What Was the Last Bag That Gave You Butterflies?

I’ve been collecting handbags for nearly two decades, but I’ve loved them almost as long as I can remember. I can’t recall the moment I discovered this world, but I can remember my very first holy grail: a Louis Vuitton Speedy bag in classic Monogram.

It was the early aughts. I was not even in my teens yet, but I knew I would own that bag one day. Quickly, it made its way from inside one of the fashion magazines I begged my mom to buy me at the grocery store onto one of the construction paper fashion collages I spent all of my free time making.

I would eventually get that bag—a Louis Vuitton Speedy 25—for my high school graduation in lieu of a big party with catering from our favorite Italian restaurant, like my siblings had. I didn’t care about a party or a big celebration where I was the center of attention. All I wanted was the bag.

From that moment on, the Speedy was my lifeline, and to this day, it holds so many memories after accompanying me through most of my college life. I used it daily, and it’s one of the rare bags I will never part with. I don’t use it nearly as often as I once did, and in fact, it sat untouched for years, but it still brings me joy to remember that unmistakable excitement (you know the feeling).

Like many of us, with summer on the horizon, I began the dreaded spring cleaning, which forced me to reassess my closet, which includes my handbag collection. I thought about some of the bags I haven’t used as frequently over the last few years, weighing whether any of them were worthy of selling to recycle the funds and get something new.

Like It, Love It, Gotta Have It?

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’s been quite a long time since I got really, really excited about a bag. While admittedly I like a lot of bags, there’s a big difference between like and love. I like many bags, and I’ve even considered buying some of them, but consistently, something stops me from pulling the trigger.

It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten that “I’ve gotta have it” feeling, complete with those unmistakable butterflies in my stomach and the head rush that I would do whatever it took to purchase it. Maybe I’m getting pickier as I get older, or perhaps it’s the sheer fact that I see so many bags on a day-to-day basis.

Still, I just haven’t been super excited enough to actually purchase a bag right now, though Alaia’s Le Teckel has definitely come close!

What about you? Have you been over the moon about a bag recently? What’s the last bag that really excited you?