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Francine's avatar

I do not get beating up a handbag for sake of a “look.” While I’m not overly precious with things, I take good care of everything in my closet. I love the ceremony of defuzzing a sweater, polishing a boot, using a lint brush on blazers, hand washing vs dry cleaning and much more. I keep shoes in their boxes, fold sweaters, hang denim and use garment bags for coats. Handbags get filled with fabric (old pillow cases) to keep their shape and stored in their dust bags. If I notice dirt or a stain, I clean/polish it.

It shows respect to the piece! And it shows respect to myself and the money I spent.

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Nicole T.'s avatar

I, too, share this problem. I have a collection of bags, and some of them I haven't even worn in fear of ruining them somehow. Also, I often question my sanity in having purchased several gorgeous suede bags when I live in one of the rainiest cities in the world. I also took a brand new bag I purchased on a quick work trip as an airplane carryon, only to do get the slightest scratch on the front. It's noticeable only to me, and I'm trying to overcome the "of course it will get a scratch when you use it" mentality and shift to "use it more, get more scratches, enjoy the bag you pursued for two years."

I think what makes the battered luxe bag "cool" is that the simple reason that it can't be procured. I've never seen an Hermes bag for sale that looks quite like the ones in the photos, and it adds a certain uniqueness to the bag indicative of how the owner has worn it, making it ever more unique. Coupled with its "effortlessness" it is the perfect combo of "effortless" and "impossible to replicate."

I, too, buy my bags pre-loved as much as possible (the number of new bags I've actually bought is actually quite small). I think if I were to embrace the battered bag look, I'd have to start with something that was already in fair condition and go from there. But getting over the mental block is still a bit of a hurdle. Especially for something from Hermes.

I do think that some bags to me are a work of art, and perhaps I didn't buy them to wear, I bought them to enjoy visually, like a painting. I have a bag that I just realized is very reminiscent of your Kelly (it was also a special edition collaboration and can't be purchased anymore and rarely shows up preloved, so to me it is irreplaceable), and yet I've somehow never even worn it. It still looks pristine, tucked away in the original box awaiting her debut. In my defense, however, I really do enjoy looking at the bag every so often, even if I don't feel compelled to wear her in public until the specialness of the occasion matches the bag in equal measure. And yet, I couldn't bear to part with her, if someone were to rationalize with me, "you haven't worn this, it's in a big huge box taking up a bunch of space....declutter!"

I have also realized that even though I am no longer enamored with a bag, there may be a time in the future when its time might come back around. I have been thinking about all of the bags I've sold in the past and why, as the impulse to repurchase some of them has popped up yet again as some designers have started bringing back some of those it bags from the past. I think the older battered editions show a certain coolness of "I was cool back then too, which means I've always been cool."

I think this year I'm going to start with making it a challenge simply to wear each bag in my closet at least once this year and if I don't, really think about it's intended purpose. If a bag is just too precious to me to consider wearing, does it belong in my closet at all?

Perhaps only to be admired, like an indoor private sculpture garden....and that just might be okay if I can make peace with it (storage space permitting).

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