Bag that

Finding a handbag for both day and night can be a tricky task. ROSEMARY MACCABEtalks to a collector and finds a good selection

Nadia el Ferdaoussi, make-up artist

Why handbags?

I started carrying handbags when I was about 14. I remember being out with friends who would be without a handbag, and thinking, ‘where’s all your stuff’? Since then, I haven’t been without one. I think I still have every bag I’ve every bought, too, because I can’t give anything away. I’m a real hoarder.

So what’s your collection like?

I have everything, really. I just like bags, any kind of bag. I have really tiny, completely impractical ones I can’t even put my phone into, huge ones I can’t wear because my back would break. I have everything but a backpack.

What’s your favourite handbag?

I got an amazing quilted gold bag, with a chain handle, in a vintage store in San Francisco. It’s kind of a Chanel style, but quite battered, which added to the charm of it. My sister and I both fell in love with it, so we decided to split it, but now I’ve moved out and we’re going, ‘who gets custody of the bag?’ It’s here with me at the moment, though.

What’s the most expensive bag you own?

I have a leather Mulberry bag, which would be the most expensive – but it was a gift. I can’t really justify spending loads on a bag. I’d rather buy a few inexpensive ones rather than one really expensive one.

Where do you shop for bags?

I used to work in Camden Street so I love the charity shops there. I got a really cute brown leather bag for around €5 and I’ve worn it so much. I also love Aldo bags, and Zara – they have great studded bags. That’s a style I’m not getting over any time soon. Whenever I’m in London, I go to Beyond Retro because they always have something amazing.

What’s on your wishlist?

I’d love a classic Chanel 2.55, although I couldn’t justify spending the money on it. I’d love something classic – I’d have for the rest of my life.

DIRECTORY

The it-bag

Each season brings with it a new classic; this year, it’s Mulberry’s Alexa, named after TV presenter Alexa Chung and styled in homage to her boyish style. The Alexa comes in a variety of finishes and colours and costs from €895, at Brown Thomas.

For a classic take, you can’t go wrong with a quilted Chanel 2.55, which starts at around €1,800.

Bags of vintage

Buying secondhand is one way of ensuring your look won’t be spotted up and down every street, but there are a few things worth keeping an eye on:

Check embellishments, especially beading and sequins, for loose threads. These can be a nightmare to repair and may end up unravelling before you’ve even got your purchase home.

Have a good look at the straps – older leather can be worn away at the pressure points, and unless you’re going for a clutch style, a broken strap is going to render your bargain pretty useless.

As with all secondhand purchases, check closely for stains. Chances are, if someone spilled wine on it in the 1970s, it’s not going to come out now, no matter how many high-tech cleaning methods you enlist.

An obsession with Hermès

Victoria Beckham is rumoured to own over 100 of the French label’s Birkin bags, named after 1960s icon Jane Birkin. The handbags, available only by order from Hermès stores, range in price from around €8,000 – meaning that Beckham’s collection is worth roughly €1.5 million. And that’s before you start counting the others in her arsenal: Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Mulberry and the rest.