Bag to Basics

Blame it on Carrie Bradshaw who started the IT bag trend in Sex & The City with what was possibly the first glorified IT bag, aka the Fendi Baguette. Suddenly, bags have become as important and essential an accessories as weird outfit is to Lady Gaga.

After the Baguette went stale, its successor, the Fendi Spy Bag, hogged the limelight, until the long reigning IT Bag, the Balenciaga Motorcycle bags deck the arms of every celebrities and IT girl wannabes worldwide. Then Chanel gave their classic 2.55 a new lease of life in 2005 with the 2.55 Reissue and celebrities, socialites and the plebs alike raid the Chanel stores, wanting a piece of it. The Mulberry Alexa has been a recent IT favourite that literally turned the Mulberry around and sent their profit rising.Thus is the power of the IT bags!

Many IT bags and hefty credit card bills later, I found myself lusting after the Celine Luggage Tote in Mini Size and in red. None is available. All out of stock. Please be on the waiting list (Tsk...how vulgar!). I've heard how some people would fight over it or harass the shop assistants just to land themselves a piece. I've personally seen how a rude local socialite publicly humiliated the shop assistant for not reserving one for her. A couple of friends trawl sites after sites day-in day-out from Bergdorf, Neiman Marcus to Saks hoping to find one. Much as I'm amazed by the effort put in to scoring an IT bag, I'm equally put off by it. After all, if you devote the same amount of energy you have for the Celine to helping in a soup kitchen, there will be a hell lot less people starving. It's really just a bag, or "a piece of stitched together animal hide" that my friend Ah Meow would aptly put it.

So my operation to score the Celine Luggage Tote has been aborted. If it happens, then good, but no more searching for it. Meanwhile, to satisfy my hunger for a new bag (I haven't bought one since my Balenciaga last December),  I'm now going back to basic, exploring non-IT bags that are just as beautiful and with good craftsmanship.And here comes the French and English Confectionery - A couture accessories shop created by Cordwainer-trained designer/maker, Lucie, who specialises in handmade leather bags and shoes. All in very affordable prices.

Expertly handmade in small quantities in a secret London workshop (ohh, don't you just love anything secretive?), Lucie's bags feature clean classic lines inspired by her 1970s childhood. The designs are basic and evergreen with excellent leather and craftsmanship. I treated myself to a small yellow patent leather sling satchel with scallop edges.

The perfect weekend bag. It even holds my Kindle.

See how even the stitching is?

I love it so much! The stitches are perfect and you can see how they are carefully made with no frays. It's just the right size for all your basic essentials, perfect for the weekend when you want to go hands-free without lugging a bigger bag. The fact that it's handmade by one person makes it extra special, it's a little like the equivalent of provenance of art pieces.

If this has tickled your fancy in getting yourself one, they do have an Etsy outlet you can check out on.