Purse Shopping

When I was a kid, I accidentally broke one of my mom's purses.  I was all of about eight years old and it was a legitimate accident, so my mom didn't get too upset.  She did, however, decide to make an investment in the future; she made me promise to get her a new one after I graduated from college.

In retrospect, this plan was sheer genius.  First, it gave her the ability to guilt trip me into studying harder if it ever came down to it.  It's not like she ever had to do it, but to a parent, any extra little motivation you can instill in your kid to get ahead is like gold.  Secondly, she had to have figured that by then I would've had a job and could afford to get her a nice purse.  The one I broke wasn't exactly ratty, but it wasn't exactly new, either.  She basically traded up.  Put another way, my mom played me.

Now, as you have probably surmised, I am several years removed from college.  This means that for several years, I didn't pay up.  This wasn't for lack of trying; my mom just has very exacting tastes.  A few months before I graduated, I started looking around.  I checked all of the stores in Berkeley that I could find, but nothing.  I checked in San Francisco, and still nothing.  I looked online, but couldn't find something fitting.  I remember going on a trip to Vegas with some friends, and spending some of my time there looking for purses.  Heck, I've been on business trips to other countries where I've spent a little bit of time looking for something that would work.  And through all of this, I came up empty.

As an aside, being a guy who has to go purse shopping leads to all sorts of fun.  I was smart enough to ask a female friend to accompany me each time, but each time, they ended up laughing at me.  Through the course of these outings, I discovered what a "clutch" is, that there is such a thing as a wrist strap for purses, and that there are far more brands than I had ever imagined.  At one point, I was introduced to not only the intricacies of each brand's style, but to the differences between one season and the next.

Anyhow, this year's attempt involved heading to the outlet malls in Vacaville.  We searched through many of the usual suspects, but still came up empty after a couple of hours.  As a last resort, we walked into a Wilson's Leather.  And lo and behold, there it was.  What's crazier, there were TWO options there that both looked like they fit the bill.  On the advice of someone a lot wiser than I (read: a girl), I bought them both so my mom could have her pick.  Besides, with the extra interest accumulated over the years, I figured it was only fair.

So, the story ends with a happy ending, right?  Sort of.  My mom got the two purses, and liked them.  The two-purse idea turned out to be a good call, because the one I guessed she would have liked more ended up being the lesser-liked of the two.  What's more, my mom said something about the seams on one of the purses being a tiny bit questionable (my mom has done enough sewing over the course of her life that she notices these things).  It's not going to stop my mom from using them, and she was still happy with her gifts.  But still.

On the bright side, my debt is now paid, and eight-year-old-me breathed a sigh of relief.  Still, there were a few lessons to be learned from all of this:

• Moms are far more clever than you give them credit for.  I don't care how much credit you're already giving your mom, you're underestimating.
• The corollary to the above is that if you're any younger than about twelve, you're getting played by your parents.  I don't care how smart you are, your parents are having some fun at your expense.
• Purse shopping takes forever.  I don't know how girls do it on a regular basis.  Bring a friend (preferably a female one) or you're going to regret it.
• Check the seams on your purchases.  Some people notice these things.
• Wilsons Leather is my new best friend for at least a couple of months.