I sometimes feel I’ve failed as a woman. I can’t walk in high heels for a start. I have no idea how to make a soufflé. And I’m not the least bit bothered about handbags.
Image by diongillard
The handbag thing really gets to me, as of course I have to cart all my stuff around with me every day, so I do have to use one. I have a selection of three, in actual fact.
One is a stained rucksack which is around 7 years old, that I carry my swimming gear to the sports center with. One is a leather 1970’s vintage across-the-body number that I bought in pristine condition from a second hand shop, and had managed to ruin within one week of owning it. Imagine! It has been alive nearly as long as me, and survived, and then I owned it and leaked pen on it.
The third bag in my life is a faux leather brown thing, not particularly attractive, not particularly practical for me either, as it only has short handles, and has no compartments, so everything just kind of swims around in the middle and I curse the thing every single time I have to retrieve something from it.
For me it is but a useful cavity, closers can be zip or stud fastened, its material is immaterial – just a place to fling my specs, sweets, purse, and umbrella.
But for those with more money than sense, these are high fashion items and displays of grotesque wealth. I wouldn’t know a Hermes from a Burberry myself, I have no idea. See, I told you I’m not a real woman.
Image by l.bailey_beverley
Bags of Bling
In a recent survey, 22% of woman said they would rather go on a spending spree for designer handbags than have sex. What??! And one in ten women spends on average £150 on “arm candy” – I think my current bag was £20. Another Alpha Woman fail from me then.
But £150 is nothing next to what the seriously rich will spend on a bag. The most expensive handbag EVER was created by The House of Mouawad in Dubai, the desert playground for tax-free ex-pats and minted Arabs. More like a clutch than a proper bag, this beauty is covered in 4,500 diamonds; 4,356 clear,105 yellow, and 56 pink ones.
It is a heart shaped purse, made from 18kt gold, with a handy real gold chain. The diamonds alone weight 381 karats, it took 10 men four months to make, and is in the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive handbag in the world.
And the price, you ask? Oh, only a piffling $3.8 MILLION! Here’s a picture of it: http://www.bornrich.com/entry/mouawad-unveils-the-world-s-most-expensive-handbag-worth-38-million/ There’s no cost to look!
If there is no place to stow my bottle of water, hand cream, money, fags, notebook, make-up, magazine, baby wipes, spare toothbrush, Cool mints, pens, camera, sun glasses, lip balm and hairbrush, it’s not much use to me, is it?
But what Louis Vuitton did, was come up with a bag actually made from these items. Yes, his unique “junk” bag (only 12 pieces were ever made) was made from candy wrappers, old water bottles, tea bags, cigarette packets, old bus tickets and band aids – it was like making the inside of the bag on the outside.
I personally do not think this is a good look, but the 12 pieces produced in this range were booked up before they even went on sale. And the price tag? $150,000. Yes, for a bag that looks like it’s made from the debris from the inside of my own bag. Go figure.
What’s your view on handbags; things of beauty – or a practical necessity?
Author Bio: Sarah Owen is a forty-something lady with a loads of life in her yet! She enjoys family, shopping, art galleries, and traveling. She is lucky enough to have her own house and loves the kitchen best – she’s a great cook. She also loves a go at DIY in her spare time. To keep fit she likes to swim, hike and dance. She also blogs for Cavalok Building Products Ltd in her spare time.
