Saturday, December 01, 2007

Shopping Trauma

While theoretically I should be shopping for gifts, in reality I am shopping for myself. It is exhausting and a stupid time of year, but it's also the time of year that I have all those appealing discount coupons. For example, Lord & Taylor gave me $30 so I bought a $40 faux fur hat for a mere $10. How fab is that?

The thing that really gets me frustrated in not being able to find the exact thing I want. Right now I am in the market for a new coat and, as always, the perfect handbag. One would think that my needs would be met by those sophisticated marketers who design everything we "need." I dream sometimes of tracking down the store buyers and telling them exactly where they are going wrong.

For my perfect handbag, it would be:
- black leather (fake leather is fine) exterior
- a light colored lining so I can find things - for some reason they are always black inside and I can never see in there, it's like a black hole of crap
- one strap (not two because two straps always are uncomfortable and one always falls off my shoulder and also it is harder to get things out of the bag without it all falling over too wide) that is long enough to be able to wear on your shoulder with a winter coat comfortably
- zippered across the top so things don't always fall out or get stolen on the bus
- at least 2 exterior pockets large enough for a cell phone and metro card
- a couple of inside pockets, at least one has to be zippered
- no built in wallet - what is that for? I find that is useful if you only ever use one bag all the time, otherwise you must be constantly finding your change, cards, bills and transferring them. I don't have that kind of time.
- large enough to at least hold a magazine (rolled up magazine is fine) so I always have reading for transit and don't have to carry a second bag
- no weird big metal logos or other garish designs on the outside
- slightly fashionable, I don't want to be wearing my grandmother's handbag thank you
- under $100

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