It All Started with a Tote
I needed a mom bag. My Neverfull was a workhorse but she was finicky. It couldn’t rain or snow when I carried her (vachetta leather). She was large and loud and perfect if I wanted to be seen. An iconic silhouette with an even more iconic monogram. I LOVE that bag.
But now I wanted quiet luxury. I wanted rain, sleet or snow ready. So I began my research. I don’t live where I can just walk into a store and choose. (And if you understand designer bags, the best are never that easy to get.) The process for me is watching reviews on youtube, tiktok, or Instagram. I need to see how others use the bag and how the bag moves, and of course what it fits.
I fell in love with the Louis Vuitton OntheGo GM in empriente in black. So I text my CA and ordered her. She was drool worthy. Arrived overnight and packaged to perfection. The aroma was *chefs kiss* from the leather.
So she was a bit heavy on the arm but she fit everything. It started to sprinkle and there was no vachetta to care for. She was a dream come true tote. But wait…a few days later the slouchy bubble I noticed upon opening her started sagging more. After a few days? That can’t be right.I looked up a possible defect, read forums of complaints, and doubled over the resale market noticing there was A LOT of these newer bags on the market….already?
I was bummed. I just made a $4k purchase and suddenly didn’t think it was worth the money. Was mine defective, would this continue to get worse? At first my CA was saying it was normal. I used the bag another time or two but mostly it just sat on a manicured shelf and was pretty to look at. I wasn’t grabbing her to use and that meant… I still needed my everyday mom bag!
I went back to the tote bag drawing board. I fell in love with the Chloe Woody. She was beautiful in all of the colors and this was the year the denim Woody was released. I am a complete fool for denim bags (but I have yet to own one).
I did a whole lot of new research on the new bag in my crosshairs. I read on the details and descriptions of the Woody. Upcycled leather made from cuts of denim or denim products that weren’t used or sold? Brilliant Chloe! Brilliant.
This was the time Angelina Jolie became an ambassador for Chloe and it’s mission to obtain a smaller carbon footprint, joining the Leather Working Group, and becoming Group B Certified.
Although I love denim bags, I ended up going with the classic linen Woody in white and brown. (A complaint I found a lot was that she wouldn’t stand on her own and tipped over a lot. I bought an organizer for her and that hasn’t been an issue with mine.)
“I felt empowered by the choice I made to support Chloe.”
And I was hopeful for the quality.
I had to return the OntheGo. The Woody replaced her. This was the start to my new passion. Louis had let me down on their quality (this happened a lot with their newer items) and it was a process to purchase just to return. This was the start to opening up the brands I was choosing to support by aiming my dollar at them. I started caring about a whole new aspect to my handbag obsession especially in the realm of sustainability.
