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Recently, a friend of mine, a freelance writer, was working on a piece about high fashion. She texted me: "If money were no object, what bag would you buy?"
A J. Crew leather tote, I told her. Think more expensive, she responded. Birkin bag, I said. Not THAT expensive, she said.
Imagine, she said, that this is the Last Bag you will Ever Buy, the bag you will carry every day. What would you buy?
A leather tote, I told her, big enough to carry a laptop but sleek enough to take everywhere. A bag that was basic and beautiful all at once, with clean lines and distinctive hardware. If I could find that bag, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
After that conversation, I continued to think about this idea of the Last Bag, the investment bag if you will, the bag that costs perhaps the equivalent of all the bags currently in your closet but actually works with everything, unlike the bags in your current closet, and is made to last, unlike the bags in your current closet. And then recently, I had the chance to road test a Kara James bag, and I was completely convinced: this is the Last Bag.
Too bad I have to send it back this week.
Kara James makes beautiful bags -- the one currently sitting on my dining room table is an Ella, the same one pictured here. These bags are not inexpensive -- the Ella retails for $425.00 -- but they are certainly affordable, and they are beautifully made and incredibly versatile. The Ella is large enough to hold my laptop or my camera, as well as all the other random stuff I need to get through the day. The wide strap made it easy to carry when it was chock full, and gave it support and structure when it was nearly empty.
The interior has five pockets, for sunglasses and cell phone and business cards and lip gloss and keys and whatever else you don't want to lose at the bottom of your big bag. The lining has a subtle print, just enough to make the interior as pretty as the exterior.
But if this is the Last Bag, there needs to be more to it than that, doesn't there? Because the fear with the investment bag is that one day you will get bored and be stuck with it because you spent so much money, and because it is the only bag in your closet and you are compelled to keep carrying it. Kara James has thought of that; these bags have interchangeable belts that change the look simply and inexpensively. This is an investment bag that can be updated, seasonally or annually or whenever the whim strikes.
This really is the Last Bag.
But what about the price? $425.00 is a lot of money for a handbag; think of all the Target bags you could pick up for that! Why, think about all the bags in your closet right now! You probably didn't spend $425.00 on ALL of them!
And really, that's the point: paring down sometimes means spending more, because in the long run, you will be shopping less. You will also spend less time changing bags or feeling like the bag you are currently carrying doens't work for weekends or evenings or the office or wherever it is that you are going. The Last Bag is the bag that goes with everything, but in order to do that, it needs to be a really beautiful bag, one that is both stunning and classic, subtle and statement, all at once. And it needs to be well-made, because the Last Bag needs to last, and it needs to withstand all that day-in-day-out toting and carrying.
The Last Bag isn't about trends; it isn't about having an It Bag. It is about choosing one beautiful, well-crafted piece that will work with everything and last beyond this season and the next. The Last Bag is one more way of creating your own look, a look that is uniquely yours. And that, to me, is worth the splurge.
Miss Model Behavior introduces us to The Vegan Queen and her eco-friendly luxe handbags. A little out of my price range, but if you are really committed to fashion and the environment, this may
