Notes Vanessa O'Connell of the WSJ, blogger Kelly Cook of Bagsnob.com has the YSL bag, which weighs 17 pounds when full. Ms. Cook suffers from chronic back pain.We've already talked about what it is we carry; the question is why do we need to carry so much? Why are bags so big? It would be one thing if designers produced huge purses and no one bought them  but giant bags are a hit. In a world where gadgets are getting smaller and on-trend celebrities getting thinner  what's with the wrist-snapping bags? (One thought: Maybe since the price of one of these bags could feed a third-world family for a month or two, a pinched nerve is penance?)

Extreme Baggage [Wall Street Journal]
Earlier: What's In Your Bag?
Does The Average Woman Really Have 21 Handbags?
My Week With A $4000 Snakeskin Handbag

Solomon begins at Chanel, highlighting the venerable French brand's classic handbag ($3,150). A passerby admits that she is going to score one by simply asking her mom to buy it for her. (Gotta love spoiled New York bachelorettes!) Some Swedish tourists explain that they're shopping at Chanel because it's cheaper here than in Sweden (damn dollar!) Solomon goes on to point out that unlike a house in the Hamptons or a painting, you can take a bag with you where ever you go  so everyone can see your status symbol. Wielding a $1,700 patent purse at Prada, she asks, "when did bags start to cost as much as cars?" Actually, Ms. Solomon, it's been a while, at least since 1998, when the Fendi baguette spiked in popularity thanks to Sex And The City.


But for us, the moment of clarity comes when unnamed guy says, "You reach a level. You have a house. If you got any brains you have the house first, and then you get the Prada. But getting the Prada while you're in a small apartment? You've got the priorities wrong." Those words stung. Even though ours is Dior and not Prada. We're totally guilty of buying into the luxury brand brainwashing even though we know it's evil. We're not Carrie Bradshaw, with $40,000 worth of shoes and no savings account, but we have made some absurd purchases that made perfect sense. And what that guy doesn't understand is that we're living in a world in which we're constantly being judged. No one can see your wit from across the room. The basis of who we are begins with what we wear. And that can include a well-chosen, well-made, tasteful handbag that just happens to be expensive. Also, some of us have a bag problem. We're working on it, okay? (And by that we mean thinking about buying another bag.) Anyway, here are the top 5 rationales we use when considering expensive shit:

• 1. It's classic. (For the next 6 months, anyway!)
  
• 2. It's so me. (Not taking my credit limit into account!)
  
• 3. I'll use it forever. (Or at least until it falls apart, gets lost or I fall in love with something else!)
  
• 4. You can't get it anywhere else. (eBay be damned!)
  
• 5. It makes me happy. (Momentarily!)

Handbag Sales Boost LVMH [Financial Times]
Handbag Sales Boost Burberry Revenues [Financial Times]
The Power Of The Purse [NY Times]
Earlier: Does The Average Woman Really Have 21 Handbags?

Still, they certainly know their way around a purse, this lot, they're packed full with shopping advice, links and there's a forum, where you can boast about your couture bargains which is a good thing because now you don't have any money left to go out or eat or whatever, so you can just sit at your keyboard and type your twisted quilted leather love. There appears to be some kind of priviledged access bit in the forum where you can sell each other yesterday's cool purse, but you have to be an 'invited' member. We don't know what that involves, but it's probably some ritual where you eat a preserved relic of Coco Chanel's turd.

And lastly, there's Bag Deals, featuring 'special offers' (and we use the term loosely here) like this:

A Luella Missy Quilte Tote, down from $995 to just $597.

A snip, indeed.

[Purses galore!]