The Election Is In The Bag

What a week. I’m so happy and proud of this country for so many reasons. On election night, I was holed up, alone, in a hotel room in Boston. And no, I was not there stalking Romney. I was there for work and although I had been up since 4am and my wake-up call was scheduled for 6:45am the next morning, I stayed up until 3 to watch Obama’s speech, flip back and forth between MSNBC and Fox (which has never been more fun to watch) and read and comment on the stream of euphoria flooding my Facebook page and Twitter feed. Through the magic of social media, although I was technically alone, I was virtually surrounded by friends all sharing in the happy.

And so it was that I opened up another browser window and started looking at bags.

One, or in this case the one would be me, always makes excuses for shopping. And there are so many. To wit, the list —

“My top reasons for buying something I don’t need.”

1. I’m depressed and it will make me feel better.

2. I’m happy and it won’t make me feel worse.

3. I’m in need of something new/appropriate to wear to function a, b or c.

4. It’s on sale and will save me x dollars which is like making money when you really think about it.

5. It’s so incredible/cool/awesome that if I don’t act now, someone else will and it will sell-out and I won’t be able to live with myself causing more depression and the need to buy something to make me feel better (see #1 above).

6. It’s like nothing I have and fills a hole in my wardrobe, even though I can poke holes through that argument all day.

And so, going with reasons #2 and #4, I bought what I’ve been dying to own for over a year: A Paco Rabanne le 69 bag, pictured here. Paco Rabanne, like my beloved Courreges, was a French pioneer in the 60’s who helped usher-in the mod aesthetic. His use of plastic, metal and paper was revolutionary. Prior to founding his label in 1966, Rabanne designed jewelry for Givenchy, Dior and Balenciaga, which explains why his designs are like jewelry for the body.

So as I was post-election media multitasking, I was doing my “election elated” version of drunk dialing, but this time trolling for bags. And there it was just sitting there on Aloha Rag: The le69 bag, in steel, marked down 80% from $2,000 to $400! I mean how could I not. So I voted YES.

And went to sleep with a giant smile on my face.

I won!

2 Responses

  1. jenniferdavis00@yahoo.com'
    Jen

    Your ‘list’ is so true, I’d say it’s law. (I think I went through every single reason, out loud, when buying a pair of boots last week!) AMAZING find, that deserves a congrats all by itself, especially on such a successful night!

    Hope to see you soon,
    Jen

  2. Paula

    Thanks Jen! So many excuses, so little money. Yeah, that bag might be my best score EVER. And has such special meaning too of a very special night, which is such a wonderful part of fashion and memories and special timeless pieces. xoxo

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