My Bag Collection #24

Jil Sander Patent Metallic Leather Travel Bag in Copper (THROW AWAY: BAD QUALITY)

Fall Winter 2007 was a season of metallic colours. Metallic colours were all over, in shoes, in clothes, and of course, in bags as well. Metallic colours first started off in women's collections but slowly officially filter down big time into the male gender in fall winter 2007. As an avid follower of fashion trends, I picked up on the metallic hit as soon as I saw the runway looks for that season.

So while I was travelling in Paris last August, I had already planned to scout around and see if I can pick up some interesting metallic coloured items to bring home to Singapore. I was not disappointed. As a fashion capital of the world, Paris stocks up the trend very quickly and I easily spot metallic colours in all forms in the shops. I got a silver Dolce Gabbana belt and this Jil Sander travel bag in copper.

When I first lay eyes on this travel bag, I fell in love with it. Copper was not a common metallic colour, much less patent metallic leather bags. I thought to myself I will be a trendsetter to be seen with this bag in Singapore. But I left the Jil Sander boutique in Avenue Montaigne empty handed as the bag comes with a hefty price tag and I was torn over Bottega Veneta patent captoe shoes and Gucci green checks shirt(which I eventually got when I get back to Singapore).

That day was a fine day of shopping, had already bag 2 new bags, one from Bottega Veneta and one from Paul and Joe, so buying a third bag was making me feel guilty. And I worry about the problem of transporting the bag home. But the bag kept lingering in my mind and I decided to have a second look the next day.

Maybe there was some fore sign to tell me I should have not bought the bag that fateful 10 Aug 2007. My fren whom I was visiting in Paris got upset cos I miss meeting him for lunch at Etienne Marcel. I felt so bad cos I wonder off to Avenue Montaigne for a second look at this Jil Sander bag. I already lost a lot of shopping zest since I felt I let my fren down. He put down his work to meet me for lunch and I miss out on that. Nevertheless, some strange force got me to Jil Sander store again. I was hoping to put my heart to rest and forget about the bag after trying it the second time. The salesman that served me the day before was not around and I thought, great....at least I can try the bag in peace and not worry about salesman pressures. However, when I was about to convince myself I dun need the bag, cos' it was too big, that salesman appeared out of nowhere and he recognised me. Worst of all, I had ketchup stains on my Marni jacket sleeve and look more 'disoriented' due to my incident with my fren. He begin to tell me this bag was runway item and one of a kind. very rare and blah blah blah...all those sales talk. My clear mind got cluttered and I foolishly succumb to his temptations and bought the bag. :-(

And because of that, I blew my shopping budget and cannot buy any more items from Paris. My woes do not end there. It started when I had to get this bag back to Singapore. As patent leather is very prone to creasing, I had to be extra careful about transporting the bag. I finally thought the best way was to hand carry the bag. In my cramped economy class seat, I had to slot this bag inbetween my legs for 14 hours. However, no matter how careful I am, I still managed to reach Singapore with my bag in not so perfect shape. I got creases onto the patent leather even before I started using it. It was frustrating. That was one flight I would vow never to experience again. Thai airways was lenient enough to let me have the bag with me by my seat, but other airlines would probably ask me to leave it on the overhead compartment, which will be detrimental to the bag.

So after using the bag once, I found the bag too cumbersome, too high maintenance and the condition and feeling of using it, is just not pristine anymore after what i have been thru. Now this bag sits as a white elephant in my room keeping my Marc by Marc Jacobs bag safe(bag in bag is the most space saving way of storing bags).

The final blow to my disappointment in this bag is when I found out Club 21 Men's stock the silver version (as well as the timeless black leather version) and I could have gotten that at a cheaper price without the hassles and troubles.

I vow never to buy big bags while travelling, especially those in patent metallic leather.

Retail price: Euro $1450. Where to buy: Jil Sander Boutique at Avenue Montaigne, Paris