Pursenalized

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Like many Wise Bread bloggers, I love Target for a number of reasons. I love their sales racks, where you can find perfectly good wool skirts for $4.99. I adore that they carry clothing sizes that fit women like me, women who could be featured in a remake of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." Target has brought style to the masses, and for that, they will always be a favorite of mine.

The only problem with shopping at Target is that everyone else shops there, too. Thus, you are bound to run into people who are wearing the EXACT same thing that you are, or carrying the same handbag. The latter is my current problem.

Now, this might be further proof that I have yet to conquer my vanity, but I like to stand out a little bit. Shopping at Target and other large chain stores can make this difficult, because they sell so much stuff.

So, when I'm slummin' it with a $21.99 Target handbag, and I frequently am, I want to avoid standing in line at the grocery store sporting the same bag as the three women in line in front of me. I can't help it.

In fact, when I went to Target a couple of weeks ago, I picked out a black fake leather hobo-style handbag that I thought was particularly nice — not overly wrought, not to young and whippersnappery, no garish patterns. As I was walking out of the store, I saw not one, but two women in the parking lot with the same purse.

I gazed down at my new purchase. I could return it. It's easy enough to return stuff at Target, right? But I actually liked this bag quite a bit. So I decided to personalize it. I walked back in to Target and immediately found what I was looking for — a long black scarf with multi-colored polka dots. Polyester. Cheap. I purchased it and drove home.

Once home, I got to work immediately (don't you love how fashion can spur you into action? I do). The idea was really simple. I removed the long braided strappy things with a pair of sharp scissors and threaded the scarf through the purse's rivets instead. I tried tying the scarf in a variety of styles before settling on one.

I LIKE it. It feels so French, or at least my idea of French.

Now, this isn't revolutionary, not by a long shot. But it's a bag that will probably last me six months or so (if you do the math, that's $2.33 per month of use). I can change the scarf out for others if I want, or remove it all together and hang bunches of cheap charms from each rivet. So far, no one has recognized the bag, but lots of people have complimented it.

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Guest's picture
Christine

Have you checked out ebags.com yet?  I'm not a purse girl at all, and I LOVE the website. 

Will Chen's picture

I just want to say I love the mods you made on the purse.  =)

Jessica Okon's picture

Love what you did to the bag & I'm looking forward to further crafty posts from you! Have you seen these sites where you can "rent" an expensive purse. No pun intended, but that's not my bag.