The old bags guide to bags

An old bag

Grace Kelly and her Hermes Kelly Bag

This post is for my beautiful friend Tracy who asked me ages ago to blog about bags. She told me that she is feeling unloved because I haven't written it. Well Trace- the reason for this is I have been doing research. Lots and lots of research.

Handbags are an interesting thing. You always need one and depending on the stage in your life, the bags you need will change. When you are young it contains fun things, when you have kids it contains everything, and when your kids get older it contains things you don't even know where they came from.

I have managed to streamline my bags because I don't really love bags. But I do love my bags and that would be because my bags are Louis Vuitton. I can rationalise it. Stay with me. (but then I have never made a purchase I can't rationalise). I like to think  of my babies, sorry bags, as investment pieces that will past along to my daughters. They are also the only bags I use, so really they are very economical. They have also been bought at special times in my life, so they hold not only crap, but also memories. See I told you I can rationalise anything.

When you talk bags there are classics, like the Kelly Bag, The Birkin Bag, The Chanel Chain Bag, The Sportsgirl logo tote.. but I think no matter what brand you favour or whether you go for investments, classics, or fun bags I believe you need to have the following sizes.

The everyday bag. This is one that is middle sized, it fits everything you need on a daily basis, but is not so massive that you give yourself a shoulder injury. My everyday bag is my LV Speedy. This was my first LV purchase, and I bought it with money may Grandma Brenda left me.  I love this bag, and I call it my Mary Poppins bags because it fits sooooo much in in, including one bottle of wine.

A Speedy- It was originally made for Audrey Hepburn and was based on the larger trunks.

Audrey and her Speedy.

The Oversized Bag-  This is your larger bag that you take shopping or to work, or whenever you need to carry lots of stuff.  My oversized is the LV Neverfull. And it is never full. It comes in a few sizes, but mine is middle large. It is kind of like a bucket. The best and worst thing about this bag is that it doesn't have a zip, meaning stuff can fall out, but this is also awesome because you can just keep shoving more stuff in. It has an oversized zipped pocket that will fit your purse,phone and keys. Your oversized bag is not for every single day because it gets too heavy and you will hurt your shoulder. I bought my Neverfull with the stimulus package money from KRudd. Everytime I use it I say a little prayer of thanks to Uncle Kevin. ( he is not my Uncle- he just reminds me of that drunk Uncle at a wedding and started handing out money to everyone.)

"You bought a LV bag with your stimulus package money? You go girlfriend"

This is a Neverfull. I used this as my overnight bag when I went to Paris. It held my jammies, a change of clothes, my make up, iPad, purse and passport. Bottle of Wine factor- at least 3. Those straps are strong.

The Purse- The purse is important, especially in the climate of loyalty cards and credit cards (unless you are me and you have given your credit cards to your husband so you will stop spending). They are also good if you can pop your phone in it as well. My purse is a Zippy Wallet. I got it for my 40th birthday. It fits all my cards, my money and my passport, just in case my husband ever decided to take me on a spontaneous overseas vacation. No this has never happened. I just live in hope.

The Zippy wallet. It is the perfect size.

The disco dancing or holiday bag- I don't ever go disco dancing, because I think these days they are called clubs, the drinks are far too expensive, oh and because I am old, but when I am going out for dinner, or you are going somewhere where you only need money, a lipgloss and your phone, this is the bag for you. Mine has a strap so I can wear it across my body or over my shoulder, and the strap can also detach so it is a little clutch. Genius. I also have a little money purse in it that I got from Typo. It says Golddigger. I bought this for myself as a reward for running a marathon. I also bought it with money that my Grandma Dora left me. I know she would have approved. I can almost hear her saying "It looks lovely Ems" every time I wear it. Dora was ace. She drank Gin and Champagne and she called everybody "Darling"

This is my disco dancing/dinner bag. 

Now of course you don't have to buy expensive bags, but I would suggest you do buy something nice. Oroton, Country Road, Witchery, all have some pretty fab bags. Places like Sportsgirl, Portmans and Forever New also have some great cheap disposable fashion bags. My gorgeous girlfriend Dawny also gets bags made in Bali. This is a fab idea, especially if you have a great basic bag that you love and would like to get made in a few different colours or sizes.

The biggest trend in bags right now is the small clutch. Cute but not always practical, Chanel though seem to be going for the toilet roll holder style

 This is called the Shiny Lambskin Evening Flap Bag. It cost $4500. I don't get it either.

So there you have it- the Older is the New Black guide to bags. I hope this helps you decide what bags you need in your life. My next purchase is hopefully going to be this

                          but not for a very long time. I need to save  and I am not very good at that, unless of course someone who loves decides to surprise me.

                   " Sucked in- if you have voted for me again you may have got a second chance."