“I’m homeless! I’ll be a bag lady! A Fendi bag lady, but a bag lady!!”*

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No words have rung truer, not in my case at least. No sirriee. Some women invest in jewelry, I buy bags. My hard-earned cash. My choice. I don’t ask why you need that diamond that could direct a lost shuttle in space home, do I? So anyway, I buy bags. You know, heady but ‘drink responsibly’ kind of “buy bags”. Not a closet full of Birkins that’d shame Anu Deewan kind of “buy bags”, but enough to worry my parents, sister, husband, assorted friends and my personal banker.

The Sales Associate at Neiman Marcus loves me though. And the way the lady at Barneys lights up on seeing me is positively romantic. Even my husband doesn’t look at me like that. Not even on our wedding day. Well, he did this one time when our credit card statement came way under the average. In lieu of full disclosure though, I was laid up in bed with a sprained knee and was too groggy from the pain meds to shop online. No, those two months I will never get back.

You know how people remember their first kiss, first crush, first date, first love, first cigarette, the time their cherry popped, the first cigarette after their cherry popped (what, I like saying “cherry popped”!)… I have memories like those too. Those and the analogies I can quite easily (and disturbingly) draw between them and my bags. Really. Not kidding.

My first bag that I spent some major cash on (“major cash”, ha!! Oh you naïve, naïve, naïve me of past) was a Kate Spade. Sloppy and awkward, yes, just like a first kiss. It doesn’t come out of my closet any more, nor does it send a tingle down my spine, but it still does hold that warm place. Just like that furtive, awkward first kiss.

Oh, and in a moment of weakness I actually once owned a Fendi monogram. You read that right, a monogram. We all like to date those boys that our moms warned us against at least once don’t we? And it wasn’t long before Ebay met my Fendi Zucca. Good riddance to bad monogram I say.

I equate my red Chanel 2.55 to, you know, “cherry popping”! It was lust at first sight and there was nothing virginal about what I was feeling. And the somber Knot to the calm and satisfied feeling that comes from a looong drag (of a cigarette) that comes after, you know what!

There are bags that make me feel cheerful, impulsive and fun. Bags that make me feel feminine, soft and flirty. Bags that make me feel serious, powerful and ballsy. Shallow you say? But that’s just the whole point. It’s shallow and easy but it’s just one of those things that sing to me. On the days when you feel all bloat-ey and pms-ey, there’s just that perky arm candy (think Rahul Khanna, but as your favorite bag) to be had around the corner. And for days, when getting out of bed is a chore and all you want to do is lounge in a soft tee and well-worn pair of denims, there’s that handy bag again to perk up the look. Thank God for the multi-billion dollar bag industry.

So many more stories to tell. For now though, a prayer.

Are you there God? It’s me, Priyanka. I’d like *current object of obsession* bag, in that *current object of obsession* color please. Thank you.**

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* Title from Sex and the City.
** That was a part-personal, part-fictional account, meant to be fun. Something to keep in mind.

Photo Credit: Polyvore

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114 Comments

  1. Thank you for writing this article. Your ability to capture emotion with word is a gift that i hope you never stop bestowing on us grateful readers. people may classify our ties to handbags as anti-feminist and like you said, shallow, but rather, I find it to be the opposite. my handbags are a symbol of my independence and indicative of my progression and maturity in life. ps: totally love your blog. xx

    Reply
    • OH U WRITE SO SO WELL……….N U WRITE ONNECTS INSTANTLY………THOUGH AM NT A READR TYPES………M JUST A FASHION BUFF N A PSYCHO AT THT……BUT HW SMTHIN WRITTEN WELL CN IMPACT IS WT I FEEL RIGHT NW……LUUUUUUV U………LUUUUUUV UR WRITES………N LUV THS BLOG……….TRUST ME I’M ONE OF THE EARLIEST FOLLOWER OF UR BLOGS……..I MAY NT DO NYTHIN WHN I’M ILL DWN OF WTEVR……BUT I DNT FAIL TO OPEN MY HIGHEEL EVN ONE SINGLE DAY,……….SACHI……GOD BLESS U…………..:-)

      Reply
    • It’s Shoes for me as well!

      Priyanka, I spit up my coffee at the “Popped Cherry” part!! I love saying it too and my bf tells me i’m such a guy when i say stuff like that. Glad I’m not the only one!!

      Reply
  2. This article has only tweaked my suspense…now that we know about your obsession with bags…can we please see some of your collection?

    No point in writing about you shopping obsession without giving us a peak into your handbag closet….I’m assuming you have a separate section/closet to hoard/display your collection…

    Did I mention you write well too!

    Reply
  3. Wow. Whoever finds this piece admirable is just pathetic. I’m sorry. This post might just be the one that compels me to stop visiting this site.

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    • Excuse me ! Its such a charming article ! How can anybody find this ‘pathetic’????!!! The fact that you visit a fashion blog, and yet condemn the fascination with fashion, including fashionable bags, is what I find ‘pathetic’.. lol

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    • agreed! I love to visit this site to c what famous ppl wear…not to read abt the blogger’s rants.. (no offence Priyanka).. however all we can do is ignore the post and wish we get to c another famous person and their outfits instead..

      Reply
      • haha love ur comment akshara.. if only there were more honest ppl..however then the world would ‘seem’ like a meaner place

        Reply
          • @Adit: Girl, you are not alone. Half of mine never get published too.

            @Deewani: Haha, word. But i like to call a spade, well, a spade. There’s only so much sugar coating one can take.;-)

            Reply
        • If only there were more people who didn’t equate snideness with honesty. However, then we risk the world being a nicer place.

          Give me unabashed materialism and references to losing one’s virginity over a holier-than-thou attitude, any day.

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          • @Other’s Shoes: I couldn’t agree more.

            You go, Priyanka! So you like beatiful things and are not afraid to flaunt it. Since when did that become a crime? And loved the article. Totally cracked me up.

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    • actually find it quite charming so know a little more about the authors. their fascination with stuff is what helps them maintain the blog.

      Reply
    • I think PeachBellini is commenting on the writing style and if so then I agree, it is pathetic but not the unhealthy obsession with bags ( the latter should only be encouraged) 🙂

      Reply
        • Simran, expressing one’s opinion in a civilized manner does not make one mean and Priyanka posts the comments critiquing her so you can drop your sensitive act and toughen up a bit.

          Aside, you could really benefit from a lesson in nettiquette 🙂

          Reply
      • I just felt like I had to pitch in in agreement with PeachBellini and the others. And Sonia, well said.
        I don’t think anyone who visits this site does not understand the lust for bags/shoes/clothes…it’s just the style of writing. I do like P&P’s blog solely because I don’t know of any Indian celeb/fashion spotting blogs and they do a good job of putting together pictures, but that is all. And I don’t want to say any more.
        I’m going to shut up now 🙂

        Reply
  4. Hahaha I actually understood that whole story, all the feelings and what not! Are you guys New Yorkers!??? We need to become BFF’s! 😀

    Reply
  5. omigod, just watched the SATC episode from which this line is taken 🙂

    and yeah, this post put a wide smile on my face when i read it ..love this space !

    Reply
  6. Love it love it love it… yes i can totally relate to getting my Lady Dior and feeling so happy owning that little but frightfully expensive bag… couldn’t afford to eat out that month !! And now being a handbag designer has made me love handbags even more… hopefully one of my bags should be part of someone’s lust list !!!

    Reply
  7. hahaha best post ever!!
    only mine would be shoes…I. CANT. LIVE. WITHOUT. THEM!!
    but this has got me curious though, about ur bag collection. show us wat u got lady!!!

    P.S the sales associate in the shoe dept. in Selfridges has the cutest smile when he sees me too!! hehe

    Reply
  8. Who ever you are.. we are long lost twins!!!!I love my bags..
    most monogram though!!!I love them more than anything…
    Fendi.. LV.. DIOR.. COACH..MARC JACOBS..GUCCI..
    I love you all..my mom would be horrified if she sees this..

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  9. Priyanka,

    Why are you building that slow inferno to the actual act of cherry popping? 😉 Now show us those bags already 😀 😀

    p.s: the ferragamo sofia is my favourite :)))

    Reply
  10. I don’t know usually who monitors this website, Payal or Priyanka, but in the past it had a rather constipated attitude. If there was anything wee bit controversial or lets say not sugary syrupy language, comments did not get published.

    I am rather surprised that one of you ladies (Priyanka) would rant about bags and ‘cherry popping’ ( I personally find the word kinda vulgar, I am not a prude, but its my opinion).

    BTW, no matter how much you love bags and lust after them, I doubt the sales person’s face lights up when you visit them. I don’t know how much you spend at NM or Barneys, but unless you are Tinsley Mortimer or some UES princess of equal status and money (read: a pile of money to just throw away and not feel a thing), I doubt the sales ladies gonna be all ga ga over you.

    Reply
    • What can I say, I have mad people skills.

      Of course I exaggerate. Just tipped into the ‘creative license’ jar.

      As for the comments, we do a have a policy in place for a reason.

      Reply
  11. haha never done before but just have to comment this time. my first bag was a Kate Spade too. I am another delicious purchase old. Pretty much everyday, I find myself thinking about a particular red chanel I saw at Saks… now its just a question of when.

    Reply
  12. LOL. you are just like me. In fact highheel and TPF are my 2 regular haunts. I love it and I second what others say you guys need to post your handbag closet!

    Reply
  13. Did n’t really enjoy your thoughts … eventually we are grown-ups and hence, should be able to regulate our OCDs (instead of giving in to the temptations like adolescents). Is n’t it? 🙂
    Anyways, the good part of your entry is … you spend your own ‘hard-earned cash’ to satisfy your personal materialistic obsession (unlike zillions other who meet their drive, straining their guys’ pocket).

    Btw, we got to know something ab’t you 😉 … will love to know more (at least, how you girls look and dress in real :))

    Reply
    • geez! what is it with the judgement? I am SAHM so I guess I am one of those straining my guys pocket for my stuff! Yea I guess working and being pregnant while he studied and then taking care of every other single thing like the kids, home, finances, shopping,cooking, cleaning etc. so all he has to do is go to work and come home and sit on his a** all for no salary and judgements like these makes me a freeloader who is mooching of my husband’s hard work! Way to go reinforcing stereotypes!

      Reply
        • I wasn’t ranting…Naiad..I’m sorry you feel that way…The poster made a comment about women mooching off their hardworking guys…I was just offering another perspective that not all women are free loaders just because they don’t earn the dough and its a very unfair generalization…I wan’t asking for anyone’s sympathy just putting across a different POV.

          Reply
          • Shi, all she was saying was that it was refreshing to see a woman funding her love for bags with her own money. Financial independence is a virtue and it is to be praised. That does not mean she is calling homemakers free loaders. You seem to be a tad touchy about this.

            ” so all he has to do is go to work and come home and sit on his a** all for no salary and judgements like these makes me a freeloader who is mooching of my husband’s hard work! Way to go reinforcing stereotypes”

            And that does come off as a highly emotional rant and not an alternative POV, I’m sorry. The comment was not in any way directed towards you, so I cant understand why you got so defensive?

            Reply
            • Personally, I look at finances as “ours” and, considering my husband’s money is my money too, I have NO qualms spending it. (yes, yes in a responsible, “joint decision” sorta way…) 🙂

              You know, “money” is such a personal thing, everyone has their own take on what works for them. However, it’s not the most politest thing to talk about so shall we please move on…? 🙂

              Reply
              • You’re married 🙂 How wonderful… I always presumed you girlys were single.

                I still really want to know where y’all are based – India or America? Love you girls x

                Reply
              • I dont like this blog entry too much- comes across ‘carrie bradshaw’ wannabe-ish with pseudo risque writing..(to me)however the above comment I agree with..:)) I aint got no problem spending my husband’s ( aka OUR) money on clothes..shoes..bags..( I even got him to ‘gift’ me my 1st pair of jimmy choos – white snake skin 6 inch heels from London) so yeah…:)) Other than that..Love your blog! loveee all the fashion entries…

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              • Thanks P. I’m sorry I got a little carried away. Money is a personal thing so consider this topic closed with my apoligies. On an aside I always wonder if desi ladies I run into the mall in and around NYC are you guys!

                Reply
          • no when i read Shweta’s comment i felt she was talking about those girls who make the boy friends make pay for everything shamelessly, and the housewives who have nothing to do besides socialising, manicure, pedicure and shopping.

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          • Duh…I get what you are saying…

            Chocolate Martini maybe I am defensive since I was on both sides of the coin. I have been a “Financially independent” woman and now SAHM, I may have gone about it the wrong way but I sincerely am trying to say that it is incorrect to say that a women who chooses to not work in a job with pay is not working hard for the money she spends nor that a woman who works outside the home is contributing more to her life/family. I guess I was in a bad mood and these comment are a pattern on HHC where ppl comment of living off of their spouses which irritate me as feminism is not just about making your own money but being respected even when you dont

            Reply
  14. This post was a refreshing change. Glad to know an aspect of your lives. Please keep such posts coming. The blog is now a heady mix of gossip, fashion and nostalgia.. like a perfect cocktail…love it love it!!!

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  15. Loved the post! I am not a bag lady (but still lusts after a few clutches and some shoes… Someday!), I found the post honest and fun. I hate monogrammed bags too… they are so unclassy.
    Damn, some of the people who comment here do take things too seriously and are very judgemental… no wonder you dont want to reveal yourselves to all of us 😉 And you are so nice to post even the negative comments about you guys.
    Would love to see more of your thoughts and your lust lists. I love your blog and can never get enough of it!

    Reply
  16. I’ve been an avid reader of this blog since around the time it started, and I have to say – this is my all time favorite post
    Being an obsessive SATC fan, just the title of the post itself grabbed my attention
    and every line thereafter feels like it came straight out of my own mouth…
    i bet a million girls around the globe feel the same way as you and i do 😉
    keep up the good writing and good ideas!

    Reply
  17. OMG! Your red Chanel 2.55 can pop my cherry (I actually hate that phrase, haha) anytime!

    And ladies who are complaining about this: you left your sense of humor at the door.

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  18. how nice to read something personal on this blog. would love to know more about you girls. and you write so beautifully. i truly believe you are the next sophie kinsella.

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  19. LOL!!!
    Lady, you have outdone yourself!! This is by far (by very far) the best blog entry anywhere on the internet!!
    Funny and sentimental.. (sniff!) this is the stuff that keeps the sisterhood alive! kudos again:)!

    Reply
  20. I hope you don’t take the haters comments to heart, this was a refreshing, cheeky piece! (I’m the same, but with shoes.) I like that you’re experimenting with the blog while maintaining the fashion aspect. Kudos!

    Reply
  21. Okay – cool article.
    I suggest you have a separate tab for articles.
    Then whomever (like me!) wishes to read it can go to that section… and the regular blog can stay on homepage.

    Also- PLEASE answer this. Where are you based? I always thought the states but read somewhere you were in India. Now I’m thinking you really are in the states! Please telll… it’ll give a better idea of where you’re coming from…

    Reply
  22. Priyanka, love ur writing …. u should do it more often… this blog is all about ur (n payal’s) perception of fashion.

    and like mos of ur readers, even i would look to get a peek into ur hand bag cabinet.

    Pls pretty please, indulge us.

    Reply
  23. Wow…this is extremely shallow.”Cherry poppin”??Seriously?You couldn’t find a better comparison.Makes you sound like a dumb teenager.Both the content and the wrting made me a little sick.

    I think a lot of fans of your website, including me, are going to quit you guys because of this piece so good luck with that!

    Reply
  24. I feel I need to vent (a bit)

    I liked Priyanka’s article. The content not so much. It has nothing to do with ‘cherry-popping’ or anything, have just read far better blogs. I liked the fact that we got to know a bit about who Priyanka is 🙂 the post really helped break the monotony of the blog.

    Now the comments here are really getting mean and vicious. Her spending money, her ‘OCD’, her use of language has nothing to do with you guys. Please remember, you are NOT PAYING Payal and Priyanka to maintain this blog. They can write any damn thing they please, bias anyone they favour, like any type of look. Their post is their opinion, the comments section is your opinion.

    Just because their opinion does not match with yours does not mean they are biased. If that were the case, in your same line of judgement, arent you biased against a certain look because you dont like it?

    Its their blog! Like it ? No? Then stop visiting! Stop participating. Or better, leave few civilised comments that make your point. But please stop being so vicious to them! And stop acting like you own them 😛

    Reply
    • I agree 🙂 Some of these comments were way out of line calling the writing style pathetic. I highly doubt all the people who comment on here are Oscar Wildes / Salman Rushdies themselves.

      Reply
  25. Hey everyone…

    For those of you who had nice things to say… Thank-you!

    For those of you who didn’t… Thank-you!

    Every opinion is welcome. Not just the ones that are favorable. 🙂

    A quick note though… When leaving comments, please remember not to get personal/combative with other posters/commenters. Have your say and let others have theirs too.

    Thank you!

    Reply
  26. how come i missed this??

    so sassy..oh yeah… a bag in a bright new colour …most days ill have it over sex…most days 😛

    way to go girl!!!!

    ps-did a notice a war of words about whats propah n politically correct…like really??!!on a fashion blog!!!!

    Reply
  27. Priyanka you just nailed it..and how! I’ve been an ardent fan of high heel confidential as long as I can remember but its a shame I never read the P n P project until now. Reading your article today, I felt like you are my soul sister 😉 Could relate to every single line. Totally loved it!!! Please keep writing more often

    Reply

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