Bagaholics.com

If there is one thing I’ve learned whilst researching for this article is that there is no crowd more determined, more obsessed, or crazier than the Bagaholics crowd. These women plan, scheme, cross continents, and go broke, for the bag of their dreams. They lug things around to justify their bag purchases, and fantasize about their next buys for months, if not years, before it actually materializes, if ever.

Designer bag manufacturers are partly to blame for this obsession. They are purposely very strict about keeping their bags exclusive, which means that there is usually no easy way of getting your hands on them for less than a month’s salary. Sometimes you also have to wait for ages until your most-wanted style and colour appears in an authentic offer.

Mona Farrugia is a restaurant reviewer whose reviews are infamous for having as many shoe descriptions as they have food. Somehow, her ridiculously huge bag collection did not quite make it to print…until now.

‘I love bags, but they are, like most of my loves, a love borne out of practicality. I’m the kind of person who needs to carry many things around during the day. The only way to do it is clearly in a sack-like thing which has a handle or an approximation of it. How else would I be able to carry the day’s lipstick, together with the ones from the previous 3 days, sunglasses, vision glasses, a huge Mulberry purse, my iPhone, a book and a magazine, sometimes my Macbook, and a legal notepad to jot things down as I go along? Please note that you will not find any used tissues, no gooey stuff stuck to the sides, chewed gum or anything that should not be there. My bags are usually pretty tidy and clean.

My bag collection is probably worth more than my savings, but not as much as my shoe assortment. The last time I checked I owned about 25 designer bags. My Burberry Prorsum reddish-brown leather and metal tote, is probably my most pricey piece. It is huge, heavy and the love of my life paid around £1,600 to get it for me. I am also the proud owner of a red and black Christian Louboutin which was carefully selected from his first bag collection: Graffiti. All the bags are stacked nicely but not preciously, in our closet.

A love of shoes and bags is in my genes, it runs in my mother’s side of the family, but whilst she, my aunt and my grandma opted for the cheaper end of the market, with quantity and choice of colours being supreme, I stepped it up when I bought my first designer bag – a black and white woven Gianfranco Ferre. I was hankering after an Intrecciato by Bottega Veneta but couldn’t afford the price tag, so a Ferre it was.

I’m not quite sure exactly how many bags I own. I’m probably becoming like those people who have so much money they don’t know exactly how much they have, only, in my case, without the money. All I know is that they take up a hell of a lot of space. The totes have their own shelf, the day bags have theirs and, all the evening ones theirs. My favourite is a Miu Miu carpet bag with a tortoiseshell chain handle which my husband bought me. He had a mad rant at the Net –a-Porter staff some time ago because days after he’d ordered one of those little Louboutin satin clutches for my birthday, they told him they’d run out of stock and wouldn’t be delivering. He is my perfect kind of man: he buys me the bags because he knows I love them, unlike some of my friends’…. who buy their wives and girlfriends handbags because they secretly like to wear them themselves!

When we go away on holiday he always expects me to come back with at least two new ones. Recently when we visited Morocco he actually asked me when I was going to get down to it. Of course it has something to do with having to carry his wallet and keys whenever we go out. Coming to think of it, how do men manage to carry so little around with them?

We returned from Marrakech with a huge dark red doctor’s bag, a fringed brown butter-soft across-the-shoulder saddle bag, a little brown one with a huge flower fashioned out of leather, and a ‘fake’ Mulberry which has such soft leather which looks exactly like the one on the real thing. Despite the splurge, my husband did not complain but he conveniently ignored the fact that I purposely slowed down every time we walked by the Gucci shop on the ground floor of our hotel.

A black lacquer Chloe with silver and bronze zips is the bag I use the most. It’s a post-Stella McCartney piece which I bought from Harvey Nichols in London. The snooty sales-girl who couldn’t afford it herself, gave me crap service. I love it because it is strong but still looks very pretty and the pockets are perfect for stuffing and organising.

This might come as a surprise but I’m not as obsessed with bags as I was once. I have found that the only way to stop buying rubbish is by not buying rubbish so I hardly ever go into the high street stores. High street purchasing fools you into thinking you are getting a ‘bargain’ but you never do. I always throw ‘cheap’ bags away or give them away, but the real stuff stays around for years and years and if I had heirs, they’d be happy ones. The cost-per-wear is much better value for money when it’s the real McCkoy, and the cost on landfill is nil.

I also buy cannily from Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols at the end of the sales season. My favourite department store is Liberty’s in London as they offer some very quirky and beautiful collections. If you have ever owned the real thing, you can immediately tell which ones are fakes. During on one of my flights last month, I checked in next to a 60-year old German woman who was directing (not carrying of course) 12 pieces of Louis Vuitton. Of course they were real – naturally softened by use, pleasingly faded. The fake stuff always looks ‘new’ and never breaks in.

I once bought a Gucci from e-Bay and it turned out to be fake, albeit one of the best that I’ve ever seen. I was very angry at the seller as I avoid fakes as much as possible. It eventually fell apart, even though initially it seemed to have been beautifully constructed. When it arrived I immediately felt it wasn’t the real thing even though it was in a dust bag and had the cardboard tag. I am still angry at the seller. Bags are sacred little objects which give me much happiness for long hours in the day: you can’t mess around with that kind of responsibility.

Mona Farrugia edits http://www.planetmona.com, a review website where Dolly Jnr. checks out what other people are wearing and blogs about it.

Caaarlene Cattell (29), a Financial Coordinator at private firm, can’t go anywhere without a bag. ‘I’m lost without my handbag; it holds all my personal belongings all the time, so it’s very important for me to be wearing one at all times. I can’t say that I use bags in the same way that some people use comfort food, because let’s just say that I appreciate my bags as much as I appreciate my food!

I have all kinds of bags. I love designer handbags (who doesn’t?) and own quite a few, but I also have many other bags which I bought from high street shops, different countries and markets. I don’t really care where they’re from, or even about the name, as long as it looks nice and I like it, I’ll buy it!

Truth be told however, it’s more about shoes with me. I’m more concerned about what’s on my feet primarily, but then I like to coordinate my bag collection to my shoe collection, so voila! I’ve always loved fashion and accessories, and when I was still very young, still living in the UK I felt a lot of pressure to have the latest of everything and that has a lot to do with my passion for shoes and bags today.’

‘It was only with the help of my partner at the time that my collection grew so big, so fast. At the moment I have around 50 bags here in Malta and over 200 back home in the UK. My favourites are two small bags from Gucci and a Louis Vuitton because they go with everything! Just to mention a few, I’m also the proud owner of bags by Ed Hardy, Cartier, Guess, Prada, Roccobarocco, Miss Sixty, and Ralph Lauren.

I once had to throw a Gucci bag away because it got damaged in the washing machine. It was painful, believe me, in fact I nearly cried!! I’m not used to throwing things out, I like to keep everything, I am what they call a pure and complete hoarder.’

‘Probably the most expensive piece I own is a Cartier. It was a gift and came with a matching purse. They cost over €2500 together but I never regret spending money on bags. No regrets at all in fact. I love them all and they are worth every penny. I don’t think that it’s unhealthy to have this passion for bags. Some people collect stamps, some people collect coins, I collect shoes, bags and clothes! I think it’s quite normal, in fact my mum is very much the same and a lot of my friends have large bag collections too!’

‘I do know however that it is a form of addiction. I can’t stop buying them even though I already have so many. There’s always one more bag that ‘I need’, and if I really want some new bag that I set my eyes on, I would sacrifice anything to get it, or else I would just ask my dad to help me.’

‘Back in the UK I got into a bit of a financial mess because I had credit cards which made buying bags too easy, but after my move to Malta I cleared them all and would not do it again! I have two wardrobes with all my bags in here in Malta, there are bags within bags within bags! Back home in UK there’s the same situation but I also have them spread out in my sisters bedroom as I have so many more there than here.’

Sandra Smart Costantino (45) is a senior clerk within the civil service. She has been living happily with her love for bags every since she received her first pay check. “I always preferred to buy a bag than anything else. At the moment I’m the proud owner of about 50 bags but I don’t think I would give up on much for my next one. Though I love bags I don’t like having to compromise on other things. My most expensive bag only cost around 30Eur, so I guess I’m not that bad, but I already have my eyes on the next one.

Lisa Sciortino (38) is a Principal Medical Laboratory Scientist, and she doesn’t quite remember how her passion for handbags started. ‘I started off with buying anything I could lay my hands on, but then, as I grew older, my tastes became more refined, and therefore more expensive. I think I own between 25 and 30 hand bags at the moment, but every time I’m about to go abroad I give one that I haven’t used in a while away. In this way I don’t feel guilty whilst buying yet another black bag. When I was in Las Vegas, I had to make a choice between buying tickets for a live entertainment show and another handbag. The bag won! The 2 most expensive ones I own are a tiny Roberto Cavalli & my latest treasure, a Louis Vuitton. Let’s just say that between the two, they cost me more than 2 months’ salary! My eyes are now on a Hermes Birkin bag but the retail price starts at $10,000, so I know that unless I win a lottery, it will always remain a dream!

Caroline DeMarco is in her thirties and is a Manager in a Government Agency. As far as she can remember, her love for bags was always present. ‘I always ran around with a handbag in my hands, ever since I was a little girl. At the moment I own approximately 85 bags, in fact I just bought one today. I like shopping in general but if push came to shove, I would opt for a bag or a jacket over anything else. The most expensive bag I currently own is a Furla, which cost around Euro 395. I go around and buy almost every handbag I like, except of course for the very expensive ones. There are in fact a number of designer bags which I would buy if I had the money right now. The Lady Dior Cannage for instance, and the Fendi Peek A Boo Bag or the Louis Vuitton Whisper PM bag.

When does shopping become a problem: an addiction?

Dott.ssa Claudette Portelli

Clinical Psychologist specialised in Brief Strategic Therapy

Let’s face it, shopping from shops, from catalogues, or perhaps online, for the majority of us is sheer fun. Shopping is usually a means to various ends – a form of alienation, a means to better one’s image, a means to surprise others with the lastest griffe and technology, to be avant-garde, and so forth.

It only becomes a problem when it turns inot a case of compulsive buying, a disorder resulting into problematic behaviour. This is when shopping or owning goods becomes a priority in one’s life, one’s sole obsession. Shopping becomes a means in itself, with most purchases left piled up and unused, sometimes still with their price tags on.

Compulsive-buying is far more complex than financial disorganization or irresponsibility. Compulsive shoppers are actually out of control, which means that they are unable to stop spending money even when this is creating them problems. They may develop feelings of shame or guilt around shopping which encourages them to conceal and lie about their shopping expeditions and expenses. As with other addictions, the spending addict continues to spend and shop in the face of adverse consequences. People who “shop ’till they drop”, run their credit card bills to the limit, often creating financial, legal and family problems. Very little is known about shopaholism but it is a condition which can easily slip out of hand, consuming the person’s life. It can become as destructive as any other addiction and result in a financial nightmare for the shopper and family alike.

Caught in vicious circles

Various neurological studies show that there is the same kind of surge in brain chemicals when a shopaholic anticipates buying something, as when an alcoholic anticipates drinking. It is the anticipation of pleasure that starts the brain rolling. One can observe physical symptoms, denoting mental and physical arousal, which then die out leaving space to an overwhelming craving that necessitates further hunting and buying. These persons get entrapped in mood swings and vicious cycles, where shopping seems the only way to boost up their low mood. A chronic compulsive shopper believes that if they shop they will feel better. Shopping becomes their pick-me-up-solution, addicting themselves to the process of buying. Compulsive shopping can be perceived as a balm for stress, anxiety, failure, anger and loneliness. Yet shopping and spending will not assure more love, bolster self-esteem, heal wounds, and is no solution to relationships or work problems. While many of us often treated ourselves to something special in response to disillusions or unsettling events, there is a marked difference between buying something and staying within a reasonable given budget, versus going on a spending spree which spirals out of control. Moreover, compulsive shopping generally makes these ‘unwanted’ feelings worse, giving rise to an illusion-delusion-depression destructive cycle. What seemed like a solution for a mundane problem, becomes a even bigger uncontrollable problem: addiction.