Ode to Botkier

To the right is a Botkier Stevie Hobo. It is on my current To Stalk list, but I want it in persimmon instead of black. Isn't it lovely? Don't I need it? Wouldn't my collection be almost complete with a Sasha convertible duffel as well?

Before you judge me, let me throw one of my friends under the bus first. This friend, who shall remain unnamed, was so struck by the beauty of the Botkier that she composed this poem (cue lute music in the background):

I love Botkier handbags you see

If you could feel and see them, you'd agree with me

They are beyond description

Sometimes I think I need a prescription - to get over my addition

I am like a jaguar, prowling the night...

on eBay and other sites, willing even to fight

Today I stalked the FedEx tracking

first twice, then five times, now my mind is cracking

For you see, a new Botkier arrives - hooray!

it left the local facility at 4:40 AM today

Now it is 9:30 AM, i am tempted to drive around to look for the FedEx Man

What if he's lost, can't find my house, drunk at the wheel...or in the Can?

Somebody please help me!

A work of beauty if I must say so myself. My husband says that when he sees me he can hear my thoughts very loudly: "Botkier...Botkier...Botkier..."

My friend Patricia just bought her first Botkier today - an Emily tote (cute!). Now she's watching a Nomad satchel and a Sasha duffel. See, they're like Pringles...you can't have just one.

Julia Child Was a Spy!

So Julia Child was a spy! Can you believe it?!?

I guess things aren't always as they seem. One of our vendor partners at work was telling me last week about a hire they recently made. His VP of Ops interviewed her, said that she presented herself very well, and asked permission to make an on-the-spot offer. He granted it, but they still ran a background check afterwards. Lo and behold, she did have a criminal record -- prostitution. My vendor partner asked for the date of the charge -- perhaps it was ten years ago, and she'd had a life change since then? Charge was in April. He asked his VP of Ops, "Well, how does she look?" and he responded, "Between $75 and $100." Nice!

Anyway, on to the more important things in life: to the right is a family portrait of my Botkier bags. I'm thinking about putting it in a frame for my desk at work -- you're supposed to do that with loved ones, right? (From top left: Botkier Stirrup Hobo, Botkier Bianca Small in Metallic Silver, Botkier Bianca Medium in Nude Python; Second row: Botkier Sophie in Honey Tan, Botkier Sophie in Raisin, Botkier Bianca Medium in Cherry.)

A couple of weeks ago, I got this email from my friend Nina, who had just purchased her first Botkier:

It came today. It is absolutely stunning. I am speechless. I have Louis. I have Guccis. There is no comparison. The soft leather. The new smell. The nice "thank you" note that came from the seller. I am absolutely in love.

The indigo blue, is a nice, dark (denimy) blue. It is absolutely perfect. Now, I am officially addicted.

This is all your fault.

She wasn't kidding about being addicted. Over the next couple of weeks there was an eBay emergency (I got texts while I was at work), another Botkier purchase, the spread of the Botkier addiction to an unnamed local news anchor, the neglect of children in the incessant and desperate online search for out-of-production Botkier styles. I am familiar with all these symptoms. (Nina, by the way, also recently sent me a family portrait of her Botkiers.)

If you're not willing yet to shell out about $700 for a new Botkier (or $300-400 on eBay), check out the Botkier collection at Target. In particular, from the research I've done, the Satchel in Gray Python seems to be the best in the collection, both from a design and quality perspective (comments indicate that some of the other PVC bags look and feel cheap). In fact, I pondered ordering one of these just because it's only $49.99, but my fellow Botkier lovers talked me down so I resisted. I guess for me (a real Botkier addict) it would be like having fake boobs -- there's nothing really wrong with it, but even if the fake python looked real, I would know, and other Botkier addicts would know (in the words of my friend Alice, "Don't forget -- these say Botkier for Target -- true Botkier lovers will notice right away!"). And for me, part of the joy is the quality of the leather -- and the smell of the leather. I remember the first Coach bag I bought for myself in the '90s. I think I went around smelling it more than I carried it. I'm currently stalking a Botkier Stevie Hobo in Persimmon -- lovely!

I feel like I need to say something about the Olympics too, which I'm watching in the background. Synchro diving: who made that up?!? It's so amazing to watch, but isn't it nearly imposible to do? Wow.

Endless.com

So I was stalking the web for Botkiers again and I came upon this site called Endless.com. Here is their return policy:

If for any reason, you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, you may return it free of charge for a period of 365 days from the original purchase date-- we'll even pay for the return shipping. Merchandise must be unworn and in the original packaging, and accompanied by the original packing slip. We'll also accept the return of incorrect or defective merchandise that meets the guidelines below.

A year!

In this neither witty nor insightfulpost, I've included a photo of the inside of a purse. It's one of the purses I'm selling on eBay (a Botkier!). I'm hurting for images. Send me some interesting ones. I will blog about them. I will even write a haiku if you request it.

Designer handbags at less than full price (it's ok then!)

So a few weeks back, when I was struggling particularly hard with my purse habit (ok, I bought 8 purses to be exact, but this is how I feel when I buy a good purse --how can something that feels so right be wrong?), I had this idea for a purse exchange -- it would be a closed community of designer purse collectors, who, when they tired of their bags, could auction them off or exchange them for other high-end bags. The challenge of course would be to get a critical mass of users to make the place interesting. I did the economics and unless I charged what I thought were somewhat unreasonable prices, it was definitely going to be more of a hobby than a business venture.


Anyway, as with all my good ideas, someone else already thought of it. BagBanco, which is a venture of From Bags to Riches (a Bag, Borrow or Steal competitor), has put a marketplace together for gently used bags. There's no auction function -- they basically sell for you on consignment for cash or for credit -- but it's pretty close (I have to say I think the subscription fees are high, but based on the model I built I think they have to be this way in order for them to be reasonably profitable). I had purchased the URL http://www.pursehabit.com/ with the idea that I might actually build this thing, but for now it just lists the bags I need to sell in order to make room for my 8 new babies -- I'm sort of like the Angelina Jolie of purse collecting (at least one of each color, from multiple continents). Anyway, the other side benefit of staring PurseHabit.com would have been the need to build an initial stash of inventory in order to start activity of the site -- purse start-up capital, if you will. Now I'll just have to build my stash with no good excuse at all.


I know it's bad when you have to give away clothes in order to make space for your bags. My friend Jenny clarified that it's perfectly ok to give away your husband's clothes in order to make room for your bags -- but she also suggested selling my platelets to fund my bag habit. The thing that makes me feel better about it is not paying full price for a designer bag (then, as my friend Nina says, you'd be losing money if you don't buy it!). Here are the best sources I've found for discount designer purse shopping:

• eBay: When I was doing research around PurseHabit.com, the biggest stumbling block I came upon was how to compete with eBay. They are simply the largest and most sophisticated forum. And there are some really great deals on bags -- be careful though because there are fakes -- try the Authentication Forum at http://www.purseforum.com/ if you're not sure. They also have a nice search option that enables you to get automated messages when items that meet your criteria are listed.
• Bag, Borrow or Steal: They've got an outlet section (you have to register in order to view it) where they sell you refurbished bags with a satisfaction guarantee. Prices are typically higher than I see on eBay, but you're guaranteed authenticity. They get new inventory in each Wednesday, with additional discounts on Fridays.
• BagBanco: I haven't bought from them yet -- they don't have a critical mass of products yet , but the prices seem reasonable and you are also guaranteed an authentic bag.
• Bluefly: They have a decent selection, but I am somewhat prejudiced against them because they don' t have Botkier, though they do have Kooba. Average discount is between 20-50% off retail. I see the same selection on eBay, so I think eBay still wins out on price overall.

Feed the habit!

When you know, you know

Remember when people would tell you that you'd know when you found The One? It happened to me last month. Suddenly, with no warning, I fell fast and hard for Botkier handbags -- until the pure supple lambskin-y, design-y perfection of them was too much for me to handle.

I first saw them online during a sale. On sale they were about $475, so I hemmed and hawed about the Botkier Bianca until they were sold out. I then proceeded to kick myself for missing out, for the Biancas are nowhere to be found on the primary market, and I began scouring eBay for them, losing several auctions in the last 5 seconds because apparently other Botkier obsessed are faster typers than I am. Determined not to be defeated yet again, I actioned on a Buy It Now for the Sophie bag in Raisin (pictured), which is now in my possession. It arrived at my door during a particularly bad my-career-is-in-the-toilet-now-that-I-have-kids kind of day, and as my friend Jenny so aptly pointed out, it would match perfectly with the bottle of vodka I'd be carrying.

Still outbid though on the Botkier Bianca (I wanted it in nude snakeskin), I desperately settled and pulled another Buy It Now on a Cherry colored one. That one is coming on Tuesday, the day before I leave town (it also involved begging the seller to expedite the bag so I'd get it before I left). I then set an auto-search on eBay to show me daily all the new Botkiers that were on the market. This has resulted in two additional bids for Botkiers, as well as a membership in The Purse Forum.

And I can't stop talking about them. I dragged a gay co-worker into critiquing a few I was considering. I email my friend Alice (who just gave birth two days ago) updates and opinion requests. It is truly an illness. Weirdest part is that I was never that into bags.

But then I made a startling discovery: there seem to be a bunch of purse addicts out there, who buy new purses, carry them for a couple of weeks, and then stow them in their original dust covers with their authentication tags, and resell them on eBay once they're back in season again. Brilliant! I felt enabled. Like I had an excuse to buy more bags.

Continuing to troll the net for Botkiers, I stumbled upon the Chloes. Whoa. If Botkiers were my Ivana Trump, Chloes are my Marla Maples. So I'm just waiting for those Koobas to hit me over the head...