Tuesday, April 6

When I grow up I want to be a Treasure Hunter...Purses!

I once read in a magazine that Treasure Hunters are people who roam vintage shops looking for "treasures". I like this idea, only I'm not a fan of musky vintage shops so I prefer hunting in discount stores like TJMaxx or Marshalls. My friends are always surprised when I suggest that if they want to buy a YSL bag or Coach shoes they should check out TJMaxx because oddly they don't think high end brands can be purchased anywhere but in department stores, boutiques, and outlets.  I tried selling some of the things I buy, but so far I've only sold a few and I might have to rethink this. My mom said that if I sold its in Finland it would be worthwhile, and I think that certain brands are quite wanted in Asia as well, just the person I entrusted my things to be sold didn't have enough credit to their account on Chinese Ebay (taobao.com.cn).

Anyhow, so my dream side job would prolly be owning a boutique and letting someone else run it while I go treasure hunting! Either that or being some kind of stylist's buyer so I can just hunt and send real time pictures while they OK they buy. Then I'd get to spend someone else's money! Even better!

The thing is that most of the time I don't even want these things for myself. If I really want it, I think it's so "me" and I'll never find another one like it; then I buy it. Not buying it has cost me insomnia so I've learned my lessons.

OMG I loved this bag! I saw it last week and would've dyed for it because I loved the color of the leather, the zippers and studs...It was $150+ (can't remember >>) and so I figure that first of all the only way I can wear studs reasonably is without black (too cool) and second of all; would I wear studs after the fad is over? No. And there it stayed for some Korean lady to oogle at T-T
I tried this Gucci on because...well...it's Gucci and it looked really cool what with the chains and all (sort of what I've been looking for). However it was again one of those "cool" bags (not to mention pricey).
You know I almost regret not buying the black leather drawstring bag...It was soooo nice and yet sooo expensive that I couldn't convince myself to splurge. I think it's a Jimmy Choo?
Left: $450 Right: $250
This Fendi purse is the blandest shape, and I've seen one of our countryside Profs sporting a similar clutch but as you can see that doesn't change the price tag by much!
This Betsey Johnson was a winner! But I don't believe in sequins, I think they fall off and I hate sewing so sewing them back on like my mom used to do for me is out of the question. Missing sequins? Ew.
The Guess was $60, Lesportsac was $40 but the other is all watercolor and I could only carry it in an airport (maybe) or while camping, and I'm just not a Guess girl. I even tried it on in front of the mirror and...no. I thought about buying it so my sis could sell it in Finland but...no trip planned in the near future. And honestly Guess is often on the shelves so it's not like it was a steal. The $20 yellow purse I have at home, now THAT was a steal! XD
 
Something I was looking at for yobo but we agreed that white is not as good as the black one he had (someone stole it at the gym).
Finally this is a purse I'm considering  buying...not for its brand or for it's style but just because I think it's cute. It comes in white and brown too! I have ordered a few similar purses from Hong Kong which are made from similar material (PU leather?) so I'll wait and see how those turn out.

I apologize for the poor quality of pictures, I actually left out a few purses because you couldn't really see them (most expensive one was $1499!) and I wonder if you even want to read about my finds? Though I must admit that I love taking those pictures with my cellphone so maybe I will aim at taking better pictures or using flash so that I can continue posting such posts. Next post will include clothes I've scouted out (less picture-heavy) and then finally I'll have a post with all the shoes I'm coveting!

5 comments:

  1. Gorgeous finds! I have a ridiculous obsession with purses though, so looking at these pics is always exciting for me. I especially love the color and gold studs of one of the first bags. My dream is to find a chanel or hermes at a vintage or antique store one of these days. A girl can dream! xoxo

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  2. Which TJ maxx or Marshalls do you shop at? Every time I go to the one near my house, all they have is cheap purses. Nothing I would probably ever buy.

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  3. Logan - I know! I love purses! I would rather splurge on purses than shoes. I own more purses than shoes as it is, I think, but many I don't want to carry out T-T;

    Denysia - I go to a variety. If you want good deals you have to roam all of them and then pick out the ones that you find are best. For TJMaxx I like the ones that have a "runway" section, meaning they have Prada, YSL, Gucci, etc. and usually I go to the one in Glendale, which is reasonably close to where I work. The TJMaxx in Rosemead is decent too, in the sense that while it doesn't have those high-end brands instead it has a lot of sales.

    For Marshalls I just have personal favorites. I like the one on Foothill in Pasadena (I also go to the Nordstrom rack there!) and I like the one in Bell Gardens (because they're all Mexicans so I can find my size/brands that they don't like). I've been to soooo many different stores you have no idea. You can ask Ray to describe all the stores we've gone through XDD!

    Oh and another thing is timing! They usually stock up on Sundays or Mondays (you can ask them when they stock) so the best time to go is on Monday (we go after work) and on Sunday afternoon (but it's messy cause they're stocking up). Like where you live where there are a lot of Asians it's important to grab stuff before they do! Most of those pictures I took on a Friday afternoon (I worked half-day) and the store was full of Korean old ladies who just shop all day long because they're housewives, and I know for a fact that the Asians here are the same!

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  4. Your cell phone does an awesome job taking the photos! I often find myself @ TJ Maxx, Marshalls and even Ross looking for handbags and clothing. I've found so many great things @ Marshalls :) They have so many kinds of bags, from school bags to high end department store brands :D Doesn't hurt that they go on clearance every once in awhile ;D

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  5. I love purses! I have a all colection, of all colour

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