Online pal Before Wisdom recently relayed some of my shoe knowledge on his own blog. See, ladies? Someone out there agrees with me that you CAN be veg*n and as stylish as you want to be.
Vegan Porn (disclaimer: no actual porn) is back, but you have to be invited to join – contact Jason via Taste Better. (Believe me, I am not complaining. The old site, while good, was prone to the occasional troll infestation.)
I just got off the phone with my mom. I helped her sell some of her old Matt & Nat bags on eBay last year for extra cash, and she couldn’t remember if I’d sold her black Fiona bag or not (I did – very successfully, since it was in near-mint condition). It’s going to rain a bit, and Mom’s not about to use her usual bag – a black Harveys seatbelt satchel – because it’s not waterproof. Hence the search for the old, waterproof Fiona bag.
This led to a discussion of why various bags aren’t quite perfect for either one of us. I love my Chuchai purse, but the flat shape and lack of exterior pockets make everything pile up at the bottom. Mom loves her Portman bag, but it’s on the long side and she sometimes accidentally bumps people or things with it. (Apart from the added weight being an issue, I don’t at all mind big bags myself. I’ve noticed people tend to give women with huge handbags a much wider berth. Which is why I’ll always keep my big, bright orange Sherlock bag for times when I must battle crowds – it’s the bag equivalent of a large traffic cone.) My adorable Mini Manhattan bag and Harveys carriage baguette are only suited to days when I’m carrying as little as possible (but I love them!). It would be great if our Oslo and Avril bags had shoulder straps. You get the idea.
Which makes me wonder – does the perfect bag even exist?
Realistically, the idea of a “perfect” handbag is somewhat subjective. I’ve met teenage girls who only want a bag juuuust big enough to carry a tiny minimalist wallet, their house keys, and a tube of lip balm. Fine, good for them (though not too useful after high school). Professional women tend to want big, sturdy bags that can hold everything (though some very successful women also love to buy impractical, expensive bags to display their status). Moms often look for bags that have enough compartments to hold a few toys, snacks, and a well-worn copy of “Madeline”. Fashion fiends are more concerned with silhouette, color, label, and whether some D-list celeb has been photographed carrying it. Grad students want a bag that can hold file folders, a notebook, and a textbook in addition to the basics.
Still, some criteria are almost universally desired.
- Zipper or magnetic snap closures are always a good idea (open bags attract pickpockets).
- Neutral linings, whether plain or patterned, are well received (bright ones draw attention to your stuff, and patterns can hide stains from spilled makeup).
- Adjustable shoulder straps are widely appreciated, especially since not everyone is the same height or wants to wear their bag up high or down low. (Bonus points for the strap also being detachable.)
- Bags should be wide enough to make searching through them relatively easy, but go too wide and the wearer may knock someone over. Shallower, flatter bags are appreciated more in markets where mass transit is used by all social classes.
- Two or more inside pockets, zippered or not (preferably one or two of each), are always appreciated, as are keychain tabs.
- Versatility is good. In the old days, women changed their bags when they changed their outfits (several times a day), but very few people do that now (really, who has that kind of time?). Now, if a bag can go from work to the library to having drinks with the girls, it’s a keeper.
There are things I like about all of my bags, but when I really stop to think about it, none of them are completely perfect. Which tells me I really should get to work trying to design The Perfect Bag, if it is in fact possible to do such a thing. It’s not like anyone else is doing it – accessory companies are making a killing not because they’re making ideal products (though some of them are making great stuff) but because they’re making good products that aren’t QUITE perfect, which keeps consumers buying and buying…searching and searching for that one bag that just might be worth all the trouble. It’s sort of like planned obsolescence in electronics.
