Saturday, January 07, 2006

there's just something about a nice shopping bag

I observed an interesting behavior on bart yesterday. A woman got extremely pissed off at a man for stepping on and crushing her Saks Fifth Avenue shopping bag. The man yelled back, "lady, it's just a shopping bag."

Believe it or not, I understand both sides. The train was crowded, it was late, and the man, standing, was being pushed around by other passengers getting onto the packed train. It wasn't his fault that his foot went over the formerly-perfect, glossy and thick Saks shopping bag. And he's right, it is JUST a shopping bag.

On the other hand, there really is just something special about a nice shopping bag, from a nice store, whether the merchandise itself carries a lot of value or not. If it's just a brown Macy's bag, or a white Banana Republic bag, one may not protect it as carefully...since they're a dime a dozen. Nice bags from nice stores carry a certain special sense of aura-- like a blue Tiffany's bag. How many times do you see someone saving those, or even use it later to carry their lunch or whatever it is in there that is obviously not jewelry? I don't know why, but I save nice thick bags too. Coach shopping bags, Tiffany's, Barney's, TSE, Prada (no, I don't go there much at all, I just saved the only 2 bags that I had from there.)

This woman was protecting her Saks bag between her feet, but still, it got crushed. Maybe the bag (and the content) was a gift, maybe she bought something expensive, or maybe she just wants no creases or wrinkles at all on that glossy bag, but whatever the reason, she was absolutely OUTRAGED that the right side of the bag was crushed.

Funny, the little things that make us upset. I suppose if I had just made a proud purchase at Burberry inside a beautifully designed and glossy Burberry shopping bag, I would be a little annoyed that a stranger smashed it, although I don't think I would yell at him. Afterall, it's just a bag!

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