Saturday adventures

Sometimes its fun to just go wherever the will takes you. The boy and I decided to have an adventure yesterday and drive out into the Hampshire countryside. We drove through all manner of examples of the great English pastoral, thatched cottages with wisteria (Range Rovers out front - of course), perfect cricket lawns and then naturally we saw a fair amount of stately homes.

Funny really how in the middle of a village in West Sussex you can find fashion inspiration. This particular village was an homage to the antique industry with almost every shop peddling their bygone wares. The first one we went in was full of wonderful (and wonderfully odd) pieces, but these gorgeous shoes really caught my eye.

Made in the 50s in Sweden (the tag said so) they were in mint condition and super tiny, my heart did a little skip. Unfortunately though, they were too tiny for even my size 3 feet so I had to let them go. A good thing really, as even though we were in the middle of nowhere they were pretty vintage shopper savvy, with a £50 price tag. Although for shoes that were almost never worn I'm sure I'd be parting with much more in London!

I also found this very fetching handbag for only £14 - an unexpectedly good day for fashion. Maybe its time to buy some Hunters and head out to the sticks.

Be still my beating heart

This is Peggy, she costs £165 and you can find her at the wonderful shop that is Mimi Berry. This is a hot-off-the-press story as she only came out today (thus the crude photo), and it took me all of 30 seconds to fall in love with her. Equal parts minimal and squishy (what else does one need from a satchel?), I can already picture myself wearing it for all my London jaunts. For the more avant garde amongst you she is also available in green and red. No highstreet equivalent could even begin to compare.

Irrationally wanting one of these...

So amazing they're on pre-order, this Jessica Kagan Cushman shopper is high on my I-Want list. Famous for her witty slogan bangles, she has branched out into the world of bags (also with witty slogans). Of course you could have a "My other bag is Hermes" - in orange, or "My other bag is Louis Vuitton", but for £50 I'd much rather be championing Chanel.

www.bunnyhug.co.uk - check them out!

Double Take

These two could almost be the same bag. Exhibit A is an American Apparel creation which will set you back £22. I have one and I absolutely love it. Perfect for someone who travels light at the weekends. Exhibit B is one by highstreet giant Primark. It loses you cool points, but at first glance it could be one and the same. At only £6, I am sure that more than a few hipster wannabes will be sporting them on their shoulders.

Irrationally wanting one of these...

Meet Charlie. This gorgeous bag is the result of the wonderful talent of Mimi Berry, a St Martins Graduate who has gone on to run her own business and make these wonderful bags. Charlie is the perfect bag for now. The dove grey being a transitional colour and the chain strap is something that never goes out of style (Just look at Chanel). Big enough to be used as an oversized clutch, and beautiful enough to put over your shoulder every day, it justifes its £155 price tag, every penny.

The new way to carry your bag…

For this coming spring, its not about what bag you've got, its about how you carry it. We know that in these cash-poor times that it is almost impossible to get your hands on any of the coveted new designer lovelies. Where once we could have justified that once a year splurge on a gorgeous Mulberry or Chloe or even Balenciaga (If you don't work in media). Now is definitely not the time.

Lucky for us then that designers felt that they would for once make an inclusive trend, one that all women are more than able to follow, and the ultimate day-to-night switch… the bag as clutch trend. No less than 25 designers had their models carry bags neatly tucked under their arms, or scrunched in a fist, straps flying free. No bag was too large, no strap was too long. Dolce and Gabbana and Vuitton even embellished their straps with beading and intricate decorations, which render the strap useless, but as it is only for show this season, all the more reason to make it look lovely. Even totes were given the B-A-C treatment at Michael Kors and Graeme Black where they were super sized and then neatly folded in half. Prada my personal favourite, had super soft scrunched leather bags which were carried sideways (see above) perhaps they did look a tad silly, but one look at the leather and you’d be wanting to carry it in your fist too.

So what it comes down to is: is this do-able? Completely. Practical? Potentially tricky, especially if you do it a la Prada. Super super style forward? Definitely.

Irrationally wanting one of these...

Yet another thing added to my list.... The Warehouse satchel at the slightly out of my league price of £85... donations anyone?

I'm Obsessed!

I know that the "It" bag is supposedly dying a rather deserved death, but somehow i'm finding it hard to jump on that particular negative bandwagon. I have never really lusted after the Paddingtons or Birkins of this world, my main obsession is definitely Mulberry. A quintessential English brand which has so far managed to avoid becoming overly cheapened by the likes of WAGs and cut price knock-offs. The reason for this is probably that although paying £700 for a bag is somewhat excessive, in price at least, it doesn't really hold a candle to its £2000 competitors. Mulberry is the girl next door, beautiful and yet at a push obtainable by a regular person on a regular salary. The gorgeous redesigned "Roxanne" which is now a giant vinyl shopper, a sidestep from their traditional leather designs, and is in my opinion patent perfection. I know I shouldn't, I know that even £400 is far too much for something which essentially is still just a bag, but it's still on my wish list. So as I shall most probably not ever own it, I have provided a photo for everyone's viewing pleasure!