I've Become a "Purse Girl"

I've never been one of those women that owns very expensive things. I've always preferred to buy my clothes, shoes and accessories on the cheap. But as I've gotten older, I've begun to realize that quality trumps quantity. Shoes and handbags (pocketbooks for us Southerners) are an area this has become apparent. I'd rather have fewer shoes and purses that are higher quality than a bin full of poorly-made purses that have broken straps, ripping faux leather, loose stitches, etc. I'd much rather have a rotation of a few quality pairs of shoes than racks of cheap pairs I can only wear a few times.

I've always been exceptionally hard on shoes so I end up usually replacing shoe staples like my ballet flats or black pumps every year at least. But for the last 2 years I've started buying slightly more high quality shoes. And guess what? They've lasted a long time. I got a pair of pumps for Christmas that were $70 and I kind of freaked out because to me that is expensive. But I've worn those pumps at least once a week since Christmas and they are in pristine shape. (slow claps) Kudos to you Anneke pump!

This is coming from the girl who once had pink crocodile pumps and gold glitter platform shoes because they were on sale.

My tendency towards a semi-annual replacement also holds true for purses. I would buy a $40 purse at Target and it would last me about 6 months. That's $80 a year for purses (but more like $120 because a girl needs options) and $400 over the course of 5 years.

Now, I have always envied girls with beautiful, expensive purses but I just could never justify spending a ton of money on something like a purse...until a few months ago when I started noticing that my coworkers had nice (designer) purses. Curious, I asked a few where they would buy them and how in the world they could afford them. (in a nice way, of course) "I got it at the outlets" or "I bought it online" or "I stalked it until it went on clearance". Ah. So bargain hunting could also be done at the designer purse level. Also, every single person made the argument that these purses last a very long time and hold up to daily use even.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago when I got a really, REALLY good promotion and pay raise at work. After stalking a few purses online and deliberating with some quick math and how much I actually spend on Target purses, I decided to take the plunge when I saw my absolute dream purse on Gilt. Gilt is a free flash-sale website (sort of) that specializes in designer labels. So, even though I've never spent this much money on anything that I wear (jewelry aside) I bought it.

Katherine, as I affectionately call her, arrived on Tuesday. I'm smitten.

It's pink. It's a tote and it's Kate Spade. It's absolutely beautiful. Though there's a little trepidation about changing into a "purse girl", I'm okay with it. Instead of calling myself a "purse girl", I prefer to say I'm just getting older, wiser...and richer. :)