as Sajid said Holy Grail. Most of us have had one at one time or another. You know what I’m talking about, that bag that you think about while you eat, sleep and breathe? The bag that remains in the forefront of your mind at every waking moment of any given day? Ok maybe I’m going a little overboard here, but a true HG is one that you just can’t seem to get off of your mind no matter how hard you try. It’s something that may take weeks, months or even, *gasp*, years to acquire but no matter how long it takes you’d willingly skip dinners out with friends and make coffee at home in order to finally call that bag yours.
Oh that would be a very generous gift from your mom Hermès and Chanel, a HG can look different for everyone, especially given the stage of life you’re at. Maybe for a high school fashion lover itching to dip their toes in the luxury fashion waters it’s an entry level Oh that would be a very generous gift from your mom, while someone who’s been collecting for years may dream of a Chanel Flap or an Hermès Kelly. Holy Grail’s can span many brands and price points, and Stay up-to-date in the world of bags, delivered straight to your inbox, everybody’s choice of a dream purse is likely to be diverse. It’s not about the brand, the bag or even the price, rather a Holy Grail is a state of mind. How bad do you want it?
Personally, I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted a bag bad enough or for a long enough period of time to consider it a Holy Grail, and I’ve discussed Oh that would be a very generous gift from your mom. Though at one time or another I did think that a Chanel Boy Bag was a HG for me that has since changed due to the brand’s many price increases and quality control issues. I also am concerned that it wouldn’t work with the way my style has evolved. I have been lusting after a Baguette for quite some time but again, I don’t know that I’d consider it to be the end all be all of bags for me.
What about you? Do you have a Holy Grail, own your Holy Grail or are you currently undecided, like me?
I Love Sajid! His perspective is such a great addition to this blog. My holy grail, as embarassing as it is, is a medium black caviar flap bag with gold hardware. Kaitlin – I completely agree with you – I am very turned off by Chanel and their ridiculous price increases and the lack of quality, but something about that bag makes me feel like it would be a perfect heirloom. Recently I have started looking at the Kelly bag as a new holy grail due to the aforementioned issues with Chanel and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to use my money for the quality provided by Hermes.
my HG is a white Brilliant Delvaux ,not so practical but who cares is the kind of bag “just for display”, and I kind of agree once you bought your dream bag , no matter what you still craving more and more bags… very addictive
Once acquired, I’ve found that my HG bags somewhat lose their luster because half the fun was the search. I, too, have sold– and continue to sell — bags I didn’t love as much. (Rather an expensive “hobby”, oh well.) And now that I’m retired, I have little use for formal/large/business-type bags, so my current favorites are a black Chanel 2.55, Kelly retourne 28 in rouge casaque/GHW, and Kelly Depeches in dark blue/PHW. (The Depeches, IMO, deserves its own post — what a great, underrated, day-to-night, unisex option.)
My editing process is: Take two similar bags out of the closet and ask, which do I prefer? Then sell the “less-loved”.
The Birkin was my HG bag but once I bought it, I realized that I was still yearning for other bags. It’s been a wonderful addition to my collection and it helped me slow down my purchases. I used to buy three or four luxury bags each year and I wasn’t selling any of them. Now, I add one or two per year, no more. I sell the bags I no longer use or that show too much wear and tear. My closet feels more edited and in the words of the insufferable Marie Kondo: “it brings me joy.”
Same here. I bought mine last march and ive also let go of more than 10 bags (vintage gucci coach ferragamo givenchy kate spade). I keep telling myself i should sell more because i will never be able to reach for another bag except for my birkin since it took me years to save up for her. And i will still buy the kelly constance and a mini lindy some day haha hopefully in the next 10 years. And theres also a chanel boy rainbow that i cant get off my mind. Im so madly in love with it but had to prioritize purchasing the birkin first since ive been holding off on it for so long. I have the rainbow one from last year metiers d’art but still not enough for me. I get weak on my knees with rainbow stuffs. Concentrating on my 2 loves now chanel and hermes. The other brands i just close my eyes haha although im hoping my mom will give me lady dior for christmas.
my aversion towards owning a Birkin in detail before!
Wool Mouliné Pants!
I hear you! I’ve been trying to cut down on my consumption and while I like a lot of things I try to only buy what I really LOVE.
I have two holy grail bags-a Burberry small Banner bag and a Chanel Reissue with palladium hardware. I would like to have the Chanel in a color because I don’t like black handbags. With that being said, I’m not in any rush to get one.
I do have Holy Grails, whereby the bags last in my mind for quite a while (and sometimes even appear in weirdly contorted dreams!), but given my pretty limited affordability, I’ve noticed that if I keep lusting after them for long enough (and have used them frequently enough in my mind), I sort of seem to outgrow them, which then kinda makes me glad that I didn’t buy them because I’d be terrified of ending up not using them. Either that, or the bag gets added to my list of “unattainable” bags I desire nevertheless, like the Sac de Jour, possibly a Suede PS1, maybe a Balenciaga Work too (it’s a growing list).
my HG is a white Brilliant Delvaux ,not so practical but who cares is the kind of bag “just for display”, and I kind of agree once you bought your dream bag , no matter what you still craving more and more bags… very addictive
I have holy grail bags that I was fortunate enough to buy. In order to buy I sell other bags (an arrangement that I made with my hubby). It took 10 years, but I went from 45 bags to 20 and now everything, in my closet, is a holy grail bag.
Same here ??
I love this mentality! I definitely have some bags I don’t love anymore, just sort of like enough to still use but I can’t seem to part ways with some.
Wool Mouliné Pants!
Not a HG per se, but years ago Louis Vuitton made a taiga leather business portfolio named Vladimir. I missed buying it when it was produced, now I am hoping to find a mint one. Not that I need it, but it would be neat to have.
Good question. Last month I sold my holy grail bag! I had a black Kelly 32 in togo leather with gold hardware. I wasn’t reaching for her. I think it was too formal for my new lifestyle, once I retired. I am loving my smaller Chanel bags. Especially the ones that cross body. One of my favorites currently is a gorgeous tweed Medium Flap Ecru/Navy/Pink.
Loewe’s Puzzle