Saturday, February 20, 2010
Her Coach Bag
From Hank Kalet's blog:
I've carried a small, black Eagle Creek backpack for ages. Eagle Creek is a mid-priced line of packs & travel bags, heavy canvas, reliable zippers, has a tag sewn outside, & when I bought it (at a discount) was a preferred, understated brand for artists, writers, & students who didn't want to invest in a trendy-looking book bag every semester. Wasn't quite the Coach of book bags, but you couldn't find Eagle Creek in Walmart; you had go to a luggage, sporting goods, or art supply store. I'm not embarrassed to plop it down on the check out desk in the library.
(Hank backs off a bit. What annoyed me wasn't his point about conspicious consumption, but that he wrote & messaged it while his wife was shopping. So I popped off about it right away because I had the means, which made me no different than Hank).
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Annie decided she wanted a real Coach bag for her birthday, which was last month. At 47, after owning a couple of knock-offs, she decided it was time to splurge. Personally, I just don't get it, but it was her birthday and so here we are at the outlet in Jackson where the line to get in the store reminded me of the line for a general admission concert.Annie has demonstrated unusual, & unnecessary, self-restraint. Coach isn't some in today - out tomorrow brand or look. I lived with a woman for 17 years who was never without one Coach bag. We were always poor, & when her bag wore out she saved up for another, sometimes soliciting donations from her family in lieu of a birthday gift (then she usually received them in addition to a gift). It isn't conspicuous to want one quality, conservative, well-made, all-purpose accessory that won't go out of fashion overnight (assuming they're still well-made). Who can blame Annie for getting tired of knock-offs? The Kalets are doing alright & she's looking for a deal at the outlet store.
The experience is strange, at a time when job losses have mounted, for so many people to be swept up by the desire for what essentially is just conspicuous consumption run amok.
I've carried a small, black Eagle Creek backpack for ages. Eagle Creek is a mid-priced line of packs & travel bags, heavy canvas, reliable zippers, has a tag sewn outside, & when I bought it (at a discount) was a preferred, understated brand for artists, writers, & students who didn't want to invest in a trendy-looking book bag every semester. Wasn't quite the Coach of book bags, but you couldn't find Eagle Creek in Walmart; you had go to a luggage, sporting goods, or art supply store. I'm not embarrassed to plop it down on the check out desk in the library.
(Hank backs off a bit. What annoyed me wasn't his point about conspicious consumption, but that he wrote & messaged it while his wife was shopping. So I popped off about it right away because I had the means, which made me no different than Hank).
Labels: culture, home furnishings, shopping
