| Last Christmas, my rich sister-in-law, Cherine, | | | | After the first week of classes, the comments |
| decided I needed to have some more style in my | | | | became less frequent. One girl asked me where |
| life, so she bought me a Louis Vuitton handbag. | | | | she could get a Louis Vuitton handbag l ike mine. |
| “You got me a purse,” I screamed. | | | | “I don’t know, it was a gift,” |
| “I’m a man, you know.” | | | | I said. … |
| “It’s not a purse,” she | | | | “And by the way, this is a men’s |
| corrected. “It’s a Louis Vuitton | | | | Louis Vuitton handbag. It would look kind of silly if |
| handbag for men. They’re really getting | | | | a girl were carrying it,” I trailed off as I |
| popular, and once you see how convenient it is, | | | | walked away. |
| you’ll never go back to a wallet.” | | | | After two weeks, I was barely conscious of my |
| “OK, I’ll try your ‘Louis | | | | Louis Vuitton handbag. I will admit it was nice to |
| Vuitton handbag’ for a little while,” I | | | | always have chapstick on hand. |
| said, over-emphasizing her name for what I knew | | | | After three weeks I started spiking my hair up |
| was a purse. “But I’m not wearing | | | | with gel. I don’t know what the connection |
| the turtle neck.” | | | | was between that and my Louis Vuitton handbag |
| All I could think of was Seinfeld and his European | | | | , but I know I never would have done it before. I |
| carry-all. I hoped my Louis Vuitton handbag would | | | | even started thinking maybe I could pull off a |
| get stolen too. My designer handbag was a square | | | | turtleneck. Then everything changed. |
| of smooth black leather with a silver buckle. I | | | | I was getting more comfortable everyday with |
| tried to convince myself it was more like a | | | | my Louis Vuitton handbag when I left it on the |
| leather pouch that a mountain man would carry | | | | public bus coming home from campus one day. I |
| than a purse. That made me feel a little better, | | | | called the bus depot as soon as I realized what |
| but I still had to convince everyone else. | | | | had happened. The woman there asked me to |
| The first day of classes the next semester I | | | | describe the item I had lost. |
| almost gave up on my Louis Vuitton handbag. | | | | “It’s a black leather … bag |
| Class mates who knew me well came right out | | | | …,” I said. |
| and asked. | | | | “Like a backpack?” She asked. |
| “Are you carrying a purse?” they | | | | “No, it’s smaller – it’s a |
| smirked. | | | | Louis Vuitton handbag for men.” |
| “It’s a Louis Vuitton handbag for | | | | “Oh, like a brief case?” |
| men,” I answered. “They’re | | | | “No, more like a … purse,” I |
| really popular back East.” | | | | couldn’t escape it. I had lost my purse and |
| “You’re a brave man,” was | | | | I had always known that was what it was. |
| usually the response. “You should get a | | | | For better or worse my Louis Vuitton handbag |
| turtleneck.” | | | | was never recovered. Someone must have |
| People I had just met were more discrete. | | | | grabbed it before it could be located. I hope she is |
| “Is that a camera case?” they would | | | | very happy with it. |
| say, hoping I would give a more revealing | | | | I decided I was probably better off without the |
| response. “Are you taking a photography | | | | Louis Vuitton handbag anyway. I wasn’t |
| class?” | | | | cut out to be a sophisticated, urban |
| “It’s a Louis Vuitton handbag for | | | | man-about-town with a designer handbag. It was |
| men,” I explained. “It’s | | | | nice to feel my keys and cell phone in the right |
| incredibly convenient.” | | | | pocket of my jeans and my wallet in the left. |
| “Oh, like Seinfeld,” they said. | | | | That’s all I needed. It wasn’t |
| “That’s awesome.” And the | | | | avant-garde; it was just tried and true. And |
| conversation would end there. | | | | that’s the kind of guy I am. |
| The only thing that kept me from donating my | | | | Fortunately, Cherine understood I just |
| Louis Vuitton handbag to the Salvation Army was | | | | couldn’t keep up the Louis Vuitton handbag |
| that I didn’t want to make Cherine mad at | | | | lifestyle. She got me a Fendi wallet instead. It was |
| me. She’s a wonderful person but not | | | | masculine and small enough to put in my jeans |
| someone you want as an enemy. | | | | pocket. I can live with a Fendi wallet. |