Every September when school supplies go on sale and the media begin covering the changing of the seasons in other parts of the country, I sit in my shorts and flip flops and dream about the one perfect pair of Fall boots. Next to the slingback, boots have my heart in the world of footwear. If I were a shoe designer, I’d specialize in boots. Now, granted the leaves won’t really change colors so dramatically and we’ll probably still wear our flip flops with our “winter” clothes well into December here in LA, this first month of the last quarter of the year just gets me in the mood for some boots hunting.
And this year, I actually happened along this Chanel pair while waiting for a friend of mine to meet me for lunch.
My first thought was, hmmm, gaucho boots. Perfect for walking around the Argentinian pampas! Cute concept but perhaps a bit mad once on the legs?
When my lunch date, S, arrived, we discussed the boots. They’re a big investment, so we discussed some more. We even went to try them on in black at another boutique. Funny, but in black lambskin they look totally different, more equestrian and less cowboy. S knew I was falling for the cowboy so we visualized some outfits with a few of my bags…and now that the boots are here, these photos are for her:
Actually, I think these boots would look really nice over a faded pair of skinny blue jeans, extra starched white shirt, man’s gold watch, and a Balenciaga Day bag. These boots scream for a slouchy bag–if only I had one in the same color as the boots… 
Tags: Balenciaga, Chanel, pampas
From the Grand Canyon we overnight in Vegas then get a fresh start back to California the next day. Before we leave Nevada, however, we make a quick pit stop at the touristy Ethel M chocolate factory (maker of the famous M&Ms). If you’re traveling with two Belgians whose country is rather known for their chocolate, wouldn’t you feel a bit intimidated?
Nah! Turns out we’re all kids in a candy store…
especially when they give out samples at the end of the tour,
which is a really sneaky trick to get us into the gift shop…
I can’t resist the dark chocolates, and my behind will pay for it! Sigh. Want another shot of that Balenciaga bag I mentioned yesterday? The color of the bag is called galet, and it’s not the most utilitarian color for the road but I’ve never been able to resist a gray bag. Or dark chocolate. But at least with such a big bag I could hide the aforementioned behind!
Besides the chocolate hit, this factory actually has a rather cool (supposedly one of the world’s largest) botanical cactus garden with over 300 species of plants, from cacti to succulents…
I’m inspired to create my own cactus garden. Anyway, from here it’s a long, long drive to our next destination. Here are a few shots taken from the road:
After crossing big towns…
and small ones…
we finally arrive:
Any guesses as to where I am?
Tags: Balenciaga, California, Ethel M chocolate factory, galet, Grand Canyon, Nevada, Vegas
Isn’t it sometimes the case that the most precious thing you seek is right there in your own backyard? I don’t mean the money tree you’re watering and feeding while saving up for that perfect handbag. Or the infinity pool designed by you and coveted by your neighbors. What I do mean is the gift from nature that’s sort of right here in my backyard…er, a couple of states over.
This is such a huge country that crossing state lines takes many hours…
lots of stretches of desert sand and cacti…
and odd sightings of open air museums and random pit stops…
and ominous signs inside pit stops (I know you road warriors are laughing at me, but this city girl is scared of any restroom that has any kind of warning)…
till you reach one of the true wonders of the world, Arizona’s Grand Canyon:
We only manage to visit a tiny fraction of the national park’s South Rim on a glorious, sunny day. And already I’m planning to come back for a whole week of hiking through this park when there are more daylight hours. I can’t wait to ride a mule down the canyon or take a helicopter flight through its valleys. Standing high atop the canyon, I would give anything to be a bird for one day and soar over its cliffs…
What took me so long to get here? But better late than never. I can’t wait to return. Btw, I love this Balenciaga men’s day bag I’ve been using on this trip as seen in this photo–the Bal leather makes the perfect travel companion!
I could stay here forever,
but the next stop awaits us on our road trip,
and by sundown we are already dreaming of new discoveries.
Tags: Arizona, Balenciaga, Grand Canyon, South Rim
1. No vintage bags.
2. No lambskin bags.
3. No children-sized bags.
Those have been my longstanding rules in collecting bags. However, there’s an exception to every rule.
Now, you’ve seen me drag a Gucci bag across the Sahara and a Balenciaga through the snow, so you must know the road does not make a friendly companion to more precious bags, particularly the Chanel kind. So in anticipation of this summer’s trek that will involve planes, trains and automobiles, I found a couple of mini flaps that I believed would be more suitable for traveling.
This first one, a quilted, semi-circle goody from the 80s, was a no-brainer purchase since the price was just too good to resist. It has been lovingly broken in yet immaculate on the inside, so I know it will be perfect for sweltering, rainy, or any other kind of day when I don’t want to carry the Hermes I posted about the last time.
The chain is not quite long enough to wear it messenger style, but the lambskin is supple enough to hold a lot more than expected. They sure don’t make bags like this anymore! Here’s an action shot of it on some random street in Antwerp (more about this in the next entry):
It’s also a great size to double as an evening bag. I suppose after this trip the bag will get sent in for “spa services” and hopefully it will come out looking even better than ever. But the one bag from a seller in the UK is the one I had written about before I left LA…
When I finally picked it up here and saw it in person for the first time, I was hooked. How is it possible that I never gave these vintage bags a second look simply because they were not made…like yesterday?
This particular bag is probably over 15 years old and yet it looks like it’s been held maybe twice. It is in better shape than some display bags I’ve seen at the Chanel boutiques. I can wear it messenger style, by the arm by doubling the chain, or in the hand as a clutch if I hide the chain. And you know, all those lovely ladies I see around Europe in their vintage Chanel bags that show a whole spectrum of wear and tear…I’m starting to become a believer that there’s an amount of charm–a je ne sais quois if you will–to carrying bags that show as much life lived in them as in the faces of the women who wear them. If every laugh wrinkle on my face records some fantastic memory from a trip, then why not carry a lambskin bag that will witness and commemorate those memories as well?
So those are my reasons for breaking the first two rules. As for the last, I’d like to think that by carrying a smaller bag that may look more like a full-sized bag on say, a ten-year-old, I will save my shoulders from the weight of a jumbo-sized classic flap (you gals know what I mean here!). The smaller the bag, the less temptation there is to fill it up with unnecessary things that we women like to schlepp around on a daily basis.
PS: I guess this means I brought 3 bags on this trip. And yes, also an extra pair of sneakers .
Tags: Antwerp, Balenciaga, Chanel, Hermes, vintage bag
We’re just days away from Memorial Day (May 31 to be exact) and all you fashionistas know what that means here in this country, right? Yep, the summer sale is about to break! So the last week I’ve been emailing, texting, and even calling my favorite stores with my wish list to see if I could get a jump on any goodies. I sounded so congested (read: sick) on the phone that I think it worked to my advantage. They really wanted to cheer me up with the usual suspects–Chanel, Missoni, Louboutin–and retail therapy is much better than any prescribed drug. It’s also no secret that a good couture sale is like your wedding day. You can be hungover, sick, exhausted, or just not feeling it, but you still have to do it. And hey, when the sale associate calls to say that she has your “dream” shoes at 60% off, do you want to sleep or do you try to fake looking human, drive cross-town, suppress your cough attacks, and drag your almost lifeless body up the stairs to get to the shoe department on the second floor? But enough about my experience at the winter sale earlier this year.
I’ve written about how tough the shopping has been this year with lower inventory across the board at all upscale stores. Given the lower supply, the demand has been that much more competitive, especially when you wear tiny sizes, which stores don’t seem to buy a lot of in general anyway. It’s a good business strategy, fashion economics 101 as it were. But that’s rough news for us fashionistas in rehab to be recessionistas.
I’m crossing my fingers that some must-haves from my wish list will be found on sale and if so, I’ll post pics here. The thrill of the chase is definitely fun for a fashion hunter like me, but because it’s been such a tough season, I think the reward will be sweeter than before. I love me a good chase!
Wait, what did you say? Oh, that pic at the top? No, not a sale item, unfortunately, but it’s the Balenciaga motorcycle bracelet in anthracite. It reminded me of an elephant I rode in Thailand and I couldn’t resist.
Tags: Balenciaga, Chanel, Louboutin, Memorial Day, Missoni
