A Perfumer’s Affair with Bags

When I first heard Hanzky and Nopai were starting The Luxury Reports, I knew this would be special.

As I am writing this on my laptop, I couldn’t help but thinking…Our friendship did start from perfumes and banana fritters, but bags, are the real fuel. I am sure we are not the only one checking on bags at 2AM and texting each other..

“What do you think about this bag?”

“Should I get it? Or not?”

With that being said, I am beyond excited for The Luxury Reports and its vision to connect and guide us bag lovers. Congratulations to Hanzky and Nopai, The Luxury Reports and Socially Significant Company team!

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Now, where do I start?

Should I start from my first designer bag?

Or way back long before I got mine?

The first designer bag that I ever held onto my hand was a black pony hair Ferragamo with gold Gancini buckle that my father got for my mom. I think I was around 11 or 12 years old and far more excited than my mom, because I don’t remember her wearing the bag, not even once. While I, would many times, open the red box from her wardrobe, just to admire the beautiful craftsmanship, and gently caress the pony hair.

Growing up in a small town, I could only appreciate fashion and bags from the magazines. It wasn’t until I graduated from the university and moved to Beijing, I then had a chance to see and touch….“Oh, so this is the Balenciaga Motorcycle that Paris and Nicole carry!”

After Beijing, I then moved to Jakarta in 2012 to work in a corporate job. It was then I realized I needed a decent bag to go to meetings. So I got myself a Prada Saffiano briefcase. Because one is never enough, I then went on to collect more and more briefcases. Most of them are Prada. I love Prada briefcases because I think they look sleek, sharp, and professional. My most favorite one is perhaps the double-compartment briefcase in brown patina hues which I got in Monte Carlo in 2014. It was love at the first sight when I saw it at the window of Hotel Hermitage. I then went on to source another similar one but with single compartment in grey patina which I found in Hong Kong a year later.

Left to right: Love at first sight from the window of Hotel Hermitage Monte Carlo; the brown patina Prada briefcase; some of my Prada briefcases

After briefcases and a few other bags here and there, eventually most bag journeys lead to one road, Hermès.

My first Hermes encounter was probably in 2009. I was in Singapore and looking to get myself a wallet.

I had heard Hermès was expensive, but I didn’t know how expensive was expensive. So I walked into the Takashimaya store and asked to see a wallet. Indeed, I walked out in less than a minute. I got myself a Louis Vuitton Multiple wallet instead, In black Taiga leather.

5 years forward, I finally started my Hermes rollercoaster. I must say my Hermes journey was highly influenced by the book “Bringing Home the Birkin” by Michael Tonello. In fact, it was the only book that I have ever finished reading to date. A few months after my mother’s passing, I decided to take a one-month trip around France with a friend to source for Birkins and Kellys. At that time, I did not have a single Hermes item at all. We drove from town to town, from Paris to Lyon, Bordeaux to Cannes and brought home 1 Birkin 35 and 1 Kelly 35.

No purchase history, no additional purchase requirement at all.

Aside from those two bags, I also got myself a Paris Bombay voyage bag from the Montpellier store. In Biarritz, I was actually offered a Kelly Lakis but unfortunately I was already out of budget to shop for another bag.

That trip was the beginning of my Hermes obsession.

Left to right: Some of the bags I hunted during my France trip (Hermes Kelly, Hermes Birkin, Hermes Paris Bombay, Prada ostrich briefcase, Dolce & Gabbana Sicily and my first Hermes bag – the Paris Bombay found in Montpellier store).

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My bag journey is not all peaches and cream. Fast forward to 2019, I was struggling financially because my previous business pursuit was not going well. All I had left with me in were over a thousand bottles of perfumes, piles of designer bags and shoes. I had no choice but to sell my collections. Among them were an Hermes Bolide Relax, 4 Hermes Victoria briefcases, some Prada, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Etro, to Ralph Lauren.

Unexpectedly, those bags and perfumes gave me a second chance to start a new venture and new life,

Alien Objects

At first, Alien Objects was simply meant to be an Instagram account to sell my preloved belongings. During that difficult time, I am also forever thankful that a dear friend offered me a job at Chanel. It was truly the most fun, and humbling moment that I will forever cherish. From being a customer at Plaza Indonesia stores, I now would be opening the door and greetig customers, to serving drinks and putting shoes on their feet. And I genuinely enjoyed every moment, from helping people find their first Chanel bag or present, advising and styling a mother and daughter with Chanel head-to-toe for their Winter trip, to convincing a lady not to return her grey lambskin Classic 11.12 bag by simply saying

“If you are afraid of scratches, you will never know the pleasure of having a lambskin bag for the rest of your life”.

And the best part?

I was in bag and shoe heaven, e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y!

Left to right: the initial account of Alien Objects, some of the perfumes and bags that I sold

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Looking back, I certainly have had my highs and lows in collecting bags. It has taught me an invaluable “life” lesson too! Nevertheless, I will always, always love bags. There are bags that taught me a lesson. There are also bags that I miss. But the good news is, there will always be more bags. And the best, is always yet to come!

And my latest purchase?

A Louis Vuitton Keepall 45 in yellow with paw charm by Pharrell. I have a soft spot for yellow, and Boston bag has been my favorite bag shape in recent years, especially for traveling.

Left to right: Louis Vuitton Keepall 45 with paw charm and Fufu (my Persian cat); a similar theme yellow bag from Louis Vuitton Resort 2025 collection

And my next bag wishlist? Probably the Ferragamo Hug in pony hair, and the upcoming Louis Vuitton Biker.

Left to right: Ferragamo Hug bag (source: Ferragamo); Louis Vuitton Biker bags (source: Louis Vuitton)

I hope you enjoy this little story of mine, and I wish you a very beautiful day.