<p>What great timing, helpingmom. DH is headed to Kohls today – dare I entrust him with choosing a bag for his MIL? :eek:</p>
<p>SilverVestersMom -
One of the reasons my daughter wanted a Vera Bradley bag was because, she said, you can throw them in the washing machine if they get dirty!</p>
<p>She also won one in a raffle - at a bookstore.</p>
<p>VB bags are machine washable…if your bag has a hard piece in the bottom (you know…to keep it flat) you have to remove that before you toss it into the washer.</p>
<p>I have a friend with a Vera black micro computer bag and she LOVES it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info about washability. I just met a neighbor who was carrying one and asked her about it, then another neighbor (we live in condos) ran into her apartment and proudly brought out her own. </p>
<p>I have a black microfiber Hushpuppies purse that still gets compliments about 4 years after I bought it at Burlington Coat Factory.</p>
<p>On the topic of washing VB, I saw something for the first time about a year ago and have only seen 2 people use this. Someone invented a hook that one puts on the end of the table and you can hang your pocketbook on that instead of placing it on the floor. I don’t own one, and don’t know where one buys this, but it might make a nice little gift, and it should help to keep your handbag from getting dirty and warn on the bottom.</p>
<p>Those hooks can be found in catalogues like Harriet Carter and on TV shopping channels. You can probably do an online search. The idea of using a VB bag on a plane without washing it after gives me the heebie jeebies so I was glad to see they are washable.</p>
<p>Thanks. I just knew that someone would know where to find it. Frankly, I doubt I would use one, but looked like something different if you needed to give someone a small trinket.</p>
<p>I have hand-washed the VB stuff. But since I have only “inside” items - makeup and toiletry bags - they don’t get dirty quickly.</p>
<p>
That’s got to be one of the best inventions I’ve ever heard of. I HATE putting my purse on the floor in restaurants, movie theaters, etc. Do you know if the hook would work on the back of a movie theater seat?</p>
<p>teriwtt, I have no idea, and I still really don’t know where to find it. I ate in a restaurant and a woman at the next table had her bag hanging at the table and I took notice. Her D bought it, but she did not know where she bought it. I had my bag on the dirty floor. I think that I would use it if I had one, and a movie theatre would be a perfect place to use something like that. I don’t know if it work for movie seats, but I wonder if there is such a thing.</p>
<p>I just googled purse hook and found lots of entries.</p>
<p>Oh wow, thanks! I had not tried googling! There are so many different ones too. I am going to buy a few for gifts, and one for me!</p>
<p>You can find them at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I also think I saw them once at Mori Luggage.</p>
<p>yep, I googled last night, too, and found several websites. Sent a link to one of them to D1 for Christmas hints.</p>
<p>Just wanted to close the loop that I braved the Black Friday sales (which were frighteningly quiet in my area) and was able to get the Vera Bradley microfiber bag I had had my eye on for my mom at 25% off. I hope others here had similar good luck.</p>
<p>worrywart - just made a couple of stops for Black Friday (was back home by 8AM), and the stores were eerily quiet around here, too. I expected crowds of bargain hunters, but parking lots weren’t even 1/4 full when we were done around 7:30AM.</p>
<p>I think the sale ends tomorrow but VB fans be sure to check out brownson5th dot com. They’re having a BOGO sale of all VB (excluding the 4 new patterns, I believe.) It’s not posted on their website but if you call their 800 number they’ll take your order. I haven’t placed an order but I have a friend who has and received her purchase two days later.</p>
<p>My d is ROUGH on her school bags. During her school career she has reduced a Jansport backpack, Swiss Army messenger, and various other bags into threads after a few months of use. Last year she decided she wanted a big Vera Bradley tote to serve as her school bag. That bag is still in great shape, after a year and a half of daily use.</p>
<p>So VB gets a huge thumbs up on the durability issue.</p>