I'd carried the same black tote for 8 years. Then a woman stopped me at the market to ask about my new one
You may remember me as the woman who wrote about her laundry basket. I promise I haven't turned into someone who writes about everything I own.
But it happened again, with a handbag this time, and I've told the story so many times now that it felt easier to write it down.
It started when my granddaughter picked up my old bag from the kitchen chair and held it up like evidence.
Grandma, is this the same bag you had when I was little?
It was. A black canvas tote, gone grey at the corners, with one deep pocket where my keys went to disappear. I never chose it. It was sensible, it went with everything, and nobody had ever looked at it twice.
The old one. Sensible, black and completely invisible.
How it happens
Somewhere along the way, most of us stop choosing handbags and start just replacing them. Black, because it goes with everything. Plain, because you don't want to look like you're trying too hard.
And because it's "just a bag", it never makes it to the top of the list.
What I got wrong
I thought a pretty bag had to be a fussy one. Something for best, not for the supermarket.
Turns out a quilted one does every bit of what my black tote did. It's lined, it has pockets inside and a zip on top, and the handles are padded so it sits comfortably on my shoulder. It just happens to have a picture on it instead of being the colour of nothing.
Practical or pretty was never an either-or. Nobody had ever shown me the pretty one.
Before and after. Same kitchen chair, and only one of them gets a second look.
Mine is the Aroha Sheep Tote Bag
It's from Florence Pearl, the same New Zealand shop my laundry basket came from, based up in Auckland since 2010.
Mine is the Aroha Sheep, a quilted tote with an adorable three-dimensional sheep faces surrounded by embroidered wildflowers, with the mountains behind. But they make over 60 designs, from cats and sheep to hummingbirds and sea turtles, which I'll get back to.
The day it arrived. I didn't expect to be charmed by a tote bag, and yet here we are.
It's well made. The quilting is soft but sturdy, it's handmade, and it's lined inside. It comes in three sizes, from a small one for the shops to a large one that takes a cardigan, a book and lunch.
What happened at the bakery
A woman stopped me at bakery and asked where I got my bag. Then my friend Joyce, who never notices anything, asked the same question over coffee. And my granddaughter, the one who started all this, has already asked if she can borrow it.
Not once in my life has anyone asked me about a handbag. Now it's the first thing people bring up.
Three things I've learned since
It sits properly on my shoulder
The handles are padded, so it doesn't dig in, even with a full day's things inside.
Full or empty it stands there like a little piece of furniture. The old bag one went out with the trash that same week.
Everything has a place
Pockets inside and a zip on top. My keys and glasses no longer vanish to the bottom.
There's no bad side to turn to the wall. The sheeps faces the doorway and every guest says something.
It goes in the wash
Cold water, gentle cycle. My old black one just quietly got greyer.
Carried a full load of books down two flights and the handles didn't so much as strain.
About the price
I want to be upfront about this, because it's the part that made me suspicious.
The Aroha is $99.95 NZD in every size. It was $332.95 NZD.
Right now they're having their Spring Sale to make room for new collections, so most designs are still in stock, but once a design sells out, it's taken off the website and not brought back. Take two and you get an extra 15% off, which is how my daughter got one for her birthday.
I read the reviews before I ordered. 4500+ customers, rating them 4.7 stars.
Then I ordered a second one, for my daughter
What I'd tell you if we were friends
If you and I were sitting out on the porch and you asked me, here's what I'd say.
Go and look at the bag you carry every day. If it's black, and sensible, and nobody has ever asked you about it, you've simply never been offered a nicer one. Now you have.
It's a small thing. But it's nice to be noticed, and this is an easy, cheerful way to let it happen.
Two practical things. The sale is on right now, and the most popular designs go first. And there are over 60 to choose from, so there's bound to be one that's just you.
The old black one has gone to the op shop, and I haven't missed it once.
Margaret
Ahora – Quilted Sheep Tote Bag
- Hand-embroidered adorable sheep faces among wildflowers and mountains
- Lined, with inner pockets and a zip
- Padded shoulder handles
- Over 60 designs in the collection
- Free NZ shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
About the writer.
Margaret Ellis lives in Auckland, New Zealand. She is not a lifestyle writer.