I love
this concept for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it's about helping women help themselves and improve their own
lives and the lives of their families, not by simply doling out charity, but by
giving those in need the skills required to break the cycle. Secondly, it acknowledges the vital
importance of self-confidence and the close connection that exists for so many
between appearance and feeling like you can take on the world.
I put out
a call to everyone I knew for handbags that were no longer in use and that
women were prepared to give away to a worthy charity, if only to make room for
a new purchase. The response has been
amazing. As I type there are over 100 handbags sitting in my hallway, ready to be taken to Dress for
Success Melbourne's office. What has
been most beautiful about this process is the stories connected
with these handbags.
A divine
plush, red velvet, leather edged number finished with chunky gold hardware came my
way barely touched. When I commented on its pristine condition the owner told
me how her girlfriend had given it to her for a recent birthday. Unfortunately the birthday was
quickly followed by a falling out between the two. The woman felt such pain over the broken
relationship she could no longer bear to use the bag.
Then
there was the woman who donated a little black JAG number, a gift to her from
her late mother. Her mother had
purchased the bag spontaneously for the woman on their last mother-daughter
shopping trip, three months before she died of cancer. The woman admitted she had never actually
used the bag, but she had kept it because of what it represented; a mother's
love for her daughter, a moment of female bonding, to attempt to express in some way that complex
web of emotions that often defines mother-daughter relationships. The opportunity for her mother's kindness to
now be shared with someone else felt somewhat appropriate she said. A chance to let go without feeling the guilt
that often comes with disposing of an item imbued with sentiment.
There
were bags gifted to wives by husbands who were now very much ex-husbands, and
women who were donating bags they felt belonged to their past, the women
they once were and had made a conscious choice to leave behind.
These
stories made me realise just how intrinsically connected women are to their
handbags. What we sling over our
shoulders are not just something to lug our stuff around in, they are in many
cases much loved and considered reflections of who we are, or who we were when
we purchased them. The brands we favour,
the materials we seek out say so much about who we are, where we have come from
and where we want to head.
There are
those who save up for a Louis Vuitton, viewing it as the crown jewel of their
collection, while there are some who prefer a new and funky Kate Hill every
season. There are women who opt to carry around
a fabric and hessian pouch, viewing their choice as reflective of their environmental
concerns and there are those happy with the instant gratification of a replica
designer bag. There are the understated
individuals who cling to their timeless Chanel padded number, confident in the
knowledge that it is often all one needs to evoke an air of elegance while
there are the lucky few who cement themselves as a member of the fabulously
wealthy by toting the highly coveted Hermes Birkin.
