It's not that easy to buy a purse. That's why I don't buy purses much. I use the same one for as many years as possible. Then it's even harder to buy a purse, because it has to last forever.
I read an article once that suggested that you spend one minute selecting a purse, because otherwise all the options become confusing. That would be OK if it weren't that some of them are expensive and some of them have serious limitations. An experienced purse buyer comes to know the problems and can sort them out but it takes more than one minute to examine a purse.
What are the considerations? Number one price. I might buy a purse that isn't leather, but it would have to be at a lower price than leather. Then there is color. Size. Does it close properly? Surprisingly, a lot of purses don't. Is the interior black? Things will be hard to see inside. Is the opening large enough to easily see and reach to the bottom? What is the quality? I've had purses that broke, especially the handles. The most expensive purse I ever bought had a flimsy leather strap that soon tore off with normal use. It was a name brand from a reputable company. Well, then you have to be sure to keep your receipt. Which is another consideration. One company assured me that I could return the purse within a week, but they gave me the cash register tape for a receipt, instead of a regular receipt which stated their 30 day return policy. So I returned it used once within a week and they refused to refund the price, the very person who assured me I could return it. They handed me a voucher good for merchandise from their store for the amount of the purse, and accepted the purse back. I called the credit card company and complained. I sent them the voucher, which did state the 30 day, (not one week), return policy, and got my money back when they heard that the company had actually taken the purse back. Some people do bad business.
Assuming the purse passes these tests, you can move on to the style. I suppose at this point you could start using the one minute idea to decide on your purse, but this is the part I like. Why not enjoy it?
I found one wallet on the internet that I liked in a color they called Rose. It occurred to me that the actual color could be a lot different than the photo. This has happened a lot, even with upscale companies with catalogs. "Coral" really is Halloween orange. "Baby blue" is actually sea green. "Navy blue" turns out to be black. So I began to imagine what color this might actually be. What if they had named this color "fuchsia"? Would I buy that? No!!
Here are photos of the same purse in different shades of blue:
Baby blue
Cobalt blue
Electric blue
Denim blue
Teal
I enjoyed looking at the names they gave to different shades of blue. These are standard names. Some use exotic names: "Celery" for pale green, "Envy" for kelly green, "Sugar daddy" for baby pink. Raisin, nude, tan taupe, beige, chocolate, coffee. All shades of brown.
I read an article once that suggested that you spend one minute selecting a purse, because otherwise all the options become confusing. That would be OK if it weren't that some of them are expensive and some of them have serious limitations. An experienced purse buyer comes to know the problems and can sort them out but it takes more than one minute to examine a purse.
What are the considerations? Number one price. I might buy a purse that isn't leather, but it would have to be at a lower price than leather. Then there is color. Size. Does it close properly? Surprisingly, a lot of purses don't. Is the interior black? Things will be hard to see inside. Is the opening large enough to easily see and reach to the bottom? What is the quality? I've had purses that broke, especially the handles. The most expensive purse I ever bought had a flimsy leather strap that soon tore off with normal use. It was a name brand from a reputable company. Well, then you have to be sure to keep your receipt. Which is another consideration. One company assured me that I could return the purse within a week, but they gave me the cash register tape for a receipt, instead of a regular receipt which stated their 30 day return policy. So I returned it used once within a week and they refused to refund the price, the very person who assured me I could return it. They handed me a voucher good for merchandise from their store for the amount of the purse, and accepted the purse back. I called the credit card company and complained. I sent them the voucher, which did state the 30 day, (not one week), return policy, and got my money back when they heard that the company had actually taken the purse back. Some people do bad business.
Assuming the purse passes these tests, you can move on to the style. I suppose at this point you could start using the one minute idea to decide on your purse, but this is the part I like. Why not enjoy it?
I found one wallet on the internet that I liked in a color they called Rose. It occurred to me that the actual color could be a lot different than the photo. This has happened a lot, even with upscale companies with catalogs. "Coral" really is Halloween orange. "Baby blue" is actually sea green. "Navy blue" turns out to be black. So I began to imagine what color this might actually be. What if they had named this color "fuchsia"? Would I buy that? No!!
Here are photos of the same purse in different shades of blue:
Baby blue
Cobalt blue
Electric blue
Denim blue
Teal
I enjoyed looking at the names they gave to different shades of blue. These are standard names. Some use exotic names: "Celery" for pale green, "Envy" for kelly green, "Sugar daddy" for baby pink. Raisin, nude, tan taupe, beige, chocolate, coffee. All shades of brown.
As far as style, it's trickier. "Bowler", "barrel", "east-west", "hobo", "bucket", etc. It's handy to know the names of styles so you can do a search. Not only that, but style makes a statement of how you see yourself. There is retro, elegant, chic, sexy, work, all sorts of messages your choice can send. Sometimes it makes a difference, like in an interview.
Size is of extreme importance. In photos on the internet you may be sadly misled if you don't check the dimensions and have an idea of what size you need. Large I would say is over 12" in length and about 10" tall. I have seen purses that I liked, and looked at a view of the purse held by a model, and it just made me laugh. Sometimes the reviews are telling too. "This purse is great for travel." Yes, but I am not looking for luggage. Then some purses are very tiny. But then, what use are they?
So, it's no wonder it takes a long time to shop for a purse. It's close to impossible to select the right purse. At the end of the day, one must go ahead and buy at least two purses, and maybe more.
So here's what I bought:
It's nice, but it looks a lot like my old purse. It's medium sized, also like my old purse.
And
This is large. But both of these are shades of red. I don't worry too much about that. After all, I'm the same shade of hair, eyes, skin, lips, and yet I wear various colors.
Finally,
This purse is really large. I suppose I shouldn't have bought it. I may have to send it back.
The end :))
