I Am Afraid to Sell My Bags

I’m moving this weekend and I have yet to pack a single thing. I keep telling myself that I should probably start, but the thought of the gigantic task ahead gives me major anxiety. Another thing that’s been giving me anxiety lately? The thought of selling my bags. No. I won’t, I just can’t!

When I think about getting rid of some of my lesser used babies or my roommate suggests I reassess my current collection, I turn into somewhat of a child. I don’t think rationally and I shut down the idea immediately. However, my next apartment is smaller than my current one. Read: there’s a lot less storage. I’m going from a shared walk-in closet to a much smaller closet of my own. Not to mention my current apartment has an entire closet just for my coats alone. The new one? You guessed it—no coat closet. This ultimately means I’ll have to give some of my lesser used items to goodwill or sell them.

I have almost always struggled to purge items from my wardrobe. When I first moved out of my parents house I got rid of 4 bags worth of clothes and accessories, some items dated back to as far as 2003. Though what’s old is often new again, I’m pretty sure there won’t ever be a place on my body for Abercrombie and Fitch logo tees or low-rise Hollister jeans again. I’ve gotten better since then about giving away clothes, but one thing has remained the same: I hate the thought of parting with any of my handbags!

It’s not that I’ve never sold a bag before, I have, and though I didn’t regret either sale I can’t imagine doing it again. The first bag I sold was a Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene Verona PM. The bag did hold sentimental value as I got it in Paris, but I barely ever used it and I didn’t really like it very much from the minute I began wearing it. The straps were too short to comfortably go over my shoulder and felt too long to be worn in the crook of my arm. The bottom was also heavily structured which all around made it a bag that I barely reached for. Because I didn’t love it very much from the start, I had no problem selling the bag.

The second bag I sold has a bit of a similar story. It was a Chloé Marcie Medium Crossbody Bag that I purchased at a sample sale for a steal of a price. Again I was never completely obsessed with that bag, and I probably shouldn’t have snagged it to begin with. Being that the price was so great I was blinded by the deal when I should have made sure I was blinded by love. Because Both bags were in amazing condition I was able to make a profit off of them. They went off to their new homes and away I went without a pit in my stomach.

Currently, I have 2 or 3 bags that don’t get much use anymore, but the thought of selling them makes my heart ache. At one time or another, they were bags I adored and used religiously. The love shows, and they do look worn. Unlike the other two sales, I know that I won’t make a profit, or even get back what I paid, which makes it even harder to think about parting ways with them. Additionally, I held on to my Dior Saddle Bag for over 10 years before it came back into style. I can’t imagine how upset I would have been had I sold it and that thought also scares me quite a bit. I know I physically need to make room in my closet and it’s silly to hold onto things I don’t use, but I’m still struggling hard at the thought of parting with things I once held close—literally and figuratively! What’s a girl to do?