Making Them Light Up: Finding the Perfect Handbag for Anyone in Your Life

Finding a gift as unique as your loved one can feel like a once-in-a-lifetime treat.

Finding a gift as unique as your loved one can feel like a once-in-a-lifetime treat.

In childhood, the experience of gift giving felt so pure and special every time. We would save up our allowances or pocket change so we could buy something small for a friend or family member, or we may even have taken matters into our own hands and crafted something for the recipient. A popsicle stick picture frame; a bouquet of pipe cleaner flowers; a handwritten note on finger-painted construction paper.

In adulthood, the quest for the perfect gift can sometimes feel grueling or repetitive. We go from store to store, online and off, scouring the physical and digital racks for something that makes us think of the recipient. This is where fine, handmade luxury goods enter the picture. While you may not have the time or resources as an adult to make your friend something by hand, you can still find them something unique, special, and one-of-a-kind by purchasing fine artisan goods.  

Gifting a Handbag: the “Why”

When searching for fine leather goods that make excellent gifts, none is more chief than an everyday handbag. Handbags, shoulder bags, messenger bags, and more: all of these leather companions go with us everywhere. They’re our safety nets and our dependable best friends; they house our notes for our work presentations, our wallet-size photos of loved ones, and our emergency protein bar when lunch gets pushed late. Gifting someone in your life a handbag takes confidence—you must really know and love the person you’re gifting it to in order to know their preferences and needs. That is why it’s perfect. A gifted handbag is a symbol of the strength of your relationship with that person. And, each day, when they’re commuting to work or heading out to lunch, they’ll chuck their everyday carry in the bag and think of you: the friend, sister, or spouse who gave it to them. To be part of someone’s everyday life in that way is a gift in and of itself.  

Shopping for the Perfect Handbag Gift

If you’re setting out on the journey to buy your special someone a handbag, it’s best to grab a trusted compatriot to come along for the ride. Be choosy in your selection: you’ll want someone who is close enough to you that they’ll be in it for the long haul, but someone who is distant enough to give an unbiased opinion. Once you’ve enlisted the help of your just-right shopping partner, it’s time to clear your mind and open your heart to what you may find out on your shopping day. If you believe in manifesting, now would be the time to manifest. Otherwise, take a deep breath, grab a caffeinated beverage of your choice, and start with your first store.

There’s a reason so many classic teen movies have montages of the main characters going shopping. Shopping can be a freeing, uplifting experience if you let it! Plus, shopping with another person in mind can make the trip feel even more special and motivating. Allow yourself to picture the gift recipient with the handbags you encounter. Would they like this length of strap? This treatment of leather? How many pockets do they need? All of the technical aspects of a handbag are important, but don’t get too bogged down. The answers to those questions may distract you from sensing when you have found “The One.”  

Finding “The One” When Handbag Shopping

There may come a moment—a very special moment—when you are in a small boutique or corner of a shop you’ve been to hundreds of times before, when the proverbial clouds clear and you see it: the perfect handbag for your loved one. “The One.” You pick it up by its sturdy handle or adjustable strap to inspect the stitching and investigate the storage. Suddenly, you’re creating your own cult classic movie montage in your head. You’ll see your friend taking her handbag on the train on her morning commute; stuffing her newest fun-read novel in its main compartment; fishing around for a pen in its side pocket to lend to a coworker. Bask in this moment: you’ve done it. You’ve found her the perfect everyday handbag that will travel with her day and night, to all occasions and locations. It will give her a smile each time she uses it. It will be there for her when you can’t be.