I've Died And Gone To Purse Heaven (By Way Of Purse Hell)

Two months ago, almost to the day, DZ showed me an Italian website and out of boredom, I clicked through the designers index. I was about to close out when I spotted Zagliani. Just for the sake of looking, I clicked and immediately fell in love with a python top handle. I checked out the price and almost fainted when I realized how much cheaper it was than the selling prices on the Saks website. It was too good to pass up and you all know I dont pass up on good deals. I put in my order and did my happy dance. From that moment on, I went through about two months of hell waiting for this purse to get to me.

1. My credit card declined the purchase the first time around. Good to know that they're looking out for me but in this instance, it was just annoying. I had to call and let them know that foreign spends were okay, go back to the website and re-place my order. I had to do all this in record time cus God forbid someone else snatches up my purse while I'm clearing things up with my cc company! And yes, there was only ONE available cus as soon as my order was finalized, my pretty purse was immediately taken off of the website (ahem, BNY...take note...this is how websites should operate!!).

2. The day after my order is placed, I get an email from the website basically informing me that they need to charge me weeks in advance because they need to obtain a permit for the python skin before they can actually ship it overseas...and btw, we can't ship this to you because you live in California. I really dont mind them charging me before they ship but what in God's name am I suppose to do about the shipping address??!??! I had a mini-freak out session at 8am that morning. I tried to think of all the ways to get around the python ban and when I realized there probably was no feasible loopholes, I tried to think of all the people I knew who lived outside of California. Finally my hs friend, JL, came to my rescue. He goes to law school in DC and offered to receive the package for me. MY HERO!!!!

3. For the next month and a half I tried my best to not think about the purse. I figured I would end up in the nut house if I thought about it everyday.

4. Around mid-March I get a update from the website with a tracking number. YES!!! I check the number and no information is available. I check back again over the next few days and still no information available. I email them asking them for a new number. I get emails back in Italian. Finally someone writes back and explains that the tracking number given was a default of the system. In order to obtain the permit, they had to pretend to ship the package. Got excited for nothing, thanks.

5. My purse finally leaves Italy beginning of April. It goes through Europe fine and gets to New Jersey in record time. Then it just stops. It sat in a office in New Jersey for a week. Customs wanted to know what JL is going to name his first-born son before they can ship the purse to him. No but seriously, they needed a lot of information from him (including a written statement explaining why his receiving address was different from his home address). Hes a busy law school student who was doing his friend a favor. I felt TERRIBLE. I hate asking for favors, especially when the favor turns out to be 10000 times more complicated than previously expected.

6. The purse finally clears customs and gets delivered to JL. It sits for another week at his school.

7. The purse is finally shipped out to me last Thursday. I get the tracking number and I check it. I see that it has no destination information so I call FedEx. They somehow have the wrong address. WTF. I correct the address and anxiously wait...maybe this purse and I just aren't meant to be cus I've had one helluva time trying to get my hands on it!!

Since ordering this purse, I've gone through extreme moments of excitement, felt intense adrenaline rushes, and have had to suffer through extreme lows. I've been so anxious about this purse getting to me, I've even had a loss of appetite. Its absolutely ridiculous what I'm willing to go through for the sake of my closet. In the end, was it worth it? HELL TO THE YEA. I was literally shaking when I got the package today at work. I think I might've had a mini heart attack at my cubicle. Anyhow, heres what all this fuss is/was over:

The pretty packaging:





My new Zagliani python top handle:



I've had nightmares in the past weeks about opening this package. In my dreams, the purse is ugly (I think at one point it was neon...) and the python scales are falling off. I'm happy to report that when I actually took the purse out of the dust-bag, it took my breath away (in a good way). Needless to say, pictures dont do this purse justice...especially if the pictures are taken with my crappy camera...


The clasp (my least favorite feature of the bag...it seriously took me 5 mins to figure out how to open it and then another 10 trying to close it...):


The handle:


The scales:


The suede and python lined interior:



The inside zipper:


My cats enjoying the packaging:



I think I might have to buy a box for Libby. She fell in love with this one and was pissed off when I made her get out...



I think a lot of times Olivia does things just to be like Libby. She wasn't all that interested but I think she got into the box just to see what the big deal was :P


My Zagliani saga is finally over. Thank GOD. Now I can sleep and eat and breath in peace. Probably one of the most worrisome shopping experiences of my life but again, hella worth it cus I saved around $1000 (not sure about the exact number cus this style isn't on the Saks site) :)