It’s in the bag

Ditching the old ball and chain (or not)

By Jessica Corey-Butler on May 17, 2007

It’s time to split.

We’ve been together nearly a year, and it’s been a mostly good year, but I’m tired.

Now I know there are people out there who can juggle multiples, switching things up at whim, and there are those people who can stay with one ’til death.

I suppose I’m something in-between.

I’m finding the thought of separation hard, because there’s that whole “looking around for better”-thing, and that whole, “but it’s going to be such a pain in the butt to move”- thing.

And then, sure, there’s the consideration of all the good times we’ve had, experiences shared, tireless support given, yadda yadda.

But I won’t — can’t — forget the time I was let down.

And so my eyes strayed.  Michael Kors, Dooney & Bourke, Tylie Malibu, even other Coach bags caught my attention.  I guess I just wasn’t ready, in part because of my somewhat unhealthy reliance on my big black handbag that, really, is like an extension of my own identity.

Unfortunately, if it’s showing my innermost core, I need some serious help, because it’s ugly, shapeless, and falling apart at the strap seams once again.

So here I am, wandering the streets looking for the perfect reflection of my being that will also tirelessly carry my wallet, notebook, camera, various writing implements, sunglasses, business cards, makeup bag, Extra Polar Ice mega-pack of gum, cell phone, and assortment of random kid toys that somehow always manages to walk its way into my bag (gremlins, I’m thinking).

First, there’s the utilitarian bag.  Shopping bag? Sure, might work, especially if it’s something like the Miso Pretty bag I just found at Trouvè that I also saw at urbanXchange a while ago.  But wait.  Shopping bag?  What sort of statement does that make as a handbag?

So let’s go ever-so-slightly-less utilitarian and toward the green, and check out the hemp bags at Radiance or even the woven, larger bags at Archibald Sisters.  I see others carrying that sort of thing, and I think, “Cool.”

I’m just not so sure I can pull off that look any more than I could Mindy Barker’s art bag at Zinnia in the mid-level shops.  This particular style is covetable, indeed, but it has the stamp of “urban cool-chick” on it that plays along with the messenger bag mystique; I feel like my own individual style (if I can call it that) is more “suburban thirty-eight year-old mom.”

While a stylish stretch for me, Leigh Daniels’ Pandemonium bags, also at the mid-level shops in Tracy Marie’s Day Spa, catch my eye.  Cool styles, good sizes, and excellent prints on durable fabrics.  Customizable.  Fun, fun, fun.

Wait.  Back up a bit there: what was that word? “Fabric.”

Ack.  For me, it pretty much has to be leather (sorry to the vegans out there). I’m walking death on handbags, as my performance with the current Coach bag attests.  And, after blowing through that (fabric) handbag, I think I pretty much said to myself, “Self, no more fabric for you.”

I think it would be different if I was the kind of individual who changed out handbags with outfits, but getting mine cleaned out from month to month and throwing out the old gum wrappers is enough of a stretch.

So.  On I go.

Stylish bags like the ones I’ve seen at Tiki Lounge, Red Line and Posh Home, make my heart sing.  I see these bags and think, “I will discard my slovenly, suburban-style aesthetic and turn over a fashionable new leaf.”

Posh Home has Hobo International bags in supple leathers with sizes from sweet little clutch to mega-mammoth tote.  Even the bigger bags, with their well-thought-out, pocketed interiors, tempt me, and then the prices suck me in.

Not only does Posh Home offer Hobo Intl. under retail pricing, the bags are on sale until May 27.

Naturally, I had to say, I do.

At least, for now.

 

[Trouvè, 762 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.627.0657]

[urbanXchange, 1934 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2280]

[Radiance Herbs and Massage, 113 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia, 360. 357.5250]

[Archibald Sisters, 406 Capitol Way S., Olympia, 360.943.2707]

[Zinnia, midlevel shops at Sanford and Son, 743 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.383.3168]

[Gift Gallery at Tracy Marie’s Day Spa, midlevel shops at Sanford and Son, 743 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.383.7782]

[Tiki Lounge, 17 N Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.5300]

[Red Line Style, 2503 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.9910]

[Posh Home, 2502 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.5001]