Like with dogs, I wait until the old one is far beyond repair and needs to be put down, grieve for the appropriate length of time and then embark on months of search until I find a new one that I can’t live without. Last fall I said last rites over a beloved Kate Spade that I’d purchased back in 2000 and vacillated between giving it to Goodwill and wrapping it in an old towel and burying it in the backyard.
Obviously, I’m not one who has to have the purse. I have no idea what Paris and Nicole carry. This past Sunday LA Times’ “Image” staff writer Monica Corcoran declared that YSL’s Must was no longer the “it” bag—something that I’d failed to notice.
Yet, I’m fully aware that women are known by the handbags they keep. And as one who operates in China, where carrying the must-have bag has reached epic proportions, I’m not immune to the effects of needing to keep up appearances. Which brings me to the two trips to Nordstrom. It was just before I left for Beijing in the fall that I parted with the Kate Spade.
Given that I was off to meet with the most successful image consultant in China, I could hardly show up with a shabby Kate slung across my shoulder. So, I ventured to Nordstrom and bought something appropriate for the occasion—black (classic), updated (good for the image) and more expensive than my first car (idiotic). Imagine my surprise when she showed up at lunch sporting latest Burberry tote from which she extracted a bright fuchsia Fendi envelope bag. I guess when it comes to designer purses two is better than one, and flash trumps classic.
This left me in a bind as I was planning a trip back to China. With no intention of entering the two-in-one arena, I figured the least I should do is show up with a different purse. So, I dipped into my retirement fund and went back to Nordstrom’s. After all, I once adopted two dogs at the same time, and it worked out quite well.
No doubt, I could have taken another route to a well-crafted image. Renting designer handbags has become a growth industry for smart retailers who’ve cashed in on women’s desires for showing up with the right bag. Got $500? You can rent the hottest D&G for the weekend and a well-tailored Louie for the upcoming interview. Who’s to know? Those not wanting to rent can join a handbag exchange club or rent-to-own. With my penchant for taking in purses as part of the family, I found this option not all that interesting.
This leaves the possibility of buying knock-offs, those nearly-but-not-quite-so bags that range from ridiculously fake to almost perfect copies of the originals; like the cocker spaniel without papers that I once got for a steal. I must admit that I’ve toyed with going this route. The cocker proved to be a great dog for nearly thirteen years. I could do with a purse of the same ilk.
Yet, I was stopped short last May by a group fashion marketing students that I took to Shanghai. They chewed through one knock-off shop and then another in search of perfect counterfeit. Purse after purse, they counted stitches and looked at the size and shape of zipper pulls. They analyzed colors, linings, and strap widths.
One bag was nixed because it wasn’t on the market yet (go figure!) and would be recognized as such straight way by those who know. These were fake purse pros who knew their stuff and took it seriously, which left me with the realization that I had no business buying an imitation. One glance by a student back home and I’d be exposed for the fraud that I was.
No, I’m happy with my two purses from Nordstrom; and I’m looking forward to taking the most recent acquisition to China with me. While it won’t win me a fashion award, it will show the image consultant that I know what’s what when it comes to bags. Moreover, in time I expect to love both bags as much as I did the sorely-missed Kate Spade.
Copyright Karen Kaigler-Walker 2008 All Rights Reserved
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About the author:
Karen Kaigler-Walker, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Marketing at Woodbury University and professor of marketing and psychology. She is an adjunct professor of women’s spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA and serves on the executive board of the Educational and Cultural Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that builds and supports orphanages, schools, after school nutrition/educational centers, senior citizen facilities and seminaries throughout Asia. Currently she is filming a documentary on the role of women in the Chinese Christian community. Contact: karen.kaigler-walker@woodbury.edu.
