Vegan Leather Purse

This may look like an ordinary purse, but it's not. It's a vegan leather purse. Just what is vegan leather? According to the Made in China label, it's polyurethane foam. Also, I suspect, it's a justification to charge twice as much for what most people would just label 'fake leather,'  or, albelit less polite, 'plastic.' I actually found this purse on clearance at a tea shop that sells vegan fake meat products in a trendy neighbourhood. At $15, it seemed like a reasonable price. My mom insisted on buying it for me - she was tickled I demonstrated some interest in accessorizing. My mother is much more fashion-forward than I am, and she worries I do not keep pace with my age cohort (which, to be fair, is reasonable).
I am quite enjoying my little red vegan leather purse. I find it very cheery. There was a little  mishap when the zipper pull broke, but a dab of crazy glue fixed that up nicely. Don't worry, I only used organic crazy glue. You know, the stuff that comes in four little bottles for a dollar... I had to leave my purse in the windowsill for an entire day because the fumes were so strong.

My vegan leather purse violates some of my minimalist principles. I already owned a purse that could serve the same purpose. That purse looks like this:

From Mountain Equipment Co-Op.

The MEC purse is arguably more practical its vegan counterpart, given the extra space and ruggedness (my current MEC purse is actually the replacement for the previous one I wore out). I felt guilty for buying something that, strictly speaking, I didn't need.
However, what my utilitarian purse lacked and the vegan purse had in droves was the smile factor. Every time I look at the ladybug and flower, I smile. The salespeople at stores also frequently smile when they see my ladybug purse as I take out my wallet to pay for things. One of my friends wants to go buy herself her own ladybug purse because of the smile factor.

I am learning to balance minimalist aspirations with the occasional retail indulgence.