The Bag Closet

Pam's handbags are very, very important to her. She loves them.

She keeps them at the top of the closet in her daughters room. Most of them are designer, so she keeps them in their nice felt bags to keep them safe and protected. You could see how much each bag meant to her as she pulled them out of the closet... Each one had a story.

Mulberry Bag -- She got two years ago from her then-husband when she came out of having post-natal depression. This is her biggest, most heavy bag and it represents her going back to work after having Bailey. This was a really tough time for Pam and it seems as though the Mulberry was almost a coat of armour to get her back into the swing of her pre-baby life. It is big, heavy and chunky. It really makes a statement.

Fendi Bag -- Her first designer handbag purchase bought when she got her first professional job. Pam's career is clearly very important to her and her handbags almost show a timeline of her rise to success.

Lulu Guinness Bag -- A gift from co-workers. It's her most girly bag. It's pink and frivolous. It is quite obvious that she didn't buy this bag for herself as it really doesn't fit in with the rest. However, she does like this bag and it means a lot to her that others recognized how important handbags are to her and tried to participate in her obsession.

Orla Keiley Bag -- Another more frivoulous bag that she used when Bailey was small as a pseudo-diaper bag. It's is coated in plastic so great for being out and about with her daugther.

Mui Mui Bag -- This bag started the bonus trend. She bought it with her first bonus. She felt it made a statement that should bought a white handbag. That she could spend so much money on a bag and then have it be white. She thought it would not last very long but then she learned a valuable lesson about expensive handbags... when they are expensive they seem to keep their colour and shape longer. She was hooked. She'd never buy a copy again.

It's interesting to me how Pam's handbags are so tied up in her career. She chooses a new bag each year to mark her success. They become the timeline of her life and are almost the springboard for all the stories of her career and adult life in London.