Set the scene: Junior year of high school. The school choir, of which I was not a member (#tonedeaf), took a trip to Manhattan. When the choir returned, I noted that many a female classmate who took the trip returned with Kate Spade purses. As a resident of the very suburban Mississippi Gulf Coast, the only previous exposure I had to the designer brand was through the pages of Lucky magazine. Through the publication I knew how expensive the handbags ran. I knew my parents would lose it if I spent so much money on one item.
I commented my disbelief to a friend that there were parents who allowed their daughters to spend that kind of money on a bag. This friend went on the trip and witnessed several of the girls purchasing the bags from a Canal Street vendor. I had a similar reaction as Carrie Bradshaw said when she went to the Valley with Samantha in search of fake Fendi paradise. The bags did not look glamourous in the trunk of a clunker; they looked sad. Like Carrie, it blew my mind that anyone would be happy knowing her purse was counterfeit.
I held these purses in such high regard back then. And though my accessories budget has expanded past the price point of the brand, I still hold the brand – which has since expanded categories – in high regard. A relatively recent purchase of the striped Kate Spade Sam was an easy choice. It was an item that I was confident would align with my style, and relatively easy on the wallet. I have also had my eye on it since junior year.
Now I have my eye on the below Sam-shaped woven basket tote with the black and white oversized gingham lining. And at markdown price? Get in my closet!
