The curse of the cheap clothes and the missing Balenciaga

(Photo by Balenciaga)

Ever since Monsieur Ghesquiere created the Motorcycle bag I've been drooling at the thought of owning one. Never mind the Birkin, the Paddington, the Spy, the Roxanne, the 2.55, the Hysteria, the Speedy and the rest of them - of all the iconic it bags, this is the one arm candy that makes my heart go faster and my head spin every time I see someone parading one around. While I dream of making it mine, so far it hasn't happened. The really offensive dent in my savings such a purchase would make has been the single deterrent responsible for this beauty missing from my wardrobe.

I like to think of my self as a reasonably smart girl. I mean, while not exactly a rocket scientist, there's usually sense enough to avoid situations that would have me as a potential contender for the Darwin Awards. However, every once in a while I'm just plain dumb. There really is no better way of describing it. I've come to realize that this happens regularly when one of these have been lying around in my home long enough for me to still have them when I get a mail in my inbox screaming SALE!!!:

And I think: Wow! 40% off? 50% off? 70% off? That's fantastic! Let's see if there's something I could use....Over and over again, I'm doing this - sitting in the comfort of my own home, being able to spend plenty of time in peace and quiet to peruse all the offers while going back to the catalogues to get a closer look at the items displayed on my screen. Most of the time I end up buying something, even if I really had no plans of doing so, or even no need for the item. With each purchase, there's a certain feeling of victory that has me grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary when I think about how much I've saved by getting the stuff for less than it used to be. The queen of the impulsive mail order sales shopping - yeah, that would be yours truly.

Then, every now and then, my closets gets so full that it takes a combination of sheer willpower and brute force to get something in and out of there. Occasionally, I also find garments I didn't even know I owned.

And so I decide I need to to some spring cleaning. Like I've done for the last few days.

As the mountain of no longer wanted clothes, shoes and accessories - some of it unused - grew on my living room floor, a realization gradually dawned on me:

THIS STUFF WOULD HAVE BEEN HALF A BALENCIAGA!

Maybe even half the bag and all of the shoulder strap! I almost blush when I think of how I snickered at the hopeless main character in Confessions of a Shopaholic.

But it's never too late to wisen up. The catalogues are going in the bin pronto. All alluring sale mails will be dealt with swift and merciless. To remind me if I ever falter, I'll print out the image of the bag of my dreams, attach a necklace to it and hang it around the neck of Miss Piggy.

Eventually that bag will be mine. Oh yes, it will!