The Purse-uit of Happiness

The search for the perfect handbag is similar to the search for the perfect mate. It has to be aesthetically pleasing, display quality workmanship, and have the capability of hauling around all your stuff!

And every girl has a favourite handbag. Despite owning a collection there's rarely more than one purse that becomes the daily staple. As much as I love walking into a COACH store and drooling over their new lines, I know that I will always revert back to my fav until the day it's seams shred or the zipper breaks.

Luckily my fav has stood the test of time. As it should when you fork out anything over $150 for a sack of leather or branded material that you throw over your shoulder, into the back seat of your car, onto the staircase in the front hall, off the metal rod in a washroom stall (or God forbid the floor!), in the child seat of a grocery cart...you get my drift. My purse is always with me, supporting my need to carry the world on my shoulders - as should the perfect mate. And lucky for Jen, she's found hers.

To celebrate, her sister-in-law ordered a purse cake to be themed in the new COACH Madison pattern using Tiffany blue, light fuschia and pale yellow to coordinate with the bridal shower decor. This purse slightly frayed my nerves at times throughout the process, but thankfully I've developed nerves of steel and am somehow becoming accustomed to the late nights! Anyways, hope you had a great day Jen!

Just for fun (and seeing how this fits so appropriately with this post) here are some interesting facts about handbags sourced from Shop ETC September 2006:

3 in 4 Women

Have a favourite handbag.

1 in 10

Number of women willing to spend $150 or more on a handbag.

$24,500

The highest price that a luxury handbag (the Hermes Birkin) sold for on eBay.

22%

Percentage of women who would splurge on a handbag if they could choose only one designer item. Only 9% would choose shoes.

3 lbs

Weight of the average woman's handbag.

6

Number of handbags the average woman owns.

$42

Amount the average woman spent on her last handbag. (I obviously don't qualify here!)

"Man Purse"

The name might have negative connotations now, but back in the 1800s, purses were small bags used to hold coins. Only men carried them.

Handbagging (v: to bruise)

Origin: Margaret Thatcher's no-holds-barred debating style and her lust for handbags.

Meaning: Her words had left her opponent as metaphorically bruised as if she had swung her handbag at him.

Happy handbagging ladies :)

UPDATE: Laurie sent me a photo of the aftermath - take a look at that. All that hard work...reduced to nothing but scraps! I guess my work here is done.