How I got my first bag

I remember it, buying my first handbag. What I couldn’t imagine then was that innocent shopping trip would start a life long obsession with handbags.
I was not quite five as I remember going to the store with my mother to buy a new pair of shoes. When Mom was looking at different shoes I was attracted to a sweet little bag made of cream corduroy. It had a golden chain strap, a golden frame and a little gold and red embroidery design in front. All those gold triggered some serious magpie reaction in my young brain and I couldn’t let go of the bag. My mom easily agreed to buy it but then I wanted to choose the matching shoes. I remember insisting on a pair of ill-fitting cream patent leather ones just because I thought chic grown-up ladies wear cream shoes (and have matching bags!). I recall hating the shoes afterward, they were pinching my feet every time I wore them. I wouldn’t complain, though. It was my own choice and I didn’t want to lose face in front of Mom, stubborn little five year old that I was.
I remember Mom throwing away the shoes relatively new and unworn. (Maybe she knew!) But I loved my little chic bag to tatters. She finally convinced me to let go of it three years later when the embroidery pattern was unraveling, the cord fabric worn and the strap and frame were tarnished!