Box and Go

Some of you may already be familiar with Erva’s bags.  I should be put off when I read a bio on a bag designer’s website finding excerpts like ‘as worn by Cameron Diaz, the Olsen twins’ etc etc.  It really ticks me off that a designer feels they need to justify their creations with some celebrity mentions.  Especially when Erva does indeed design very nice bags.  The design in particular that has got my mind thinking about downsizing on the bag front are these box clutches with a wonderful oversized wooden clasp and chain straps in tortoise or metal finish.  These are a selection across various seasons and I love them all, especially the shiny quilted ones (unavailable no more but NAP have a few).  Reason for the downsize?  As much as I love lugging my life in a huge sack and wading my arms in it fishing out god knows what (I have on occasions fished out items as random as eye masks, pasta, a three year old issue of Time Out and a fleece waistcoat), I have also realised the joys of carrying nothing but a debit card, my Oyster card and my keys.  Yup.  Even the mobile phone can go too if I’m already with the person I’m out with.  So in short, if a bag doesn’t really need to be functionally big, then I should make it my mission to find the smallest, most precious card and keys encasers (the word ‘bag’ is too functional seeing as carrying one is purely decorative).  It’s like small 18th century purses that serve no purpose other than to sit pretty with the dress.

Seeing as Erva may be a little out of my reach (though if these ones on Pasion for Fashion weren’t all sold out, $300 doesn’t seem overly excessive), I’ll be on the lookout for some jolly pretty encasers, something that will shame my debit card, oyster and keys because of their functionality.

8 comments

  1. Susie, I found a website that I thought you might want to check out. It has these amazing gloves with interesting shapes and volumes. I’m not brave enough to pull them off, but I thought you might be.
    http://www.glovedup.com

  4. i too dislike buying a product if – “so and so and so and so” wears them – and it does put me off certain things. But, I think the justification is that designers really need the publicity and the extra sales that this celebrity endorsment might give them.. you know, the amount of people who will take interest in something just because kate moss thinks it is cool enough.. With advertising too – Lindsay lohan put me off prada for a while – but I thought about it and it could be another example of Miucca Prada’s design sensibility of trashy/tasteless translated into coolness/fashionability no?
    going off the topic- i think you can do it though because you will never let it wear you. Susie can work it!

  5. I love Erva. Their bags are very well made and the designs are very much vintage-inspired. I have the Chain Pouchette (from Shopbop) and it’s one of my all-time favorites. The quilted box clutches are gorgeous. I highly recommend them.

  6. When you mentioned the celebrity endorsements I was like “oh no, IT bags are always ugly”, but then I scrolled down, and these are lovely.
    I should have learnt by now never to doubt your taste. -.-

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