Godzilla Led Me To My Dream Bag

Yes, he really did.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how and what I wanted to say about my vintage bag shopping adventures in Tokyo. It was a big part of my plan for the trip; I made sure to integrate a day into our itinerary when I could go and explore an area known for its secondhand bags. I was ready to explore and hunt for the dream bag, but life doesn’t go as planned.

I didn’t find my dream bag; she found me in an unexpected place.

A few days into our trip, I started to check out a few vintage designer spots that I came across while wandering around Ginza. I found a store known for having some of the best pricing in the bag market, but when I went in, I found that the pricing wasn't as good as I had hoped.

I had come across a bag I loved, and I’ll share it below. I had never seen a Louis Vuitton shaped like a heart, and I was smitten, but I kept wondering what I could possibly fit in there; it looked like a lot, but the price was higher than I liked.

So, I passed on it.

My friend and I moved on, but not after snapping a photo of the heart bag. We walked around Ginza some more, and I wandered into another secondhand bag shop. The pricing was a million times better, but I still didn’t see her, my dream bag.

Call me a romantic or dreamer, but I didn’t have a “dream bag” in mind. I knew that I was interested in Louis Vuitton or Chanel, but that was it. It would be my first Chanel, which is a pretty big deal. I knew that I didn’t want a classic black flap, but I was hoping something would speak to me, which is basically what happened with my Celine.

During one of our free days, we ventured into Shinjuku, an area known for its iconic and legendary Godzilla head, located on top of a building. As we walked around the neighborhood, I saw a store selling secondhand items directly across the street, so we went in.

We walked in, and the LVs on the wall caught my attention. Eventually, we were led downstairs by the staff. I explored the bags and saw another heart bag, so I pulled it out. This one didn’t speak to me as much as the previous one. There were a few other cute bags that I played around with and tried, but nothing really made me say, “That’s it, that’s the dream bag.”

We were led upstairs, and I started to look around. There she was, on a wall of Chanel bags. Erin, who I went to Japan with, said that as soon as I saw the bag, the first words out of my mouth were, “Wow, that’s my dream bag.”

The bag was a Chanel but in a pastel pink, blue, and peach tie-dye design. The bag looked like how I wanted to look and dress, if that makes sense. It looked like a cotton candy daydream, so it was easy for me to fall in love. She also has silver hardware, which is not super common. I’m a mixed metals girl, so I don’t have strong opinions on hardware.

Yes, I’m aware of the pink stain on my tee in this. I was testing out beauty products before I came to this store. This was the first time I tried on the bag, and it hit my body, just right!

I was sure that she would be out of my budget, but the staff insisted on pulling the bag out, so I could look at it a bit closer. As soon as I touched her, I knew she was the one.

The price was right; it would have cost twice as much here in the US! Now, a Chanel bag is still expensive, no matter what, and they always go up in value, so it’s a smart investment. I also want to add that Japan has a lot of strict rules about authentication, so everything is ~real!~

However, I was still on the fence about her.

I loved this bag, but was it a smart investment to get a pastel bag? Would it live in my collection forever? Would it be something I could style easily? Shouldn’t an investment be something neutral and classic? I had a lot of questions and thoughts about it. The next day, we were supposed to explore the vintage bag neighborhood, so I didn’t want to get it and risk finding something better the next day.

I also learned that I could get a tax-free deal on the bag, and it was on the clearance rack. The tax-free discount is 10%, which is a pretty big deal on high-ticket items like a bag.

I needed time to think, and I took about five minutes outside, staring at the Godzilla head looking for an answer. Taylor Swift once said, “I ask the traffic lights if it’ll be all right, they say, ‘I don’t know,’ ” and that’s kind of how it felt. I had texted my mom and Emily for their thoughts, but it was weird timing-wise for them. I eventually heard from them both, after talking it through with Erin for the 100th time.

I decided she was mine.

Naturally, my card didn’t work, and I was like, maybe this is a sign? I called my bank, but I couldn’t hear the guy on the phone clearly. We were also in a super loud and busy area, think like Times Square. The staff kindly held the bag for me.

We ate dinner, then went back to the hotel, and I called the bank again. They told me that I should be okay since I had called, but I had a limited timeframe to make the purchase before the card would flag the payment again.

The next day, we headed straight to the store and everything worked out. The bag was mine. They even gave it a little raincoat since it had started to rain. And that’s the beginning of our love story, me and my first Chanel.

It’s a love story, baby, just say yes.

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