Give handbags like bouquets of flowers
Give handbags like bouquets of flowers
When you feel like pampering a special lady - a wife, sister, mother, friend - and you're struggling to find the perfect gift when faced with the embarrassment of choice: opt for a handbag, it's safer and never fails to please.
If the handbag is a "go-to" or "wild card" gift almost all the time, you have to use this magic rule sparingly, you have to vary the gifts and some occasions are too special to mark them with anything but bags.
Follow these guidelines to know when giving a handbag is appropriate and appreciated.
Giving a handbag: for those "milestone" days
It is now common practice among ladies to give a new handbag to a friend or colleague to celebrate a promotion at work, a new boyfriend or the completion of a personal project. A bottle of wine and a girls' night out are still the order of the day, but a handbag as an extra gift is a nice bonus.
The word should be passed on to men: give handbags like you give bouquets of roses. Handbags also fade less quickly. When you invite someone over for dinner, Valentine's Day or a romantic evening after a long separation, send them their freshly bought evening wear from a designer shop and the handbag that goes with it. And don't forget the flowers.
When is giving a handbag inappropriate?
The charm of a handbag has its limits, like all magic. When the event to be celebrated is too important for the lady (or the couple), a bag is not enough to illustrate the extraordinary side of the day.
On a 10th wedding anniversary, you'll realise that you need to aim higher and look for a better, more personalised and rarer gift, short of a handbag that would cost a month's salary.
When a child is born, some people give large leather handbags, which would be handy later on to carry the necessary stock for baby and mum's travels (like nappies and bottles). But then again, looking for a more memorable gift than a handbag would be more sensible, as it's not every day that a baby is born.
How to give a handbag as a gift: instructions and tact
Your friend gets a promotion at work and you want to give her a gift to mark the occasion. You choose a handbag, the gift that is sure to please, provided you choose it well. Look for a connection with her work and the promotion in question. Leather and sober design that expresses both professionalism and good taste for a very formal setting, light and sober for business dinners in chic restaurants ...
For the sake of originality, don't give dozens of bags a year to the same person, vary a little. For example, you don't give a handbag to make up for a futile argument, just as you pick up the first bouquet you find on the road without worrying about its beauty. When buying a handbag for a woman, you should think about her personality, her physical or character traits and look for the connection. Ideally, you should be able to say to her later: "I bought this bag for you because such and such a detail in its design made me think of you and your passions". It could be her favourite colour or brand, the eco-friendly material used that matches her concern for the environment, or the geometric patterns she likes.