The Passionate Shopper

I'm a bit of a Passionate Op Shopper myself, but I just love Marion von Adlerstein's lighthearted and juicy romp through the world's best shops, souks and bazaars, with a little help from 17 of her well-travelled friends. The book was royally launched on Wednesday night with pink Moet and lobster sandwiches at the new Hermes store on Sydney's Market Street. I arrived to find publisher Julie Gibbs receiving a lesson in scarf folding, Parisian style, from the adorable Liliane - and learnt a few things myself about how to make those clever knots and drapes as French women do. (Not sure what I did during my two years in Paris, but I never learned this.) The event was a bit of a nostalgia trip for ex-Vogue staffers like me, with three legendary Vogue women in the room - Marion, former editor June McCallum and former publisher Eve Harmon. Wandering among the expensive handbags was quite a sobering experience. Kick me in the head if I'm wrong here, but I thought the idea of owning a classic bag like the Hermes Birkin was that you wore it forever, it was the only bag you needed and it got better with the patina of time. But these days, handbag queens are buying a new bag at least every season (and often every week.) It's all about the bag the fashion magazines keep on telling us. Sorry babes, for me it's all about a lot of other things but never a bag.