What’s the Last Bag You Really Had to Have?

I’ve been collecting handbags for nearly two decades, but I’ve loved them almost as long as I can remember. I can’t recall the moment I discovered this world, but I can remember my very first holy grail: a Louis Vuitton Speedy bag in classic Monogram.

It was the early aughts. I was not even in my teens yet, but I knew I would own that bag one day. Quickly, it made its way from inside one of the fashion magazines I begged my mom to buy me at the grocery store onto one of the construction paper fashion collages I spent all of my free time making.

I would eventually get that bag—a Louis Vuitton Speedy 25—for my high school graduation in lieu of a big party with catering from our favorite Italian restaurant, like my siblings had. I didn’t care about a party or a big celebration where I was the center of attention.

All I wanted was the bag.

From that moment on, the Speedy was my lifeline, and to this day, it holds so many memories after accompanying me through most of my college life. I used it daily, and it’s still one of the rare bags I know I’ll never part with. I don’t use it nearly as often as I once did, and in fact, it sat untouched for years, but it still brings me joy to remember that unmistakable excitement (you know the feeling).

Like many of us, with fall (and a potential move) on the horizon, I began the dreaded closet cleanout a couple of weeks ago, which forced me to reassess my closet, including my handbag collection. I thought about some of the bags I haven’t used as frequently over the last few years, weighing whether any of them were worthy of selling.

As I thought about what I’d sell, I thought about what I would want to buy. I still struggle sometimes to part with things, and replacing something I don’t love with something I definitely do helps. I tried to remember which bags have excited me the most lately—the ones that sparked enough joy to actually want to buy them.

When You Know, You Know

Truthfully, there have been a few—much more than in recent years (Loewe, Chanel, and Dior—I’m looking at you!). Still, when you know, you know. And, as luck would have it, over the weekend I walked into a vintage store in my neighborhood and stumbled upon a bag I’d been searching for for two years—from Spring 2005, to be exact—and in a color combination I’d never seen before.

It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten that “I’ve gotta have it” feeling, complete with those unmistakable butterflies in my stomach and the head rush that I would do whatever it took to purchase it—immediately. And that’s exactly what happened. I went home, looked at some of the items I’ve been sitting on and thinking about selling, and realized the trade-off was so worth it.

Later that day, I went back and bought the bag—full reveal and story coming later this week! What about you? Have you been over the moon about a bag recently? What’s the last bag that really excited you enough to pull the trigger?