What's it like to own a luxury bag?
Click for full size
Some dream about it more often than others, but we have all dreamt about a closet full of it-bags, Chanel goodies and high class purses, haven't we? Unfortunately, only a select club actually has the funds to purchase the bags of their dreams, and I'm not a part of it. But a solution exists for people like me, who want to take accessorizing to a whole new level, but are on a strict budget...
Services like Cosmo Luxury Bags give you the opportunity to lease the bag you've been lusting for, for only a fraction of the retail price. From a quick browse around their site, I learned Cosmo stocks about 60 of the most yummie bags by heavy weight brands like Chanel, Miu Miu, Prada, Hermes, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Enough to get uncontrollably greedy! No need to restrain yourself here, because the purses can be yours for as little as €30 a week. There was no doubt about it, I had to try this out!
Several days passed before I was able to make up my mind which bag to choose. There were so many I had always wanted to touch, let alone have! I finally decided on a bag that had just arrived from the 2008 Cruise collections: the Chanel Ice Cube. I was nearly delirious when Corina sent me back an e-mail saying the bag would be all mine for a week. I only had to register on the website, and place an order. Only a day after I did just that, the big delivery was on its way .
I can't describe how deliriously happy I was to be unpacking my very own Chanel (at least for a week!). The beautiful box of Cosmo Luxury Bags made it an even more glamorous treat: there was only a big black bow between me and my Chanel. As I unpacked the bag, I also found a very professional looking brochure, with a business card and the instructions for sending back the bag after its lease period. I carefully tucked away the card, and nervously ignored the instructions. No way was I thinking about sending away my baby even before I had touched it!
Then there she was. The Ice Cube I had been admiring in recent campaigns in all the glossy magazines. All mine! I posed and posed and toted the bag all around the house the entire day, before I realised I had to plan in some more glamorous events to do the bag justice! Luckily, I not only had an important interview in my schedule, I also had to go to the launch of a new Belgian label, which would be my first front row experience...
I felt like a million dollars going to the launch of 7AM. My friend-colleague journalist couldn't help laughing at my attitude just a little bit. But hey, there I was, sipping champagne, sitting on the front row of a fashion show (okay, okay, it's not exactly NY Fashion Week, but still!) and I had a big shiny Chanel dangling from my arm. Life just didn't get better than this.
Later on that week, I went to visit my favorite Brussels beauty store, Cosmeticary. I was there to meet Cristina, co-founder and creator of the infamous DuWop cosmetics line. I can get a little nervous before an interview, but I must tell you, if you're carrying a Chanel, it's not a matter of 'may the confidence be with you', you *are* the confidence. Needless to say, the interview went very well, and I had a great time. It might be a little exaggerated to state that it was all thanks to the magical bag, but it helped, that's for sure.
Walking around in Brussels was something else though. I couldn't help thinking that I was only borrowing the bag, and on the streets, out of the glamorous habitat, I felt a little like a fake. Some people stared a little (it's definitely not a bag for wallflowers, shiny as it is!), and I kept wondering if they knew it wasn't mine. After all, I wasn't exactly dressed to the nines, with my All Stars and jeans. (I have to say I thoroughly loved this look though, casual and sporty, but with a Chanel to top it off!) Then I started thinking about what would happen if I were mugged or robbed... I couldn't afford to reimburse a bag like this!
After all the good times we had had, I realized the time had come to say goodbye to my dear glamorous friend. It surely was an experience I wouldn't forget, but it had also made me think about my own style and budget. Maybe it isn't such a bad thing I'm not able to afford these kinds of bags. They have the tendency to make you act differently, and they're just a tad dangerous to tote in some neighborhoods. In the end, I started thinking that maybe luxury bags were something you had to 'achieve' in order to make you feel like you earned them.
Oh hell what am I saying. If someone were to present me with a Chanel tomorrow, I'd take it. No doubt about it! But in the meantime, I'll settle for an excellent service like that of Cosmo Luxury Bags, which fulfils a dream, even if it is for a limited period of time.
xx Steph
