It was in 2006 towards the end of the year. I was meeting my future husband for the very first time. He was American and I was Russian. We had met on the internet through Date.com (believe it or not) and we fell in love. I must admit it was rather scary, though more so for him, since he moved his life out to Russia just to be with me and see how things would go.

He got off the plane and I was very nervous. He smiled at me and immediately gave me a present… a Vera Bradley bag. It was the Vera Bradley Tropical Silk Limited Edition Kelly. I must admit, at first, I was a bit thrown off by the colors and flower patterns, After all, in Russia, I was used to knock off leather bags such as Prada, D&G and Chloe. I only liked leather bags too — but of course, the quality was very poor being that they were replicas.

My husband told me, “This is a Vera Bradley Bag. They are light and fun — not to be compared to the likes of Prada, but are gaining more popularity in the states. This is suppose to be a limited edition.” I didn’t know what to say, so I just smiled.

I then said to him, “Well… yesssss… interesting colors and flowers.” I, of course, was only being polite, as I really didn’t care for it that much. I then put it in the closet and left it there as a “souvenir” — and that was my excuse for not using it to — “Oh honey, this is the first gift you have ever given to me, I cannot use it. I shall keep it safe and clean.” Over the next 3 months, I never even used it until my husband and I got married and traveled to Istanbul, Turkey for our honeymoon. I brought the Vera Bradley bag only because I wanted something light to carry and I didn’t want to ruin my leather bags due to the winter weather. It was during this time that I really started to understand the whole “Vera” popularity.

When traveling to Istanbul, if you ever go, you will understand that Istanbul is the CAPITAL OF THE WORLD when it comes to the best quality replica bags. Their quality is sooooo good, in fact, that only CoCo herself could tell the difference between their bags and her Chanel brand. Now mind you, this is the type of shopping I’m used to — because in Russia, this is all we buy — REPLICAS.

But while I was there shopping for bags, so many people stopped me and asked me where I got my Vera bag. I would smile and say “What? THIS flower bag of mine?” I thought they were kidding, but each time, someone else would approach me and ask if it was a knockoff and where they could find them. I had no idea they were so popular — and only THEN did I realize, “Wow, Vera Bradley must be quite popular.” That was when I started to appreciate the bag more… and when I got back from Turkey, everyone asked me where I got my bag from and I had to say “Oddly enough, I got it from my closet, as it had been sitting there for nearly 3 months collecting dust.” Everyone wanted my bag and I just didn’t know why.

But that was then and this is now. I am now a huge fan and quite a collector. While I may have fell in love with the bags through an unorthodox way, I have now arrived, and that’s all that counts. In all honesty, I just can’t imagine how silly I was carrying around those heavy leather bags all my life… Vera bags are so light weight, soft and durable. I am so glad I have been introduced to them. And that’s my story.