I realized I was different from my peers during my freshman year of college when I made my laptop background a photo of a Marc Jacobs Stam bag, a total it-bag at the time. My suitemates saw it and mocked me endlessly, and I knew then that my purse obsession was not the norm. It was around that time that I joined the PurseForum, and thank goodness I did, because I really needed my purse tribe to validate my obsessive behavior (which has been validated in spades, in case you were wondering). Although the PurseForum is a place where we admittedly enable the heck out of each other, we also support each other’s obsessions and fears over our beloved bags. We have an unspoken bond that doesn’t need explaining, we just get each other, it’s a spectacularly supportive community.
I spend a lot of time mulling over potential handbag purchases, but I also spend a lot of time obsessing over the items I’ve already acquired. I’m not one to baby my bags, but I definitely like to take care of them. When I’m not using a bag, it sits in its dust bag in its very own cubby within the confines of my closet, and I never let my bag touch the ground. I like to think of their cubbies as my bag’s safe space, and I always store them there for peace of mind. However, for the most part, I’m pretty low maintenance when I’m out and about with one of the purses in my collection (at least I think I am?).
A few weeks ago I woke up from a literal nightmare… gasping for air, drenched in sweat, the whole nine yards. It sounds super dramatic (okay, it kind of was), but I had a dream that my Louis Vuitton bag bumped into someone smoking a cigarette on a crowded city street, and the result was a hole burned straight through the canvas. It’s not unusual for me to see people smoking on the streets of the city, and I always make it a point to weave my way around them to avoid getting too close, with a deep-seated fear that my bag will end up a casualty of a cigarette stub. But in my nightmare, a huge, gaping, ashy hole made its way right through the center of my Louis Vuitton monogram canvas. I literally shudder at the thought. If you’re not an LV shopper, it’s important to note that monogram canvas cannot be repaired and that this type of hole would cause irrevocable damage (and burn a permanent hole into my heart).
As an active member of the PurseForum, I read a lot of horror stories of the bad things that have happened to member’s bags. One that stuck with me recently was a member who carried her Céline bag to get her nails done at the salon. A normal thing to do, right? Unfortunately, handbag tragedy struck when the acetone nail polish remover splashed onto the member’s handbag, forever damaging the leather. I tend to avoid nail salons with my designer bags in general—it’s just too much of a perfect storm. Acetone, nail polish, greasy lotion…the potential for disaster is too great to make it worth it. I’ve also read horror stories where children take permanent markers to pristine leather, oily marinara sauces stain fresh vachetta leather, or when an entire purse collection was stolen by a member’s landlord. I can’t imagine the anguish a purse owner feels when something bad happens to the bag that they love and cherish, and I would be devastated if any of those things happened to my beauties.
They say you should do something every day that scares you, and mine just so happens to be leaving the house with my designer bags. I know bags are meant to be used, but I do get nervous about all that could potentially happen to them in the wild. At the end of the day they are material items and I will continue to enjoy them, but that doesn’t mean I don’t run the other way when I see an oblivious smoker walking towards me. What about you? What’s your biggest handbag fear? Have any of your bags met a tragic fate?
I had a beautiful camel colored tod’s bag. It was the softest leather and the perfect color and size. I put an unopened can of soda in the bag and headed off to work. I had done this a million times with many different bags. At work, a friend asked me if I had sat my bag in water. The bottom half was soaked from the inside out. Somehow that soda can got a tiny hole in it that I couldn’t even see. The can inside was empty (but still unopened). The bag was ruined. I replaced it with a very nice Givenchy Antigona, but it’s not quite the same. Now I put my unopened soda cans in an airtight ziplock bag before they go in my bag.
I was carrying my brand new ysl light grey tote to the salon and while i colored my hair it got stained..i tried everything but it did not completely came off.
Being very carefull not to bring expensive bags to salon again!
Thank you for validating my phobia of this! Other people seem to bring their purses to the salon without a care but…I mean, there is literally dye dripping from brushes there
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten pen ink on my bag from sitting on my work desk. My LV Murakami and YSL Muse both suffered from my carelessness (and additional carelessness when I tried cleaning them myself!). I now keep my bags in my desk drawer. Expensive lesson learned
I actually have a few. I baby my bags since they are expensive and I want them to remain pristine. However, what I don’t like is when someone passes me in public and pushes hard into my bag. I immediately check to see if there is any damage, but also wonder how they can be so insensitive and hit my precious bag. 🙂 My next one is loaning a bag to a trusted friend or family member and when I get it back it’s not in the same condition. Hard lesson to learn and I no longer loan out any bag. However, my biggest fear is setting down my handbag and then forgetting it, but when I go back it’s gone. This fear is due to the fact that I read a story where a woman was gloating that she was in a fancy NM bathroom stall and someone forgot their crocodile Birkin. This woman emptied the contents of the Birkin, put it in her shopping bag, covered it with her purchases and walked out the door. I can’t imagine the feeling of losing a bag, but I believe in Karma and there is a special place in hell for ppl like her, but I digress. 🙂
On the upside, I was riding a tram in Switzerland when a woman got off and left behind a beautiful Hermes B35. Inside was her wallet with credit cards and a wad of cash, smartphone, iPad, etc. Two kids saw it and immediately grabbed it, checked the wallet to see if it had the person’s ID in it and then ran with it up to the tram driver and turned it in. (last week I left my iPhone on another tram and it was turned in and back in my hands less than 24 hours later. thank you Switzerland!)
i NEVER take my good bags to the nail salon. I’m glad I’m not the only one. People are careless. I get paranoid in restaurants too. I don’t like hanging my bag on the chair so that the servers and people walking by can bump into it (I worked as a waitress for a long time — I know what would be on my uniform pants sometimes lol). So call me crazy but when I go out to eat I usually take a less expensive cross body bag or forgo it completely and just take a wristlet. I am also terrified of pen on a white bag!
Yes, never nail salons! I don’t go often but I try to only bring my wallet in. // I don’t put my bags on the back of my chair because anyone can swipe it. I don’t put them on the floor. I put the bag on my lap with my napkin over it.
Buy a handbag hook so you can hang it from the table! I just ordered one. I accept it’s a little crazy, but I would rather be eccentric than put my purse on the floor 🙂
I had one. Used to slip off of the table and my bag would wind up on the floor anyway! But thanks!
Oh no! I got the Clipa2 which seems better than the average options and has good reviews but I will be cautious.
My drunk sister in law spilled her beer all over and inside my LV patent monogram bag. Fortunately the outside I could wipe off. The beer stains remain inside that bag. She laughed while carrying her hemp bag when this happened, my mom saw my face. This was about 8 years ago. I still have not forgotten and never looked at her the same. LOL
I am actually curious to hear about experiences where the tragedy has actually struck. I am always nervous that when I’m out someone will spill something on one of my bags. Then what happens? Does the offender ever offer to pay? Should you insist they do? I can’t imagine ruining a very expensive bag belonging to someone else and not offering to compensate them.
I was at a bar, and a waiter spilled a fruity cocktail on me by accident. A lot of it got on my Chanel bag. The manager was very apologetic and gave me a card to send him a bill for any cleaning costs. However, I had already been thinking the bag needed to go in for spa services, so it was just the push I needed to go ahead and do it. I didn’t send a bill at all–I figured it was a service I would have paid for anyway, and I didn’t want to heap any more trouble on the poor waiter’s shoulders.
That’s very nice of you, but don’t businesses have insurance to cover unforeseen expenses, such as this? Typically wouldn’t it cost $200-$300 to have it spa’d? Perhaps the cost could have been split as you were going to have it cleaned anyway, but this accident expedited your decision. Just curious. 🙂
I honestly didn’t think about insurance. Spa was $275, but since I’d already been planning to send it, it didn’t seem nice to make them pay for that. The server was really upset, and I was worried that expense would fall on him. The bar did comp our drinks and food, which was about $100, so I thought that was enough.
Heh – I have the ultimate horror story. My apartment was burglarized and they stole all of my handbags, including an Hermes Constance and 10 Chanels (we were clearly targeted). Fortunately, we had renter’s insurance, but it was pretty horrifying. I still haven’t been able to replace some of the bags, including a pristine-condition Chanel so black chevron jumbo. (I bet they shoved that beautiful lambskin bag into some suitcase and completely crushed the quilts…)
Mines too 30k worth of bags gone while dumb azz male detectives were saying bags dont cost that much. Female officers had to tell them the value of the bags.. Anyhoo a teenager sold all my bags at local high school so could you imagine seeing various teenaged girls with your bags…That was ok because kid did 7 years in prison and my ex was the captain on his cell block in prison talk about Karma…lol
i feel you girl. getting robbed of your handbags is the worst for handbag horror.
Ugh I recently got the so black chevron jumbo and it’s breathtaking I am so sorry this happened to you!
Was yours a fairly recent purchase? That bag is gorgeous and would love to know where you purchased? Thx!
Hi! I bought it through a reputable reseller in instagram. I believe fashionphile has one now though! And so does opulent habits (I believe the one there is cheaper). Good luck!
Aaah, you’re so lucky! Enjoy the bag in good healthy!!!
I NEVER take any of my handbags into the nail salon. I don’t care if it’s my Dooney or my Chanel. I carry my phone, wallet, and keys. Nail salons are gross. Ugh. Toenails.
I only have one horror story. I have a white, monogram fabric Coach baguette. My oldest son splattered ketchup all over it. I was in shock. Since the McDonald’s was attached to a truck stop, my husband immediately bought me a Tide-to-Go stick. I can’t believe that it got the stain off. I still have the bag (the boy is now 21), and it’s still white. That bag is a reminder that it’s just a bag and nothing to get bent out of shape about. It’s a material object. And, no, the boy didn’t get punished. It was an accident. I still buy white bags.
My fave nail salon has a shelf behind the chairs for your bag (it is about 18-24 inches from the massage chair). Far away from all the action! It is great.
I’m usually extremely careful with all my bags but once i put a bottle of water (opened once and lid closed but I learned later, not tight enough) into the middle (open) compartment of my pristine black Prada Galleria bag (one of my most favorite bags). I usually never do this and wonder what made me think otherwise that day! This was at a classical music concert that was just beginning, and after the first song, I opened the bag to have a sip, only to discover that the bottle had opened, just a little water had spilled. But enough to damage it. Oh no! I dried it with whatever I could after emptying the bag and when I got home, did the same again, put silica gels inside, left it open. I did whatever I could do best, but the bag is still a bit misshapen today. I was only able to undo 70% of the damage.
I used to live in a humid climate, so I thought it would be a good idea to put some of those silica tubs at the back of a few of the shelves of the wardrobes I stored my bags in. One of those tubs fell over somehow and spilled about a pint of greasy water onto one of the shelves. I didn’t notice for a few weeks when I went to pull out one of my Lady Diors to use and it was completely deformed. It had absorbed all of the water somehow and none of the bags on the shelf below it got damaged and the only collateral damage was a bit got soaked up in the back bottom corner of a medium black lambskin Lady Dior. I don’t know how this bag managed to absorb all of the liquid, but it did and saved 7 other bags that could’ve been ruined. RIP Lady Dior.
Oh no!
She sacrificed herself to save the others – what a hero
I had that happen before. Luckily it was an inexpensive bag. But I was shocked at how it deformed the leather.
I screamed in the movies watching the sex and the city 2 movie when one of those sellers of fake hermes birkin mistakenly grabbed samantha’s real one and the handle broke…my heart fell and i covered my eyes until that scene was over…i hope it never happens to anyone in real life…my bags are all my babies i take care of them pretty well…maybe the worst that has happened to one of them is just the usual dust that sticks to them when i take them out…and ballpen marks to one of my cheap bags luckily not one of my designer bags…i never carry a ballpen now ever learned my lesson
I once got mustard on a white LV epi leather bag and I couldn’t get it out no matter what I wiped it with. It was always a faint yellow stain. I read online extensively and found out about a baking soda trick with a toothbrush, so I tried it, figuring I had nothing to lose. It didn’t seem to do anything at the point so I wiped it off and decided to stop thinking about it. A few weeks later I got that bag out again, and the stain was gone! I couldn’t find it no matter how hard I tried. The baking soda must have been working even after I supposedly wiped it off. Whew.
Same! Once at a baseball game, I dropped my fully loaded hot dog on my LV Damier Azur Artsy; ketchup, mustard, relish, jalapenos, the works! The mustard left streaks of yellow all down the front. I read that baking soda and a soft baby toothbrush would take the stain out and to my surprise it sure did.
I mistakenly spilled a bottle of Perrier (unflavored) inside my Trevi PM, my first and at the time, only, LV bag. I was really worried that the inside was ruined but in fact when I took everything out and let it air dry for 24 hours it showed no staining whatsoever. If anything, it look cleaner 🙂 Whew! Lucky break that it was just plain sparking water. OTOH, I am not the most graceful person in the world and sometimes bump into the edge of brick and stone walls while carrying one of my designer bags. So far, knock wood, I haven’t damaged anything, but I’m constantly telling myself Be More Careful!!
I walk quickly and sometimes run into walls, other times I’m able to stop, but somehow my bags always take most of the damage. My worst nightmare would be coming home and seeing that my bags have been stole, thankfully that has not happened yet.
The enemy of all those who live in warm and humid environments: Mold.
I live under the same house with my sister whom also share the love for handbags. We had a good collection that was burglarized late last summer. Aside from the handbags, jewlery, belts, and wallets were stolen. They weren’t able to take everything but the best pieces and classics are gone. Luckily non of our shoes were stolen and we had premium insurance. Some of our most cherished pieces are;
3 chanel limited edition boy (large python, new medium chevron chain embroidered, and old medium cordoba leather) / 1 medium gabrielle and jumbo classic flap / 1 lizard mini luggage. Overall, it was over 10 handbags including my LV collection. Thank god we had not started our Hermes journey then. Sister and I couldn’t sleep for weeks at first but then realized they are only bags after all.
I once went to a tattoo shop with my close friend to get his ink done. It was in the middle of winter and the shop has a blowing heater on max. Young and dumb me decided to sit next to the heater placing my classic flap right in front of it. Half hour in, my chanel was so hot that the leather slightly COOKED and shrunk. The puffiness of the quilting also flattened on one side of the bag. This same bag went to many nights out in town getting wine spilled.
The name of this specific boutique shall remain a secret but I once bought an exotic B, carried it back the next day to buy a wallet and while I was checking out, the SA fumbled his marker pen which hit the bag and left a nice black line of ink on it. After I was revived, they took it from me, brought it somewhere in-house and returned it to my hotel the next day in perfect condition and with a very nice gift. Before it was returned, my husband kept saying “people are dying, it’s just a bag”. Then I told him what it cost and he was more upset than I was. LOL.
My cat had an axe to grind with me ( I was dating and left him home alone overnight quite a bit in his senior years) and he peed in my LV Keepall Bandouliere as I was about to pack. I swear I suffered a mini heart attack as he squatted with a look of satisfaction in his eyes (the same cat also peed in my suitcase 6 months earlier).
I ran to the bathroom and poured water into it, praying that water damage is better than the smell of cat pee. I washed the inside of the bag with soap and water, let it dry, sprayed it with Nature’s Miracle, and then took it to my shoe repair guy. The bag survived, was given some TLC and doesn’t stink.
A couple years ago, I had been home for a week after returning from France with my very first Birkin 35, when my upstairs neighbor had a dryer fire. The fire burned through the washer’s water line, causing it to rain into our unit. I literally had to answer in seconds, “what do you save in a fire?” . My husband over heard me saying, “Birkin, the Chanels, Celine….oh damn, how do I carry all these bags down…and the shoes! I need a bigger plastic bag” and yelled me, “Honey, we have to go right now!”
Thank goodness no one was hurt and the silver lining was that it forced us to remodel the home, with me turning a bedroom into a giant closet.