I have been collecting bags for two whole decades. That’s more than half of my life. In that time, I’ve had a lot of gains, a few losses, and some bags that got away. The amount of personal growth I’ve experienced in those years is immeasurable. Through each stage of my life, not only have trends come, gone, and come back around but my personal style and aesthetics have also cycled.
My current collection consists of fifteen bags, all of which I keep track of in a note on my phone with the year of production. At the bottom of the note, I have a list of the bags I’ve owned and sold, just for my records. Only recently did I add this to my notes when I tried to recall the name of a (now discontinued) Louis Vuitton Bag I had sold. The list consists of nine bags that I owned anywhere from 2010 up until 2022.
Three of them are Louis Vuitton, once one of the most important brands in my collection and the brand that really started my handbag obsession. Another three of them are Chloé, purchased during my time interning and freelancing at the start of my career in luxury fashion. The remaining three are miscellaneous pieces that I acquired within the last 6 years.
Sell the Bag But Hold on to the Memories
In an effort to condense my closet and all of the stuff in my life, I began assessing my current collection last week. I do this at least once a year, sometimes every half year, as now that I’ve become more comfortable selling bags, I like to make sure I’m not holding onto things just to hold on to things. *Quality over quantity, quality over quantity,* I repeat to myself. Certain bags in my rotation are definitely getting more use than others, but I have at least used all of my bags once or twice within the last several months.
And while I feel at peace with what I currently own, as I looked back on the list of the bags I’ve let go, I also felt a sense of peace. I don’t actually miss any of the nine bags I’ve rehomed. Those pangs of regret I’ve felt here and there aren’t true regret. Rather, I find myself longing for the times in my life that have come and gone. Youthful memories that I hold close.
There was my study abroad trip in college, where I purchased the first bag I ever sold, my Louis Vuitton Verona PM. Then, there’s my red Saint Laurent Sac de Jour, which will always be reminiscent of moving to New York and my first apartment in midtown Manhattan which I both loathed and loved. When I think about those bags, I’m not sad that I don’t have them anymore; none of them truly suit my needs or style any longer. What it is that I really miss when I feel nostalgic for them is the memories each one holds.
Real talk: sell the bag but hold tight to the memories.
