Pocket Full of Wishes

I've blogged about it before, but will probably be blogging about it again... and again... and again. I'm a purse-addict. I love pocketbooks. I love expensive leather, mid-priced cloth, and everything in between. And part of the reason is, I guess, my infatuation period with each new purse.

It all starts off dreamy. I am currently shlepping around with a very nice Gianni Bernini in black leather. I've had it for 4 months or so, and I've loved it for 3 of them. But something strange ALWAYS happens around the 4th month.

I need two inches more horizontally and perhaps an inch more vertically. Or one inch less. Or better outside pockets. Or a zipper rather than a snap.

Then it begins. Today I tried out Vera Wang's new line and hated all the strap lengths. Lately, it seems, every designer is insisting on providing shorter straps with no option to lengthen. Nope. Sorry, I have a very specific shoulder comfort zone.

I am not a fan of that Kathy person with a cheesy Claddagh rip-off symbol on everything. Ugh.

Tignanello is great, but they always seem either too stiff, or not firm enough. I love hobo bags, but need more structure. I had an Anne Klein leather that I liked, but found a tad too small. I had Stone Mountain, Saddleback, and Coach. I still have a lot of Vera Bradley.

Right now? I have a headache. And I hate my bag.

Pocketbook Shopping

I have a challenging relationship with pocketbooks. One of the absolute coolest things about my new EEE mini pc is that I can chuck it into a pocket book... no lie, the 2 pounds is like air and it fits into a decent sized purse. So I decided to get rid of my larger Vera Bradley, since I love the Peacock pattern but it was a little too "diaper baggish." I would have bought another Vera, but gads... she's so expensive, and I keep wanting the newest pattern. Solution? Get an inexpensive white or brown bag that would work for the summer.

Cool, right?

Right!

Only I shopped at Target, Walmart, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, K-Mart, Macy's, Sears, and four or five small places with cutsie names I can't remember. I thought white leather or something similar would be fantastic with my Vera peacock accessories, since the print is turquoise, chartreuse, brown, and white. Under-constructed mini-messenger or something similar.

No. I kept finding the perfect bag, but it was either:

one inch too short on the strap or
the wrong color or
a tiny bit too big or
a tiny bit too small or
made of flimsy material or
made of cheap fake leather or
had no outside pockets or
had something odd about the way it sat under my arm.

So I picked up a white denim sling bag with fake leather trim until I could find the right bag. It was $5 in the markdowns. I used it for one day. That day was today. It fit right under my arm, held everything I needed, and worked just fine.

I hated it

So I was wandering Harvard Square and... well everywhere in Cambridge, to be honest. Cranky. Slinging my perfectly-fine white pocketbook. It really did sit nicely. But it was wrong, and I'm damned if I can tell you why. It just was.

"What about it bothers you?" the man unit asks.

"Dunno."

"Well you must have some idea, you seem terribly unhappy. I think it looks nice."

"You're a guy." I tried not to make "guy" sound like "jackass," I swear.

"Why not get the kind to match your little wallet and case thing?"

"I love Vera Bradley, but she's expensive when I keep changing what pattern I want and I want to coordinate, in stead. I would get the same one I had in the new pattern, but it's seventy five bucks for something I will only use a few months."

"Baby, tell me what you want and--"

"I have no earthly idea what I want, ok? It's a girl thing. I don't do many girlie type things, but this is apparently one of them. It's like golf clubs, ok? You don't know why it's wrong, you just know it is. I don't need to keep looking, it's fine, I'll..."

Panicked look, slow retreat. He was smart enough to run. So I shopped in discount stores, department stores, and every place else I could think of. I shopped for an entire afternoon with no success. I accepted defeat, headed for the cafe, and started to write this blog post.

And Ahmed just walked in with a little purple Paper Company bag. Inside? My brand new Vera Bradley bag.

He really shouldn't encourage me, you know? :D