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The Alligator Burberry Whipstitch Bag on the runway - photograph courtesy of burberry.com

The Alligator Burberry Whipstitch Bag - photograph courtesy of burberry.com

Medium Check Canvas Bowling Bag - photograph courtesy of burberry.com

Have you ever experienced an embarrassing shopping moment that you just can’t shake? A story that becomes legendary (in your mind anyway), and is now shared as a humorous anecdote to amuse your friends. I’ve had just such a moment that I refer to as the Burberry Tragedy of ’09. A sad story, with a less then happy outcome that goes a little something like this…

In May of 2009,  I had the privilege of heading to Chicago for 5 days with my mother on her annual business trip to the Windy City. This being my first time, I was giddy over the prospects offered by the abundance of shops located along Michigan Avenue: a.k.a. the  infamous Magnificent Mile. Now keep in mind that in August of that year I was headed to the alter, which was to be followed by a 2 week long honeymoon to Paris. It’s safe to say, therefore; that an extravagant shopping spree was not in the cards. That didn’t deter me, however; from wanting to check out the stores, and perhaps take advantage of any sales that may come my way. So on my first full day of being in Chicago, I dropped off my mother and made my way towards the Mile. The first thought that I had was “HOLY CRAP, the sheer size of it!”. It’s not to say that I’m completely unfamiliar with large cities, having spent a lot of time in Montreal, but this was something else. A bit overwhelming to say the least. This lead to my second thought of where do I start? For a girl coming from a relatively small city that lacks significant numbers of  luxury stores, the Mile proved dazzling in all it’s label glory. It’s all there, and there’s a lot of it. Not knowing where to begin I walked for a bit, and then saw it. Burberry. An excellent starting point.

As I entered the shop, I was immediately awed by the exuberant amount of lovely goodies that lined the walls. I have to admit that I felt a tad out of place being in such a posh environment, but putting my angst aside I started to browse. After a few minutes, my eyes fell on a gorgeous lavender tote that screamed “Pick me up please, I’m pretty!”. So I did and it was splendid! It had to be one of the most perfect bags that I’d ever held! I wanted to make it my very own that second. Detecting my delight, the sales woman, who’d been lingering close by, immediately ran to my side to begin her pitch.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she said. “What a great choice!”

“Why yes it is!” I said.

She continued on. “Doesn’t it feel amazing? And it’s such a great size! You can store so many things in there. And it will go with practically anything! Come to the mirror so you can have a better look”.

Now at the mirror.

“Ooooooooooooo!” I said.

“It’s amazing!” she said. “It looks fantastic on you! It really complements your skin tone and eyes! And the best part is it’s on sale, so… EVEN BETTER!”

SALE!!!! She was speaking my language! Elated at the prospects of having a beautiful Burberry bag, and scoring it at sale price, I nonchalantly looked at the tag to see if this was something that could be squeezed into the budget. Oh how I wish I hadn’t looked and cried (inside) a little at what I saw. Granted, it was significantly reduced from it’s original price of $2000.00 +, however; it was still above $800.00. Definitely not something I could swing at the moment, especially with an impending wedding and trip to Paris. Of course, being a shopping addict, I ran through the numbers while trying to justify how and why this belonged to me. If the sales woman had of had any insight into what was playing out in my mind she would have immediately walked away shaking her head. After a few minutes of contemplation, along with visions of a fairly ticked off fiancé, I concluded that this was definitely  not the time. Still trying to play it cool, however; I continued to check out the bag, inspecting it at length and modelling a bit more in the mirror with a fake smile slapped on my face. Finally, admitting defeat, I stepped back from the mirror. ”I’ll have to think about it” I said, returning the bag to it’s original place. From there I beelined it to the door and made my escape. Sadness ensued, and while I did come away from the Magnificent Mile with some delightful finds, the Burberry tote was not one of them. This inevitably has manifested into my epic Burberry Tragedy. It obviously was not meant to be, but to this day it still hurts just a little. On the bright side though, if I’m ever asked have you ever been to a Burberry store, I can at least say “Why, yes… I have”, and back it up with a fairly decent tale.

So hopefully, one day I’ll have another Burberry encounter with a slightly more positive outcome. Who knows, perhaps this is the year that I get back to Chicago to have another go. We’ll see. In the mean time, I’ll just sit back and stare at pictures on the Internet, and cry a little bit over the one that got away.

Large Suede Tote - photograph courtesy of burberry.com

Large Leather Tote - photography courtesy of burberry.com