Something Old, Something New

Welcome to Gail's Red Bag! Why the red bag? I was always drawn to red handbags and purses in the store, and I even bought one once. It was a smooth leather and bright red purse and extravagant. Was it really practical? Could you wear this with everything? I had a lot of purple clothes. Filled with doubt, I soon returned it, feeling it made me too conspicuous, especially in my conservative business environment.

But life changes. Now that I've made the transition from marketing manager to children's writer lots of things have changed. I don't shop at Lord & Taylor for my suits (what suits?) and I certainly don't buy $100 handbags. Even when I had a "good" job, I could never bring myself to splurge on a Coach bag, something I had promised myself when I made vice president. It just seemed so frivolous.

So that same practical side that wouldn't allow me to buy Coach has led me to shop at resale shops. Somehow in my trips to the stores, I fell in love with the old handbags I saw. Some were hopelessly trashed yet still had character, but some had survived the years in amazing shape. And then like shelter dogs around my friend Deborah, they started coming home with me. Deborah can't resist a new dog and I am having a hard time resisting the vintage bags. And I'm always drawn to the red ones, but today I buy and keep them!

So for me, "the red bag" is a symbol of trying something new, of making yourself a little conspicuous. I'll be using this blog to record lessons I've learned on shopping for and collecting vintage bags and sharing my finds with readers. I hope you'll find it interesting and entertaining.