Defining Moments: Oh, Vera

This morning as I was packing for my 8th annual trip to The Candlestick Retreat Center in Minneapolis, NC, I found myself flashing back to a few months after my second visit to Candlestick—to the moment when I fell for Vera Bradley (VB).

I had seen Vera Bradley’s patterns and bags before Spring 2009, but it wasn’t until one fateful moment in a Hallmark store that my life as a consumer took a pretty dramatic turn toward pretty fabric.

One of my good friends had received a Large Mediterranean White Duffel Bag from her sister the previous Christmas. I knew that many people liked to collect different bags of the same pattern, so I decided to buy my friend another type of Mediterranean White bag around the time of her birthday.

I vividly remember standing in the Vera Bradley aisle, looking at all of the different patterns and types of bags and thinking, “I actually like this stuff.”

Now, if you know me at all, then you know that I’m not, as my friend Barb would say, a dainty flower. I don’t dress in style because I value comfort over trendiness and because I despise buying new clothes—both because of the shopping experience and because of the money it involves. I don’t often change my accessories because, quite honestly, I forget. And once I find a product that works for me—a pencil, a car, a bookbag, a monkey—I keep it until it absolutely cannot be used anymore.

So for me to fall for Vera Bradley is, well, strange.
Odd.
Unlikely.
Weird.

But fall I did. And I fell hard.

I bought my friend three different cosmetic bags that day—large, medium, and small—I couldn’t decide between them so I bought them all. She really liked them. I did, too…which is precisely why I packed my own set of cosmetic bags for Candlestick this morning…and I put them inside my own Large Mediterranean White Duffel Bag. And, no. I don’t use my cosmetic bags for cosmetics. I use them for other travel items.

As to my own duffel bag…It just so happened that Vera retired Mediterranean White shortly after that momentous day in the Hallmark store and that I was able to buy myself a full duffel-y luggage set for 50-75% off.

That’s how Vera is, you know. She comes out with patterns and bag styles and then she retires them. And when they’re retired, they go on sale. And when they go on sale, I buy them…not so much for myself…but for various friends and family members. Yet I can’t buy just anything. A pattern first must speak to me for a particular person, and then, and only then, will I make the VB purchase.

Are VB bags priced too high? Probably.
Does the company use fair trade practices? Probably not.
Has VB started coming out with entirely too many different products too quickly? I think so.
Do I know that Vera Bradley is not a reason person? Yes.

And yet…I still like the imaginary her and find myself drawn to her somewhat expensive, non-fair trade products...which partially explains why I must limit exposure to Hallmark stores and not open my e-mails from the VB company.

Some things about us can easily be explained. They click. They make sense. They fit.

Some things about us, however, cannot be easily explained yet they still define part of who we are…and my admiration for Vera Bradley bags is one of those things (although I suppose I could argue that they’re very well made and practical).

Even so, that day in the Hallmark store unexpectedly altered the course of my gift buying for many, many people.

Thanks, K, for being the friend who started it all. I think of you every time I look at my Mediterranean White bags, and I smile and offer a prayer for you each time that I do.