One of the hardest things as a handbag lover is admitting when I’ve fallen out of love with one of the bags in my collection. I always feel defeated over it, like I’m letting myself and my bag down. This happened to me recently with one of my bags, my Louis Vuitton Marignan, which I reviewed last year.
The bag was very special to me because I picked it up while I was visiting Paris, and of course, buying LV in Paris is such an exciting experience. As I looked back at my review, I realized I only gave the Marignan 2.5 stars for “usability + functionality”, which is truly the main reason I decided to sell the bag. Aesthetically I still adore the Marignan, and it was a tough choice to decide to sell it, but I ultimately made the decision because it has been sitting in my closet since last summer. If a bag sits unworn for that long, that is usually a tell tale sign that it is time to consider selling.
So why did the usability and functionality prove to be so low? The Marignan had exposed corners, meaning there was zero protection against bumps and scrapes on the canvas. Louis Vuitton canvas is known for being extremely difficult, if not impossible, to repair after getting punctured, and I was constantly fearing the worst when I would take this bag anywhere. The last time I carried my Marignan was to the grocery store and it bumped roughly against a freezer, which left me inspecting the corners for rubbing and signs of wear in the middle of the store. As strangers stared at me inspecting my bag under the neon grocery store lights, I knew in my heart the Marignan would not stay in my collection forever.
I took the bag out a few more times, and after three or four wears I detected very minor signs of wear. No corner peeling or holes, but I could see the canvas coating beginning to fade down, ever so slightly. Just knowing the next time I wore it I may see a hole or peeling turned me off from the bag entirely, which is why it sat in my closet for months.
This leads me to my true question, as much as handbags are meant to be worn and loved, when does functionality over design become a deal breaker? I don’t baby my bags by any means, but when I know a handbag has a known design flaw, that is where my threshold lies. One quick search of the word “corners” on PurseForum, and you will see there are many who have had similar issues with their corners rubbing.
Everyone is different and has varying degrees of priorities when purchasing a designer handbag. Perhaps corner wear and canvas fading is on the lower end of priorities for you and wouldn’t bother you very much. It’s a shame because the Marignan bag hit all the marks for me otherwise. It could be carried crossbody or by hand, it had an easy magnetic flap, it had large interior pockets and was a very spacious design, but the bare corners were too much for me to handle.
What must your bag have to make it functional and useable enough to work in your day to day life? Would bare corners have you selling a bag too?
