I didn’t know I wanted it, until I found it. Once I found it, I had to have it.
I was out shopping a few weeks ago, and walked up to a rack of handbags. On this one shelf, three or four handbags back, I saw red leather and safety pins sticking out. My heart skipped a beat and I said out loud: “Oh Hell No – That can’t be a Balmain?”
If you’ve read my blog you know that every time an item catches my eye, it’s usually a Balmain. A previous post on my blog highlighted a Red Leather Jacket by Balmain, (that I had seen in Vogue Magazine), that had studs and safety pins all over it. Click here to see that post. I adored that Balmain Red Leather Jacket but didn’t like the hefty price tag of $25,000 that came with it.
Back to the shopping trip…Quite astonished at my find, I reached in, grabbed the bag, pulled it out and almost fainted.
It was a Balmain…it was called the Ultimate Pin Bag, and it was the handbag version of that leather jacket that I loved.
I was afraid to look at the price tag on the handbag. If the matching leather jacket was $25,000, how much would the handbag cost? Would I be crazy enough to buy the handbag, if the price was near that of the leather jacket? I’m not that crazy, or that rich, so I steeled myself for disappointment, all the while thinking about how I could take out a bank loan to buy it!
I found the price tag…I turned it over…and found out that the retail price of the bag was 10% of the jackets price. Whew! That was definitely within my price range.
Then there was a sale sticker on the bag that took the price down to 55% off retail.
By this time I was sweating…how could I be so lucky to find this bag? How long had it been sitting on that shelf, without anyone grabbing it up?
My salesgirl asked if I was going to buy it to sell it? I told her: “Hell No! This Balmain is for me!”
I went up to the cash register, to pay for the bag, and by mistake they gave me an additional 30% discount, off the lowest price, which was not supposed to be available on Designer Handbags. I held my breath, praying that the sale would go through, and when it did, I walked away with this Balmain Handbag for 70% off the retail price!
For those of you who don’t purchase Luxury Handbags, this sounds like a ridiculous price to pay for a Handbag. For all the Handbag “Ho’s”, who read my blog, you are freaking out to learn that I bought a red leather Balmain handbag for 70% off retail price!
Great finds/sales like these always make me think of Georgina, my girlfriend from Australia. Georgie was a Fashion Connoisseur, who had a wardrobe of Designer clothing, shoes and handbags that would make anyone envious. She was also the only girl who could keep up with me, and shop nonstop for eight hours, and then go back for more! One time she got blisters on her feet because we had been walking so much, but she didn’t complain once. I remember taking Georgie to a Burberry outlet store in Las Vegas, because she had never been to a Burberry outlet. As we combed through the racks, she asked me: “Mj, what does 75% off mean?” I replied that it meant 75% off the already discounted retail price. Georgie looked pale when the reality of that comment hit her but then she rallied back and made a real dent in their merchandise that day.
Georgie was also the only person I knew who couldn’t wait to hear about or see photos of all the new handbags or shoes I had found on sale. She was constantly amazed at the great deals I found, and she took advantage of a lot of them! Even though Classic Chanel Jumbo Flaps almost never go on sale, Georgie was certain that I could find one for her, sooner or later.
I did find her that Classic Chanel Jumbo Flap on sale, but sadly, I have lost touch with Georgie. Now, I don’t have anyone I can call up or email about all these great deals that I find, and that is very sad.
However, had Georgie been with me on this shopping trip, we would have ended up having a “Battle to the Death” over this Ultimate Pin Bag by Balmain! It would not have been a pretty sight to see us fighting over this handbag, but once the dust settled, we probably would have ended up coming to a compromise, and “sharing” ownership of the handbag!
I don’t know if Georgie ever reads my blog, but if she does, this message is for her:
“Eat your Heart out GG – this Balmain is mine!”
I made a video in my hotel room, the night I found the Balmain Ultimate Pin Bag. Click below to watch the video.