In Which the Economy Gets Stimulated (Again)

I've barely recovered from Christmas and already the birthdays are rolling around. Can't a guy catch some breathing room?

Birthday Girl #1: She globe trots, has great taste, can buy herself what she wants, appreciates good craftsmanship and can spot a pretender a mile away, so what do you get a gal whose closet shelves are already lined with highfalutin' Italian labels?

Why, Marc Jacobs of course:

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I'm not usually a fan of whimsy, but in this instance, I'm making a huge exception. The cut-out leather hearts sewn all across the front and back are pure, flat-out, eye-catching quirk. She may not carry it a lot, but for those occasions when she'll be looking in her closet and thinking, "I need something fun!" -- it'll be perfect (or so I'm hoping).

Besides, it's purple. 'Nuff said.

Birthday Girl #2: Hard-working, fun-loving Texas girl with a rock-n-roll edge, and her job just relocated her to New York City. She's tall, Marilyn Monroe curvy and jump starts a room when she walks through the door, so she's pretty set on charm and appeal, but what she lacks is a decent-sized tote bag for carrying what she needs on the daily commute.

In Dallas, she could just toss any extraneous items in the back seat of her car, but that doesn't work so well on the subway. Hence, Miu Miu:

(click to enlarge)

I'm thinking this 16"x11"x9" beaute should help relieve any and all translocational anxieties, not to mention offer plenty of room for chick lit without making it look like she's lugging some gigantic diaper bag on her shoulder.

Plus, it boasts just enough tough-cookie 'tude, as in: "Go bother someone else before I bean you with my metal-studded designer bag!" A Southern girl with armor-plating is a force to be reckoned with.

I'll keep you posted on the reactions. Hopefully, there won't be any returns or exchanges involved, but it's not like I can hit the bulls-eye every time.

What about any of you? If someone gave you a bag for your birthday or Christmas, would you ask to return/exchange it if you didn't really love it? I don't get offended when someone wants to return something I gave them, but it is disappointing to me if I'm not able to make their celebration happier by causing a squeal of delight when they open the box.

UPDATE (04/13/09):

The Miu Miu was a big hit, but the overt whimsy of the Marc Jacobs fell flat. I was half expecting that to happen -- heart decorations can be very hit and miss. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with a solution that I'm told (and I have it on very good authority) will do the trick.

Ann Demeulemeester black leather tie clutch:

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But now the cat is out of the bag . . .