Everything that happens when you buy your first designer bag
It had been on my vision board for a year: getting a designer bag. Which one it would be, I didn't know at the time. What I did know was that this bag would be an incredible crown on my year. The ultimate gift for myself that would scream ‘I made it’. A few years ago, I could never have made this happen. I lived from paycheck to paycheck, and the money I earned from the job that made me utterly unhappy went to rent, groceries, and occasionally something fun. Designer items were simply not meant for me, until I decided that was nonsense. I turned my career around, started earning more with things that brought me immense happiness, and began saving. Throughout the year, I saw my vision board come to life, until there was just one thing missing: that bag. After a lot of Googling, stalking the bag collections of my favorite Instagrammers, and comparing until I almost fell off my stilettos, I discovered the perfect specimen: the Le 5 à 7 Supple van Saint Laurent.
It has been gracing my wardrobe for a few weeks now, but before I slid my debit card, with appropriate nerves, through the reader, a whole lot preceded this festive purchase.
1. You send a photo of the bag to all your girlfriends
And I really mean to all of them. To make sure you're making the right choice, but also to drool together over the most beautiful item you've ever seen. Be warned: not everyone will respond cheerfully. For example, I received a ‘I'm not even going to respond to this amount’ thrown at me, but hey, that shouldn't dampen the fun.
2. You make an appointment at the store
This isn't necessary, but it's a lot of fun for the whole experience and you get to skip any potential line, which is nice. No line = less time to rethink your decision. Girl math.
3. Cold feet set in
Well, those doubts are no joke. It's quite a sum you're spending on one item. On the other hand, it's a timeless staple, something you can keep forever and pass down to your future daughters. And for those (not yet existing) gems, you do everything, right?
4. You promise yourself to just look
Okay, after surviving the inevitable ‘am I really going to do this’ hyperventilation attack, you reassure yourself with the idea that you can just go look at the bag that has been the topic of conversation in your household for weeks (my sincere apologies to my dear boyfriend). Buying can always be done later.
5. D-Day
Before you know it, the day has arrived and you find yourself in an oasis of luxury called the P.C. Hooftstraat. Chanel, Dior, Hermès, Louis Vuitton... This street is heaven for all fashion victims in the world. Heavenly.
6. Saint Laurent heaven
Okay, I was wrong. The Saint Laurent store is truly heaven. Men in nice suits opening doors for you, a glass of bubbles in your hand while you can calmly browse the collection and insane items you didn't even know existed a minute ago but now you know you'll never forget. Like these shoes.
7. You're sold
Okay, fuck it (can you curse in Saint Laurent?): looking my ASS. I want it ALL! I've never spent so much money on a bag, and never has such a wave of euphoria shot through my body upon hearing the ATM beep that the transaction was successful. A transaction I didn't even have to stand up for, but could simply execute sitting down with a glass of champagne in my other hand. They really make it dangerously easy for you and I'm all for it.
8. You're forever spoiled
Yes, and then the other stores are of course next. Where I used to always feel like an outsider in the PC, I now literally had the golden ticket on my arm to be warmly welcomed in every store and I found out (unfortunately for my bank account) that I never want to go back. Not that shopping assistants don't greet you sweetly otherwise, but you do walk differently with such a brand new baby on your arm. It's all about the attitude, I think.
Well then. Forever spoiled. Because as happy as I am with this delightful acquisition, how hard I'm already looking for a new gem to add to the collection. Maybe a Dior, or a Chanel. I don't know what it will be, but I know for sure that it will come. You can't walk on one leg, after all.
