With a trip to Mexico in the rearview and our Paris trip looming on the horizon, I’ve been thinking a lot about the things I’ve always done to make traveling easier for me. In this era of checked bag fees and carry-on size restrictions, one of the best things I’ve ever invested in was my beloved Primark bag.
When I studied in London, Primark was our Mecca. Imagine a giant, British version of Forever21…fast, cheap, disposable fashion with a price tag so low, I didn’t even feel the need to do the mental gymnastics to (painfully) convert British pounds to dollars. Every time I’d wear through the soles of my latest pair of cheap black flats, it was off to Primark for more. Ditto tights, basic sweaters, t-shirts, and even a few cute, simple little dresses. Easily the best purchase I made there, though, was their “Weekender” bag. Kaitlin and I bought the same one, and in the ensuing five years, it accompanied me:
…to Hyde Park…
…to Oxford…
…to the Tower of London…
…to Hampton Court…
…to Venice…
…to the Kentucky Derby (woof)…
…to Brazil and back…
…to endless Notre Dame games (great for carrying contraband tailgate items to Concert on the Steps!)…
…back to London...
...and then to Ireland…
...to airports on three different continents, where I naturally always looked radiantly beautiful...
...and finally to Firefly, where it died a dusty, disintegrated-lining, painfully sad death.
Since its demise, I’ve genuinely trolled EBay looking for a replacement. It was so cheap I didn’t care if it got trashed, but so cute that I inevitably got compliments, even in its grossest, most faded and dingy state. Alas, turns out others don’t prize 10-dollar bags as highly as I do, because there are none available. With that, right before Mexico I turned to Persifor and picked up a perfect beach bag:
Unfortunately, though, my hopes that this could translate to an all-destinations bag like my Primark one did were dashed. The bag doesn’t zip and looks super beachy. With that, I’ve come to the realization that sometimes, you just get lucky and stumble on perfection. And with that, I’m planning my future work trips to London to make sure to include a Primark stop. In the meantime, any recommendations for a similarly perfect travel bag, hit me up!