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Designer
Handbags - Can Men Buy Them Rufus
Steele No, this isn't a question of should we men buy
handbags for ourselves.
It's more a query of can we buy
them for our wife or girlfriend? (I suspect that in some cases it
may well be a question of can we buy them for our wife AND our
girlfriend/mistress!)
Now -- I'll be the first to admit
then when it comes to handbag 'buyable' wives, I'm very
lucky.
I can ask my long suffering wife an obviously
loaded question such as "So what handbag would you most like to
own?" and have her forget the question and answer she gave within
a matter of hours.
Looking through a magazine or catalog,
idly flicking the pages and throwing in mild questions such as
"Do you think that looks nice?" or "Wow -- wouldn't that go with
your suede skirt?" are seen by her as nothing more than a passing
question, asked in a moment of idle curiosity.
The fact
that the queried item then appears for her birthday or mothers
day or at Xmas is still a huge surprise to her, causing her to
question how I knew she'd like that particular style/color
etc.
I've also managed, after 23 years together and quite
a few coaching sessions that I'm sure I wasn't even aware of, to
be able to see for myself exactly the type of thing she'd like. I
can even boast modestly that my wife will ask me what I think
about a particular piece of clothing and actually consider my
answer before buying or not buying, assured as she is that I will
reply honestly and with love and kindness. (Although the joke
question occasionally thrown in is always "Does my bum look big
in this" to which the standard joke answer is "Do I look
stupid?")
So I can -- within reason -- look at something
in the designer handbag lines and think to myself "Yes, she'd
like that" and actually be right.
But apparently - some
store assistants don't agree with me on that scale.
I
recently went to the LV store in Selfridges, Bond Street of
London to buy my wife a Xmas present. I had gone in with a mind
to buy her a Papillon 26 but, as ever, was open to the power of
seeing and deciding as opposed to deciding before
seeing.
It isn't the largest store by far, being more of a
concession stand size, situated just inside the main doors at the
west of the main building. More than 15 people in there and the
cat knows it safe from being swung, you'd never get it over your
head to start with!
Being as how I was going in during a
snatched lunch hour between meetings, I was dressed in what would
be described as City Worker style, i.e. short hair, smart dark
suit, shirt and tie.
Now I do fully understand that, in
the pecking order of who gets served in a designer handbag shop
fastest, I rank fairly close to the bottom of the ladder, if not
being the one who actually holds the ladder for others to
climb!
I was quite prepared for the looks of curiosity
from the female customers and even the odd stiletto on the instep
in the fight to get to the counter. I wasn't prepared, however,
for a store with only 7 people in it -- me, two other customers,
three members of staff and a security guard.
Taking this
surprising amount of space to be a good omen I decided to have a
little stroll round the store, left to right, starting with the
Damier items and finishing with the most anticipated area, the
Multicolore and the Suhali ranges.
The stroll and look
went exactly according to plan, a few ideas springing to mind as
I took a leisurely wander past the shelves of rich, leathery
smelling prizes.
I would have half expected a member of
staff to gently enquire if they could help but wasn't to phased
to be left on my own. In reality it was quite a treat not to be
pounced on! (I have terrible trouble when I go into any store and
I'm leapt on by an over eager staff member leaping out from
behind their hiding place, the war cry of "Can i help you?"
finished before they even land in front of me. All I ever want to
say to them is a disgruntled "yeah, you look round and I'll wait
here!")
But you could have knocked me over with a feather
when they didn't want to serve me at all!
Having finished
my ramblings and with a couple of possibilities firmly chosen, I
came to a halt in the middle of the main counter, looking over to
the three staff members huddled together, quietly talking. The
security guard had by this time finished his assessment,
obviously deciding I was more of a danger to myself than the
stock and left.
It was me and two other customers, a
mother and daughter on a day out to London by the looks of things
who were quietly in the far corner, seemingly arguing over the
merits of a scarf versus a bag.
So I politely stood at the
counter for a couple of minutes, waiting quietly. I was fairly
sure that both of the girls saw me but chose to ignore me -- but
hey, I could be wrong.
But I wasn't wrong that the male
assistant saw me when he turned round, looked right at me then
turned back to his discussion.
So a polite cough was
called for and duly given.
And just as duly
ignored.
So a louder cough followed.
Which was
followed by even more ignoring.
And that was when I
coughed loudly and -- please forgive me dear reader -- made that
awful hawking sound at the back of the throat that children make
when they are about to do something they really shouldn't in
polite company!
That got their attention. Three startled
faces all looked at me with what could well have been a look of
respect but I suspect was much more likely to be one of thinly
veiled disgust!
Reluctantly the male assistant tore
himself away from the safety of the herd and ambled
over.
"May I help you?" Did you notice the lack of a "sir"
at the end of that greeting?? I did!
"Well, I was looking
for a handbag for my wife as a xmas present" says I "something a
little different and unusual"
"Everything in here is
different. Did you have anything particular in mind?" says
he.
Ever had that urge to just be rude back to someone and
say "grow up!"? Difficult to resist, ain't it!!
"Well, I
was thinking of a Mono Papillon but I'd like to see a Damier
Ribera as well please. Oh, and if you have an Epi St. Moritz I'd
like to have a quick look at that as well please."
That
got him. You could see him almost rock back on his feet!
I
knew the secret.
A man, a man knew the secret of the
store.
I knew the names of the bags!
A thin sheen
of perspiration glistened on his previously dry forehead as he
threw in a delaying tactic.
"I think you might prefer a
Speedy instead?"
"No thank you, it's a bit too samey
samey. The Ribera will do just fine thank you."
He turned
towards the shelves, shoulders tense and body ramrod stiff.
"Make that the Ribera MM, not the GM please" I whispered,
just low enough for him to hear.
His shoulders slumped as
the last vestiges of defiance ebbed away.
Meek as a lamb
he spent the next twenty minutes retrieving item after item for
me to review, paw and discard. He was asked question after
question about origins, materials care, style variances, range
histories and named designers contributions. He failed badly on
some and confessed to not even knowing the basics of deciphering
the date codes.
Finally, when he was just about all done
in, I threw my ace on the table.
"Actually, I'd like to
look at the new Marelle please."
"We don't have that bag
sir" says he "it's not been released yet!" A small smile of
satisfaction flickered at the corners of his mouth.
"So
the bag on the top shelf, just....there, that would be what
then??" says I.
Game, set and match.
Can men buy
handbags?
Some can - if the store staff will let them.
Rufus Steele is the author and
creator of the Louis
Vuitton Handbags website, a site dedicated to all things
Louis Vuitton and designer handbags. |
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Moms Are Women First
Renee Michaels
I'll bet that most moms forget that!
Being a mom is but one of the many daily roles a mother performs and as this dominates her life, it may be difficult even for her to remember all the woman she is. While she is undoubtedly proud of her contributions to her family, she probably doesn’t have the time and energy to pamper her inner and outer woman.
Mom looks in the mirror, sighs, and wishes she had just ten more minutes to style her hair or apply makeup. She looks at her clothes and wishes for the time to shop for something pretty to add to her wardrobe. Or an hour once a week to take a yoga or exercise class to soothe her spirit.
She puts this thought aside for the 1,001st time, and moves on to do the laundry, wash the dishes, go grocery shopping, prepare meals, pick up the kids at school, drive them to a sports practice or music lesson, or juggles a job outside as well as her mom’s job.
Mom’s the heart and soul of a family, whether she’s married or a single mom. But she’s a woman first, so this Mothers Day, why not give her a unique gift to show you honor all that she is, whether you are her children or husband? Just imagine how her eyes will light up and how delighted she’ll be when she knows her family realizes and cares about a side of her that she has neglected to take care of you.
Husbands can give her a special romantic gift • Send her a love letter or poem that tells her how you appreciate her as a woman • Give her sexy lingerie • Treat her to a day at a spa then take her out to a romantic dinner separate from your family’s Mothers Day celebration • Give her a “total makeover” and then have a photographer take glamorous photos of her. Buy a frame to prominently display the best photo • Give her a romantic gift in front of the family so they know how much you love her as a woman. Do a special presentation, what about serenading her with a karaoke tune and handing her your own bouquet of flowers?
Let her know that you still care about her and your relationship apart from the kids. Hey, this is not only for your wife, you’ll receive very sweet dividends from this!
Children can give her “pamper yourself” gifts • Chip in to buy a gift certificate to a spa, make a homemade banner, “We love our beautiful mom!” and hang on the wall over the dinner table • Pay for a course that she’s been yearning to take • What about a gift certificate to her favorite clothing store? With strict orders that she has to use it to buy something only for herself • She will especially love this one: make up personal chore coupons that she can use to ask for extra chores to be done so she has the time to do something she enjoys or just “quiet” time. • If your family has a great sense of humor, wrap your Mothers Day gift in a disposable diaper and tell her “You pampered us, now we’re pampering you!”
Show Mom on Mothers Day that you appreciate and love the total woman she is and she will be forever grateful.
Copyright 2005 Renee Michaels
Renee Michaels is an enthusiastic woman for all aspects of life and its fullest enjoyment. She uses her design, writing and life skills to develop web businesses. Visit LoveGifts for Mothers Day, anniversary gift and romantic celebration ideas.
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