For a while now I’ve been writing about the quest for my first (the eternal optimist that I am) Hermès bag. If I hadn’t been carrying on this dalliance with Chanel for so long I probably would have had a Birkin, a Kelly, and a Lindy in my closet by now. But my heart was elsewhere and that’s where the money went. But as with some obsessions, particularly in the realm of fashion, sometimes feelings ebb and one wonders if there isn’t room for just…something else?

So earlier this year I consciously made a push to go from quest to capture. First order of business was slowing down on buying any more Chanel bags. I have to admit that’s been easier than I first thought given the insane price hikes. I should also say by slowing down I mean slowing down–just not completely going cold turkey (more on that in a reveal in September when I go pick up a little something something overseas).

Second order of business is networking. As all of you fashionistas out there know, these H bags have now reached cult status and supply is definitely far short of demand. Call it marketing wizardry, consumer insanity, or simply bad luck, the fact is that I couldn’t have picked a worse time to go buy an H bag. You couldn’t throw enough money at the boutique to make a bag stick. Yes, in this economy. But it is what it is, and I have been diligently frequenting a few boutiques in the hopes that some day I’ll get the call for an available bag. Let me repeat: yes, in this economy.

Thus, the third order of business is praying for patience. Unfortunately for me, my supply for patience is just as sorely lacking as those lovely bags on the shelves of an H boutique. But we all know that I usually don’t blog about something unless some sort of redemption was around the corner, right?

All right, so before we all get into a tizzy that I somehow managed to score one of my holy grail bags as seen in the first photo that I’d written about before, the truth is that my road to adoption has finally been paved through a friend’s contact at a boutique in Paris. As I write this, I’m visualizing the specs for a dream bag that I’ll be forwarding on for my special order. There are no guarantees that the bag will ever materialize, no estimated time of arrival, no deposit to ensure any kind of certainty…and yet I’m thrilled. Just being this close to the mere possibility–mere whiff in fact–of a bag made just for me is already beyond exciting. I’m almost certain I might faint for a few seconds when I get the call that the bag is actually in. Then the trip to Paris for the pickup…well, you know I already have an outfit planned for that day :D.