I went to one of the world’s fashion capitals, Milano, sat in a side walk cafe and studied the bags passing by. I counted 117 Louis Vuitton (carried by all age groups – the most favoured ones being the classic monogram types or the damier d’azur canvas in all shapes available), 14 Gucci (the belt-bag or flat, small ones with long shoulder strap worn diagonally across the chest, especially favoured by gay men), 5 Chanel (one obviously fake) and 2 Valentino including my own ... Safe to say in Italy Louis Vuitton rules when it comes to the question of most popular brand!!!
Always having been a dedicated shoe girl my passion for handbags is quite recent. During my high school years I used one of two small vintage suitcases to travel to school. One was multicoloured from the 50’s, the other one brown from the 70’s which I decorated with many stickers from all the places I had been to.
I never liked the idea of carrying around a bag – to me it was a nuisance when going out since it hindered me while dancing or it was something I always had to keep an eye on. So before I met my husband I would always stuff my pockets with credit card, some cash, cell & house key. Later on he became my most precious purse: I dumped all my things into his pockets so I had my hands & mind free to enjoy whatever life was offering ;o)
All this was to change once I discovered the talented Mr. Battu in India. He owns a very small shop which only insiders know about ... He stores rolls and rolls of leather in all colours of the rainbow out of which he can very skilfully make literally any kind of bag you dream of! It was love at first sight, I was hooked and we instantly became a very productive team!!! The smell of leather was intoxicating and addictive :o) In the course of two years I got about 180 bags made. Each time I went to pick up my finished order Mr. Battu would show me the new arrival of fresh leather rolls and although I had promised myself that I was only going to pick up my order and leave, I have to admit that I seldomly did without placing a new one ;o) Being a great fan of Grace Kelly, obviously I very much loooove the Kelly-Bag by Hermès but am not very thrilled by its price tag! So I went ahead and improved this classic design (who likes to copy?!) by adding little dangling hearts and my own logo of a cat with wings – and borne was the handmade Cat-Bag with superb finish & customized interior which I got made in at least 25 different colours. I store them in the same way as my shoes: in boxes with their portrait in the front :o)
Once my passion for handbags was in full swing, my extensive collection of custom made bags was added on to with designer-bags. Being an individualist, the idea of an ‘IT-Bag’ never crossed my mind but I always keep an eye out for limited editions, which I wear till they fall apart not caring which season they originated from.
My system of shopping usually goes like this: First I buy shoes, then I check if I find a bag in my existing collection to go with them and if not, I will turn whole cities upside down till I find what I’m looking for (in which case I might as well stock up on more shoes since they get worn out a lot faster than the bag). Only then I think about the actual clothes I’ll wear with my accessories ;o)
