seeking contentment

proenza-schouler garance

Photographer: Garance Doré

I'm reasonably happy with the smallish day bag I'm using now even I've put one on my wanted list. But Garance Doré has a knack for making me really want something through her artful lens. Beautiful bag, but although my interest is roused, it is only middling.

Anyway, my bigger point is, I've come to think that the problem I have with my bag now is not that it doesn't suit me, or doesn't meet my needs. It's that I didn't choose it for myself. It was my mum's, and much as I treasure it for that very reason, buying something myself has always been my way of asserting my independence, my taste, in that Aretha Franklin "doin it for themselves" way.

At the same time, I feel wasteful for wanting another bag when I have a perfectly serviceable one, and one with so much love attached to it. So although it's on my want list, I think it's at the back of the priority line.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for - Epicurus

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Top picture from garance doré

Comments

khaylis said…
I know what you mean about Garance's photos inducing bag lust - have been eyeing the Celine monogrammed canvas bucket bag since I saw it on her blog; not something I would have ordinarily chosen for myself otherwise!
S said…
Ah, I think it is true that you love things more when there are fewer of them. I'm not a bag person myself ... usually I only carry one bag for years. However, I can see how you can easily develop bag lust when you are less than completely happy with your own. There's something about bags though ... for me anyway, I'm not wearing a bag for 90% of the day. So it's really not such an important part of my outfit, and I tend not to think about it too much.
marzena said…
on the one hand it is always nice to have an item that reminds you of someone. on the other hand you want to make your own choices, especially when you are feeling that you need something different. and i think that in some cases, it is really nice to have an alternative.
Olivia said…
My blog today began with the exact same picture! How funny! It is a lovely picture, every part of the outfit fits so well.

Very interesting also that it should be the starting point of your post about wondering about wanting a new bag. I pick my bags so carefully and over time I suppose it turns into a bit of a long term love affair! I think with such big purchases you have to wait and let a bit of time pass and see if it is really something you'd love to have.
But such a good quote in the context of shoes, bags, clothes etc - it can be easy to forget how special something is and how long you waited to get it. xx
Aïssa said…
What a coincidence, I almost bought a bag today! :))
I'm a bag lady, inherited that streak from my grandmother. Some have special meaning and others are coup de coeur but I love and wear them all.
miss sophie said…
ah, i know what you mean. but unless you're one of those people who has a closet full of bags (which i'm guessing you're not), you can still use your mom's bag for some occasions while making a well thought-out purchase for yourself. there's nothing wrong with having a small but diverse collection of bags of different sizes, occasions, etc. anyway, funny that you posted about this as i just did a post on my fave NY handbag label, Dunlin.

http://lesantimodernes.blogspot.com/2011/02/artisanal-handbags-dunlin-interview.html
Cecylia said…
oooh that bag is to die for!! I love your vintage Gucci though- no one else wil have it!

Oh btw I've met Yasmin Sewell :)
Jennifer said…
for me, i always suspect that if the things i had were taken from my closet and featured on blogs as coveted items, my appreciation for them would increase. there is an impulse to want, i have noticed. so if we're inclined to want, we have to seek things to want, rather than having the wanting come after the seeing.
Jennifer said…
^^i meant to add, a friend recently asked me why i never seem to be frustrated by the things i do not own (and cannot afford). i told her, it's easy to be able to afford everything you want if you adjust what you want to the things you can afford. ;)
i like your gucci better than the other bag.
Alexandra said…
I love this bag. I know it's proenza schouler, but which model?
Unknown said…
simple always works.
yanqin said…
khaylis: and yet when i saw celine bags in the shop, i was rather underwhelmed. oh illusions!

Pret a Porter P: Epicurus has a way of incredibly timely (you would know, with your blog's tag :))

S: I've always had a thing for bags although I dont have many of them; I don't know if it's brainwashing from growing up during It Bag mania.

marzena, miss sophie: Sometimes I have a feeling I'll never stop wanting alternatives!

Olivia: It is a beautiful picture.

Aissa: My mother loves bags as well. I love my own collection too, I know I have more than enough when I can't find the time to use them all as often as they deserve!

Cecylia: Thanks! And was it strange to recognise Yasmin Sewell on the street? Sometimes I feel like I'm the only insane person in the world who recognises "blog stars".

editor: Perhaps it's the same reason why I like to photograph things I buy and post about them; increases the appreciate when you capture them in a nicely lit and composed image :)

I 100% understand this impulse to want; it's what drives me to look around on online shops when I'm not even taking in half of what I'm looking at it. Recognising this urge helped me cut down on shopping so much.

"it's easy to be able to afford everything you want if you adjust what you want to the things you can afford" -- well put, as always :)

Alexandra: It's called the PSII, and I think this is the small size.

If Jane: Indeed!

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