AT 67, I SAT ON THE BEACH AND COUNTED FOURTEEN BLACK HANDBAGS. MINE MADE FIFTEEN.

Maggie Crawford

Southern Highlands · September 2026

Most Saturdays I drive down to Kiama, walk the coast path and have a flat white on the same bench above the water. Nothing much happens, which is exactly why I go.

 

The last Saturday in August was the first morning that felt like spring, and half the South Coast was out walking. With nothing to do but watch, I started counting handbags.

 

Black. Black. A navy one, which I let off. Black again. Fourteen in twenty minutes, all on women more or less my age, all saying absolutely nothing.

 

Then I reached into the bag beside me for my sunglasses and came out with a receipt, a tissue and a lozenge I do not remember buying. The sunglasses were at the bottom, where they always are.

 

Black. Handles gone shiny at the corners.

Number fifteen. I had been counting myself.

Number fifteen. My sunglasses are in there somewhere.

THE WOMAN IN THE CAR WINDOW

I walked back to the car for my hat. With the sun on it, the window works like a mirror, and a woman was walking towards it. Navy top, beige trousers, black bag. Neat, sensible, the sort nobody looks at twice.

 

It took me a full second to realise it was me.

 

And what went through my head was not the bag. It was the yellow cardigan that has hung in my wardrobe for six years with the tag still on. Saving it for best. I could not tell you what best is.

 

I thought of the last time I asked my daughter how I looked. She glanced up from her phone. "You look fine, Mum."

 

Fine. That is what I had become, one sensible bag at a time.

NOBODY DECIDES TO DISAPPEAR

None of those fourteen women chose it. I did not either.

 

You need a new bag, you are in a hurry, and black cannot go wrong. Then a little voice moves in. At your age. The bright things at the front of the shop are for girls of twenty-five, it says, so you walk to the back and buy the sensible one again.

 

Nobody says a word about the bag. After a while, nobody says much about the woman carrying it either.

See The Bag Collection

THREE SATURDAYS LATER

It arrived properly made. The quilting is firm, so it stands up on its own, and the dog is stitched right in, so it looks like a real handbag rather than something from a child's party. Everything from the old one fitted with room to spare, and my keys and glasses finally have a pocket of their own.

 

Same bench, same flat white, the little dog on the seat beside me, grinning at everyone who walks by. A woman walking past stopped and pointed. "Oh, is that your dog?"

 

"No," I said. "I just liked him."

 

She laughed so loudly her husband turned round. Then she sat down, and we talked for twenty minutes about her grandson's puppy and nothing in particular.

 

Three weeks earlier I had been number fifteen. Now I was the one somebody stopped for.

The day it came. I did not expect to be charmed by a laundry basket, and yet.

It is properly made. The quilting is soft but structured, so it stands up by itself whether it is full or empty, and there are sturdy canvas handles for carrying it up the stairs. The design wraps the whole way round, so it looks lovely from every side.

 

And it comes in three sizes, so there is one for a small bathroom and one big enough for a family's worth of towels.

Same bench, same coffee. He says hello to everyone.

WHAT I DID NOT EXPECT

One. It is the most practical bag I have owned. My sunglasses are exactly where I left them, which after fifteen years of digging feels like a small miracle.

 

Two. Nobody thinks it is childish. Two women have asked if it came from one of the big department stores.

 

Three. The yellow cardigan. The Tuesday after, I cut the tag off and wore it to the shops. My daughter came for lunch that week and stopped in the doorway. "Look at you, Mum."

 

Not fine. Look at you.

Off the hanger at last. Best turned out to be a Tuesday.

ABOUT THE PRICE

The price made me hesitate, but not the way I expected. It seemed too low.

 

They are $69.95 AUD. They were $139.95 AUD.

 

The reason is simple. Denise Willows, who started the shop, is retiring, and rather than pack everything into boxes she is selling it off. I read the reviews first, 300+ of them at 4.2 stars.

 

Delivery is free, and there are thirty days to send it back.

See The Bag Collection

IF YOU WERE ON THE BENCH NEXT TO ME

Look at the bag on your arm. If it is black because it could not be wrong, you are one of the fourteen. So was I. And if something in your wardrobe still has the tag on, waiting for best, you know exactly what I mean.

 

A handbag will not give you back ten years. But it might remind you that you are still allowed to pick things because they make you smile.

 

The popular animals go first, so if one makes you laugh, do not leave it for another Saturday.

still sit on the same bench every Saturday. I just do not count handbags any more.

Maggie

THE QUILTED ANIMAL BAG COLLECTION

★★★★☆ 4.2 out of 5 from 300+ reviews

$139.95 AUD $69.95 AUD

✓ An animal stitched right into the quilting
✓ Firm quilting that stands up on its own
✓ Roomy, with pockets inside for keys and glasses
✓ Comfortable handles that sit well on the shoulder
✓ A whole collection of animals, in two sizes
✓ Free AUS delivery
✓ 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

See The Bag Collection

Buy 2, save 15% · Buy 3, save 20%