A rites of baggage

I’m sure there will be people out there who understand how everything can make a little girl feel grown-up when they’re young. I, for one, felt really mature when I got a so called “bonus card”, for discounts in the grocery store. The idea that I had something that older people had excited me beyond compare. It’s like Becca in Confessions of a Shopaholic; You’ve quite literally been looking up to these people for all your life, and now you can finally get to their level. To kind of get to the point, one of these things that feels like a “sophisticated must”, is a handbag. If you have a handbag that you can work with pretty much any outfit, that holds all your everyday (super-sophisticated) needs and looks absolutely marvelous (can you hear the posh accent in your head?)… Your adult life is pretty much complete.

Now, as you might have noticed, I recently travelled to Rome; and what better excuse is there to buy yourself a new purse? Something not too big, not too small, easy to carry around with you all day while still looking fash… Inspired by a post on Hello October (great blog, check it out!) ages ago, I’d started scrolling through River Island more often, and this bag had caught my eye before. It was one of those things that I really wasn’t sure about; I liked it, but the print was a bit much for me, but oh, the color was so pretty… Eventually I caved and bought it. Thus are my findings…

The bag itself I think is truly beautiful. I had was a little taken aback because of the subtle snake texture and the not-so-subtle gold buckles, but it doesn’t actually bother me and in fact I think it works with the colors quite well. The baby blue color of the bag itself is what immediately caught my eye: any shade of “natural” blue is one of my favorites and this one is no exception. The great thing about a light shade of blue is that, just like jeans or monochrome things, it goes with almost anything. This is what makes it a great bag for everyday use. For the second condition, the right size, this bag also ticks the box for me. It doesn’t fit a complete make-up storage or anything like that, but for me it’s just right, not allowing myself to get too much clutter going on. On my trip to Rome I took with me a notebook, pen, wallet, lipstick of the day + mirror for touch-ups (that I never actually do… oops), my sunglasses, my camera, a bottle of water, an ipad and a scarf for churches on days I wasn’t wearing anything long. Although this is quite a lot, I could think of more things I would like to bring with me all the time, but honestly I don’t need everything at once, especially not for trips into town.

Wearing: Shirt + Skirt - H& M Heels - Sascha Sunglasses - Giorgio Armani — Wearing: Shirt + Skirt – H& M Heels – Sascha Sunglasses – Giorgio Armani

A special feature of this bag it the various ways it can be worn: the bag has different rings you can attach the handle/belt/thingy to, which means you can wear it off one shoulder, across your body, in your hand or… as a backpack. Now to be honest, I didn’t really see the point of this and it didn’t really work that well either: the bag was basically leaning on the small of my back, with the upper part out. Easiest pickpocket target ever?! On that note, the bag closes with your average “click” system (sorry, couldn’t think of a better word), where there’s a button beneath the buckle. This doesn’t seem very solid but it actually is: you need to make sure you click it in just right, and it sticks together greatly! Not that handy when you need to quickly grab something, but it feels really secure and I have never felt uneasy in public places. One thing to say on this though, is that in some situations you really need to co-ordinate how you’re going to wear this bag, as it’s big enough to be awkward in crowded places or small passages.