Monday, March 17, 2008

The Most Beautiful Bag Ever: Hayden-Harnett Paule Marrot Mosaique Satchel

($288, Hayden-Harnett)
She will be mine. Oh yes. In 1 -2 business days. Oh yeah, and the total is kind of a lie -- it came to $245 with tax and shipping/handling. Even better.

Originally this afternoon I saw this one:
($225, Hayden-Harnett, ActiveEndeavors.com)
... And I almost plotzed, but I ain't paying $225 for a bag I can't zip. MKHo called me a grandma, but I never carry unzippable bags -- no ways I'm rolling around NYC, opportunistically allowing someone to just a'reach in and grab my wallet, which is now nearly empty after my big-ass purchase, which I justified in the following way:
  1. I have been working my oves off lately. (A reasonable excuse for MANY indulgences, I think! It's pretty much a catch-all!)
  2. I applied almost every cent of my tax return to my credit card bill. Responsible!
  3. I sold a bunch of stuff on eBay, so it's like the bag was almost free!
  4. I'm almost 30 years old and should be carrying a nice bag, damnit.
  5. "Other people" carry far more expensive bags. You know. Because "other people" are always good to compare yourself to.
  6. It will make me happier than any inanimate object has made me in ages.
... Etc, etc ad nauseam.

Now, I do need to say this: last summer, I'd ordered a dress from Hayden-Harnett online. After, like, a month or so, it still hadn't arrived (and they ship from Brooklyn, which is also where I happen to live.) I call, and perhaps the rudest/ most incompetent employee manager person or whatever tries to tell me there's nothing they can do about it since it's out of their hands since maybe UPS fucked up, but UPS said it was delivered so they have to go with that (!!!??), blah blah, and I should just talk to my neighbors to see if they have it, and they can't refund me, so sorry. Of course, I seriousolamente cannot believe the bullshit that is being poured into my earholes, so I refuse to let it go. They then tell me they'll call UPS. A series of faxes, more bullshit, more drama. Then they tell me that I should pick a night one night during the week when I'll be home and a UPS driver is going to come to my home to "see if he remembers anything." (I know, right? Pure comedy.) I'm like uhhhhh riiiight. I'm SURE this dude's going to come to my house at 7:30 at night to "see if he remembers my front door." Sure as shootin', the guy doesn't come. I call up Hayden-Harnett again, in even more shock/ awe/ disbelief/ fury than ever before (at this point, I could care less about the dress or the $70 or whatever. I'm just pissed on principle of their flagrant violation of Customer Service 101.) I FINALLY talk to a manager man, he agrees that the whole ordeal has been most ridick. He sends out another dress AND a substantial credit. Everything's smoothed out, everything arrives with a handwritten thank you note, if my memory serves me.

So, normally I'd be like fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. But I'd like to think that the negative experience was an anomaly, that nasty woman and her evil ways and UPS drama are long gone and that this time HH will deliver like pros. Because they're truly one of my very favorite indie designers, I promote the shit out of them here on Fashionbinge, and because I'll just cry if this bag does not rule. So let's just assume it will.

Let's look again... because it's soooo pretty:


... Fingers crossed.

8 comments:

Ms. Spinach said...

um, that is an insane story.

i always, *always* demand managerial attention as soon as i realize i'm dealing with an incompetent employee. in some cases (probably not h-h, but for example, vonage), they aren't allowed to take any action, i.e. refund, until you've asked for a manager a certain amount times.

in any case, the bag is H-O-T.

Anonymous said...

that bag is pretty stunning, I loved it. Hayden-Harnett is an amazing label I loved their coats as well.

Tamar said...

spinny: ugh. i know. they made me jump thru these ridick hoops before i could speak to a manager. i'll give them the benefit of the doubt that everything will be cool this time and that that woman i spoke to has since left on account of some non-fatal but annoying flesh eating bacteria or something.

Robin said...

Love, love, love HH - quadruple love your bag. I bought my first 'nice' bag from them last year and still adore it.

shopaphilia said...

That bag is so freakin' gorgeous.

You're definitely brave for trying them again after your fiasco, but I'm glad the manager smoothed things out.

I've been tempted by the HH sample sales, but dislike the final sale aspect.

heather said...

wow! it's wonderful. I say since you feel so strongly about it and it was obviously meant to be, you shouldn't feel. It's a necessity after all.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about anyone else here, but I think you've just described another benefit to entering your thirties (in addition to owning an expensive purse): the balls to not take any crap from "customer service". Well, at least that's what happened when I turned 30. I just handed it to T-Mobile last week and it felt so good. I wish you the best of luck in receiving your new bag unscathed.

JennyPf said...

Oh snap, I was dreading the big 3-0, but now I can't wait to turn 30 so I can hand it to AT&T.

JPinChiboogie

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