<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.505455; margin-top: 24pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 6pt;">Purses are more than the sum of their stitching and cloth: they are a form of language. When we get dressed, we ask something of the world. All purses speak. They say “desire me”, or “ignore me”, or “endow my words with greater seriousness than you would were I not using this luxury designer purse”. </h1><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps the best purses are the ones that give you courage. Bill Cunningham famously said: ‘Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life.’

<p dir="ltr" style="border-color: var(--border); border-image-source: none; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 12pt; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1.505455;"><span style="border-color: var(--border); border-image-source: none; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When choosing a purse I like to consider each purse’s retail demand and resale liquidity. When a bag is easy to buy and easy to sell, you’re protected on both ends and that’s the whole point having a luxury purse as an asset.&nbsp; You get to enjoy the purse until you either want or need to sell it for money.<p dir="ltr" style="border-color: var(--border); border-image-source: none; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 12pt; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1.505455;"><span style="border-color: var(--border); border-image-source: none; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my experience, men tend to put their money into stocks, real estate, etc; those kind of assets, while women are more often willing to spend their money on handbags, shoes, and makeup as an investment into themselves.<p dir="ltr" style="border-color: var(--border); border-image-source: none; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 12pt; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1.505455;"><span style="border-color: var(--border); border-image-source: none; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Investing in yourself means spending your time, energy, and money to grow your skills, health, and happiness.<span style="border-color: var(--border); border-image-source: none; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s why women shouldn’t be afraid to “treat” themselves to these luxury goods.&nbsp; Life is already hard as it is, but when you find the right purse that reflects you as a person, it gives you that spark of “joy” that makes life worth living.

<div><em style="font-size: 16px; border: revert; color-scheme: revert; math-depth: revert; ruby-position: revert; writing-mode: revert; display: revert; font-family: Assistant, &quot;Assistant Fallback&quot;; font-feature-settings: revert; font-kerning: revert; font-optical-sizing: revert; font-palette: revert; font-size-adjust: revert; font-synthesis-small-caps: revert; font-synthesis-style: revert; font-synthesis-weight: revert; font-variant-alternates: revert; font-variant-east-asian: revert; font-variant-ligatures: revert; font-variant-numeric: revert; font-variant-position: revert; font-variation-settings: revert; font-width: revert; text-orientation: revert; text-rendering: revert; zoom: revert; -webkit-font-smoothing: revert; -webkit-locale: revert; -webkit-text-zoom: revert; text-autospace: revert; background-image: revert; background-position: revert; background-size: revert; background-repeat: revert; background-attachment: revert; background-origin: revert; background-clip: revert; 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counter-increment: revert; counter-reset: revert; counter-set: revert; cursor: revert; cx: revert; cy: revert; dominant-baseline: revert; dynamic-range-limit: revert; empty-cells: revert; field-sizing: revert; fill: revert; fill-opacity: revert; fill-rule: revert; filter: revert; flex: revert; flex-flow: revert; flood-color: revert; flood-opacity: revert; flow-tolerance: revert; glyph-orientation-horizontal: revert; glyph-orientation-vertical: revert; grid: revert; grid-column-end: revert; grid-column-start: revert; grid-row-end: revert; grid-row-start: revert; hanging-punctuation: revert; hyphenate-character: revert; hyphens: revert; image-orientation: revert; image-rendering: revert; isolation: revert; lighting-color: revert; line-break: revert; line-height: revert; list-style: revert; margin-trim: revert; marker: revert; mask-composite: revert; mask-mode: revert; mask-type: revert; math-shift: revert; math-style: revert; mix-blend-mode: revert; object-fit: revert; object-position: revert; offset-anchor: revert; offset-distance: revert; offset-path: revert; offset-position: revert; offset-rotate: revert; opacity: revert; order: revert; outline: revert; outline-offset: revert; overflow-wrap: revert; page: revert; paint-order: revert; perspective: revert; perspective-origin: revert; pointer-events: revert; position: revert; position-anchor: revert; position-area: revert; position-try: revert; position-visibility: revert; print-color-adjust: revert; quotes: revert; r: revert; resize: revert; rotate: revert; ruby-align: revert; ruby-overhang: revert; rx: revert; ry: revert; scale: revert; scroll-behavior: revert; scroll-snap-align: revert; scroll-snap-stop: revert; scroll-snap-type: revert; scroll-timeline: revert; scrollbar-gutter: revert; scrollbar-width: revert; shape-image-threshold: revert; shape-margin: revert; shape-outside: revert; shape-rendering: revert; speak-as: revert; stop-color: revert; stop-opacity: revert; stroke: revert; stroke-color: revert; stroke-dasharray: revert; stroke-dashoffset: revert; stroke-linecap: revert; stroke-linejoin: revert; stroke-miterlimit: revert; stroke-opacity: revert; stroke-width: revert; tab-size: revert; table-layout: revert; text-align-last: revert; text-anchor: revert; text-box: revert; text-combine-upright: revert; text-decoration-skip-ink: revert; text-emphasis-color: revert; text-emphasis-position: revert; text-emphasis-style: revert; text-overflow: revert; text-shadow: revert; text-underline-offset: revert; text-underline-position: revert; text-wrap-style: revert; timeline-scope: revert; touch-action: revert; transform: revert; transform-box: revert; transform-origin: revert; transform-style: revert; transition: revert; translate: revert; vector-effect: revert; vertical-align: revert; view-timeline: revert; view-transition-class: revert; view-transition-name: revert; visibility: revert; will-change: revert; word-break: revert; x: revert; y: revert; z-index: revert; -apple-pay-button-style: revert; -apple-pay-button-type: revert; -webkit-backdrop-filter: revert; -webkit-background-clip: revert; -webkit-background-origin: revert; border-spacing: revert; -webkit-box-align: revert; -webkit-box-decoration-break: revert; -webkit-box-direction: revert; -webkit-box-flex: revert; -webkit-box-flex-group: revert; -webkit-box-lines: revert; -webkit-box-ordinal-group: revert; -webkit-box-orient: revert; -webkit-box-pack: revert; -webkit-box-reflect: revert; -webkit-box-shadow: revert; -webkit-column-axis: revert; -webkit-column-progression: revert; -webkit-cursor-visibility: revert; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: revert; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: revert; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-lines: revert; -webkit-initial-letter: revert; -webkit-line-align: revert; -webkit-line-box-contain: revert; -webkit-line-clamp: revert; -webkit-line-grid: revert; -webkit-line-snap: revert; mask-size: revert; -webkit-mask: revert; -webkit-mask-composite: revert; -webkit-mask-source-type: revert; -webkit-nbsp-mode: revert; -webkit-rtl-ordering: revert; -webkit-ruby-position: revert; -webkit-text-combine: revert; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: revert; -webkit-text-fill-color: revert; -webkit-text-security: revert; -webkit-text-stroke-color: revert; -webkit-user-drag: revert; -webkit-user-modify: revert; -webkit-user-select: revert; border-radius: revert; inset: revert; contain-intrinsic-size: revert; height: revert; margin: revert; max-height: revert; max-width: revert; min-height: revert; min-width: revert; overflow: revert; overscroll-behavior: revert; padding: revert; scroll-margin: revert; scroll-padding: revert; width: revert; block-size: revert; border-block: revert; border-end-end-radius: revert; border-end-start-radius: revert; border-inline: revert; border-start-end-radius: revert; border-start-start-radius: revert; contain-intrinsic-block-size: revert; contain-intrinsic-inline-size: revert; inline-size: revert; inset-block: revert; inset-inline: revert; margin-block: revert; margin-inline: revert; max-block-size: revert; max-inline-size: revert; min-block-size: revert; min-inline-size: revert; overflow-block: revert; overflow-inline: revert; overscroll-behavior-block: revert; overscroll-behavior-inline: revert; padding-block: revert; padding-inline: revert; scroll-margin-block: revert; scroll-margin-inline: revert; scroll-padding-block: revert; scroll-padding-inline: revert;"> </div><em style="font-size: 16px; border: revert; color-scheme: revert; math-depth: revert; ruby-position: revert; writing-mode: revert; display: revert; font-family: Assistant, &quot;Assistant Fallback&quot;; font-feature-settings: revert; font-kerning: revert; font-optical-sizing: revert; font-palette: revert; font-size-adjust: revert; font-synthesis-small-caps: revert; font-synthesis-style: revert; font-synthesis-weight: revert; font-variant-alternates: revert; font-variant-east-asian: revert; font-variant-ligatures: revert; font-variant-numeric: revert; font-variant-position: revert; font-variation-settings: revert; font-width: revert; text-orientation: revert; text-rendering: revert; zoom: revert; -webkit-font-smoothing: revert; -webkit-locale: revert; -webkit-text-zoom: revert; text-autospace: revert; background-image: revert; background-position: revert; background-size: revert; background-repeat: revert; background-attachment: revert; background-origin: revert; background-clip: revert; mask: revert; accent-color: revert; place-content: revert; place-items: revert; place-self: revert; alignment-baseline: revert; anchor-name: revert; anchor-scope: revert; animation-composition: revert; animation: revert; appearance: revert; aspect-ratio: revert; backdrop-filter: revert; backface-visibility: revert; background-blend-mode: revert; baseline-shift: revert; border-collapse: revert; box-shadow: revert; break-after: revert; break-before: revert; break-inside: revert; buffered-rendering: revert; caption-side: revert; caret-color: rgb(55, 65, 81); clear: revert; clip: revert; clip-path: revert; clip-rule: revert; color: rgb(55, 65, 81); color-interpolation: revert; color-interpolation-filters: revert; column-count: revert; column-fill: revert; gap: revert; column-rule-color: revert; column-rule-style: revert; column-rule-width: revert; column-span: revert; column-width: revert; contain: revert; container-name: revert; container-type: revert; content: revert; content-visibility: revert; counter-increment: revert; counter-reset: revert; counter-set: revert; cursor: revert; cx: revert; cy: revert; dominant-baseline: revert; dynamic-range-limit: revert; empty-cells: revert; field-sizing: revert; fill: revert; fill-opacity: revert; fill-rule: revert; filter: revert; flex: revert; flex-flow: revert; flood-color: revert; flood-opacity: revert; flow-tolerance: revert; glyph-orientation-horizontal: revert; glyph-orientation-vertical: revert; grid: revert; grid-column-end: revert; grid-column-start: revert; grid-row-end: revert; grid-row-start: revert; hanging-punctuation: revert; hyphenate-character: revert; hyphens: revert; image-orientation: revert; image-rendering: revert; isolation: revert; lighting-color: revert; line-break: revert; line-height: revert; list-style: revert; margin-trim: revert; marker: revert; mask-composite: revert; mask-mode: revert; mask-type: revert; math-shift: revert; math-style: revert; mix-blend-mode: revert; object-fit: revert; object-position: revert; offset-anchor: revert; offset-distance: revert; offset-path: revert; offset-position: revert; offset-rotate: revert; opacity: revert; order: revert; outline: revert; outline-offset: revert; overflow-wrap: revert; page: revert; paint-order: revert; perspective: revert; perspective-origin: revert; pointer-events: revert; position: revert; position-anchor: revert; position-area: revert; position-try: revert; position-visibility: revert; print-color-adjust: revert; quotes: revert; r: revert; resize: revert; rotate: revert; ruby-align: revert; ruby-overhang: revert; rx: revert; ry: revert; scale: revert; scroll-behavior: revert; scroll-snap-align: revert; scroll-snap-stop: revert; scroll-snap-type: revert; scroll-timeline: revert; scrollbar-gutter: revert; scrollbar-width: revert; shape-image-threshold: revert; shape-margin: revert; shape-outside: revert; shape-rendering: revert; speak-as: revert; stop-color: revert; stop-opacity: revert; stroke: revert; stroke-color: revert; stroke-dasharray: revert; stroke-dashoffset: revert; stroke-linecap: revert; stroke-linejoin: revert; stroke-miterlimit: revert; stroke-opacity: revert; stroke-width: revert; tab-size: revert; table-layout: revert; text-align-last: revert; text-anchor: revert; text-box: revert; text-combine-upright: revert; text-decoration-skip-ink: revert; text-emphasis-color: revert; text-emphasis-position: revert; text-emphasis-style: revert; text-overflow: revert; text-shadow: revert; text-underline-offset: revert; text-underline-position: revert; text-wrap-style: revert; timeline-scope: revert; touch-action: revert; transform: revert; transform-box: revert; transform-origin: revert; transform-style: revert; transition: revert; translate: revert; vector-effect: revert; vertical-align: revert; view-timeline: revert; view-transition-class: revert; view-transition-name: revert; visibility: revert; will-change: revert; word-break: revert; x: revert; y: revert; z-index: revert; -apple-pay-button-style: revert; -apple-pay-button-type: revert; -webkit-backdrop-filter: revert; -webkit-background-clip: revert; -webkit-background-origin: revert; border-spacing: revert; -webkit-box-align: revert; -webkit-box-decoration-break: revert; -webkit-box-direction: revert; -webkit-box-flex: revert; -webkit-box-flex-group: revert; -webkit-box-lines: revert; -webkit-box-ordinal-group: revert; -webkit-box-orient: revert; -webkit-box-pack: revert; -webkit-box-reflect: revert; -webkit-box-shadow: revert; -webkit-column-axis: revert; -webkit-column-progression: revert; -webkit-cursor-visibility: revert; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: revert; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: revert; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-lines: revert; -webkit-initial-letter: revert; -webkit-line-align: revert; -webkit-line-box-contain: revert; -webkit-line-clamp: revert; -webkit-line-grid: revert; -webkit-line-snap: revert; mask-size: revert; -webkit-mask: revert; -webkit-mask-composite: revert; -webkit-mask-source-type: revert; -webkit-nbsp-mode: revert; -webkit-rtl-ordering: revert; -webkit-ruby-position: revert; -webkit-text-combine: revert; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: revert; -webkit-text-fill-color: revert; -webkit-text-security: revert; -webkit-text-stroke-color: revert; -webkit-user-drag: revert; -webkit-user-modify: revert; -webkit-user-select: revert; border-radius: revert; inset: revert; contain-intrinsic-size: revert; height: revert; margin: revert; max-height: revert; max-width: revert; min-height: revert; min-width: revert; overflow: revert; overscroll-behavior: revert; padding: revert; scroll-margin: revert; scroll-padding: revert; width: revert; block-size: revert; border-block: revert; border-end-end-radius: revert; border-end-start-radius: revert; border-inline: revert; border-start-end-radius: revert; border-start-start-radius: revert; contain-intrinsic-block-size: revert; contain-intrinsic-inline-size: revert; inline-size: revert; inset-block: revert; inset-inline: revert; margin-block: revert; margin-inline: revert; max-block-size: revert; max-inline-size: revert; min-block-size: revert; min-inline-size: revert; overflow-block: revert; overflow-inline: revert; overscroll-behavior-block: revert; overscroll-behavior-inline: revert; padding-block: revert; padding-inline: revert; scroll-margin-block: revert; scroll-margin-inline: revert; scroll-padding-block: revert; scroll-padding-inline: revert;">Lady Astrid is an independent contributing writer to RETRO//VRS. The views and opinions expressed in Notes From a Founding Collector are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of RETRO//VRS.

Lady Astrid reflects on purses as language, armor, joy and assets, and why the right bag can become part of how a woman invests in herself.

An Ode To Purses

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I used to live in New York City in my mid-20s, one of my favorite things to do when I had free time was go to Canal Street in Lower Manhattan.&nbsp; Canal Street is widely seen as the main artery of New York City’s historic Chinatown.&nbsp; There are lots of restaurants with amazing food and shops that sold touristy knickknacks. But the main reason I liked going there was to look at all the fake designer bags and accessories that I could actually afford on a student’s budget.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even if I couldn’t afford the real thing, browsing the “fakes” was aspirational for me and motivated me to do well in school so that one day I could afford the real deal.&nbsp; Because selling fake or counterfeit items is technically a crime, sometimes I would find myself in a hidden back room of a shop or in a difficult-to-find sweatshop on the third floor of a nondescript building in order to browse the latest fashionable “dupes” available at the time.&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many people don’t know that the quality of counterfeit goods is actually on a sliding scale.&nbsp; You can have the obviously fake “Rolox” watches to Louis Vuitton purses that look so authentic, even an LV sales associate couldn’t tell the difference.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even back then, I knew buying counterfeit designer wares was “shady” and often funded horrible illegal activities like illicit drug dealing and even human trafficking.&nbsp; Despite my reservations, I justified it to myself based on the price point and my status as a broke, struggling student.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I remember one of the first counterfeit designer items I acquired was a mid-quality Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami cherry blossom Papillon purse.&nbsp; I had a friend who bought the real thing for around $800 at the time, but the fake one I had was only $20 and from afar it could pass for authentic if you didn’t examine it too closely.

Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami Cherry Blossom Papillon, the style at the center of Lady Astrid’s story about counterfeits, quality, and authenticity.

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wore that bag with pride in my heyday, despite it falling apart after a few uses.&nbsp; The quality of the canvas was obviously subpar, but the real fatal defect was the stitching.&nbsp; If you stuffed your bag with items like I did, the stitching of the purse handles could not accommodate the weight, and often the straps would break.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The good news was I only spent $20 on it and could just replace it with a newer style. The bad news was I loved that specific print, which was only produced for a limited time and for a specific season.&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I remember thinking, even if I have to buy 10 fakes of that purse, it would still be a better bargain than buying one authentic one based on the price point alone.&nbsp; Back then, as a young single woman living in NYC, I tended to prefer quantity over quality because I didn’t know any better.&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I remember seeing my friend use her authentic bag for years, and despite what she put in it, it was so well designed and constructed that it never broke.&nbsp; If anything, the purse’s vachetta would patina and darken over time and would make it even more beautiful.

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I told myself that once I “made it,” I would only buy authentic luxury goods because when you love something as much as I loved that purse, you want it to last forever.&nbsp; You want to take care of it and pass it on to your kids like a treasured inheritance.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 43); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though I’m older now and have substantially more money and resources at my disposal, I still live by the credo of quality &gt; quantity.

<div> </div><div> </div>Lady Astrid is an independent contributing writer to RETRO//VRS. The views and opinions expressed in Notes From a Founding Collector are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of RETRO//VRS.

A $20 counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag changed how Lady Astrid thought about quality, value, authenticity, and what makes luxury worth owning.

Quality Over Quantity: The Counterfeit Bag That Changed How I Thought About Luxury

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I grew up in a moderately conservative upper-middle-class family by today’s standards. I have always had access to the amount of money needed to buy luxury goods even as a teenager in the ’90s, but I never did because my parents were hardworking immigrants who ingrained in me the value of money. Money was always in short supply for my parents growing up, and so my parents worked hard to provide a better life for me and my brothers by taking that out of the equation for us.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I didn’t buy my first designer bag until college, and even then, I felt guilty spending my parents’ hard-earned money on a “splurge” for myself. It was a simple black nylon Prada purse that all the “cool” girls at my university were using for clubbing or going out with friends. I specifically remember wanting it in black so that it would match a lot of the clothes I already had.

Prada Re-Edition 2000 nylon bag, inspired by the archival style that became Lady Astrid’s first designer purse.

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wearing that bag made me feel more confident when I was out and about in my 20s. I even left the Prada authenticity card in my purse to prove it was authentic if anyone ever questioned its authenticity (spoiler: no one ever did).<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If that bag could talk, the stories it would tell.<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wore it out so much that eventually the strap broke, and I stopped using it. At the time, I didn’t know if it could be repaired because I had no clue who to contact to even get something like that done. Could you look up “purse repair” in the yellow pages back then in our more analog days?

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So for years, it sat in the back of my closet in my childhood bedroom at my parents’ house. The next time I saw it was when I was cleaning out my room right before I finished school and got married at age 27. The minute I saw it, it brought a wide smile to my face. I could still remember all the good times and adventures I had with that purse in my early 20s.<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I never did get that Prada purse fixed, and it’s still probably in my childhood bedroom closet.<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last year I came across Prada's Re-Edition 2000 version of it, and when I saw it, I knew I had to get one for old times’ sake. That bag is low maintenance, water-resistant, and easy to carry when going out for errands or on a date night with my husband. It’s a very practical utilitarian purse that was well designed and constructed.<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To me, it screamed “quiet luxury” because it didn’t have brand logos. The purse was basic, black, and had a small metallic triangle on the front of the purse with the name of the brand.<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s when it dawned on me. True luxury doesn’t need to scream to be noticed; it’s more akin to a whisper. Luxury is buying what makes you happy and what you will actually use in your daily life, irrespective of the hype, the brand, or the latest trend.

Lady Astrid is an independent contributing writer to RETRO//VRS. The views and opinions expressed in Notes From a Founding Collector are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of RETRO//VRS.<o:p></o:p>

Lady Astrid reflects on her first designer purse, a black Prada nylon bag, and how it shaped her understanding of luxury, quality and personal style.

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