The "It" Bag

While watching one of the episodes of “Ugly Betty”, I cried a bucket. The topic was fashion, and how it was good for one’s soul. The bone of contention between Betty and her conscience was about a Gucci bag. It was deemed as the “it” bag of the moment, and everyone at her office wanted to have it from the “sale”. The wardrobe keeper, who happens to be Betty’s friend, reserved it especially for her. When Betty finally received it, it brought back memories of her mother, who gave her a handbag similar to the Gucci one. As mentioned by her sister, it sealed Betty’s position as their mother’s favorite daughter. The sad part came when Betty had to part with the Gucci bag to buy important medicines for her dad since the neighborhood drugstore won’t let them use a credit line anymore. Betty used the bag as “pawn” and exchanged the bag for medicines. And along the way, she bought a fake one to sell to Mark, the gay officemate who wanted it so badly, and she bought one herself as well as to not disappoint the wardrobe mistress about letting go of the “it” bag. Eventually, the wardrobe assistant noticed that Betty was not carrying the genuine article, and Betty was forced to confess about her predicament.

This particular episode tugged a special chord in my heart. Yes, I cried a river, about Betty’s financial woes and my own. That I had to part with my “it” bags as well, my beloved “babies”, because I have to survive. Friends won’t lend me money anymore, and the way Betty can’t buy medicines for her dad, I can’t anymore pay my mortgages. I had to kiss them goodbye, under the positive impression that I will one day earn money to buy them again.

Recently, I got myself a Tod’s “it” bag, an authentic one, from a thrift store./. And I am embarrassed that why bags such as this Tod’s affected thousand of girls one way or the other. Fashion is really good for one’s soul, it uplifts them when things are not going well. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, the inventor of “poor chic”, lifted the spirits of women who just emerged with the bitter remnants of second World War, and gave them jersey knit, usually reserved for men’s underwear, because raw materials were still in short supply. To Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, and a host of other great designers, thank you so much for feeding our souls.