Wednesday, November 21, 2007

More Palatable Arm Candy

The Budget Fashionista (see post below) recommends that you "outline with expensive and colour in with cheap." She makes an interesting point:

For example, if you're carrying a $1,000 Christian Dior bag, it doesn't matter if you're wearing a jogging suit from K-Mart--people will assume you're wealthy because of the bag.


Perhaps.
Maybe I'll just think she spent waaaay too much money on a bag--or I'd assume it's fake.
Whatever.

In the spirit of "outlining" with expensive, I offer you these tote bags (remember I said I wanted one?) as my own personal selections from bluefly. (I looked at 784 tote bags. These I liked. Can you guess which one is my favourite? The prices quoted are from their site. By the by, these are sale prices. )

As I perused, I was bemused: when did handbags become luggage?

Update: I finally went through and checked out some of the comments. Yay! Practical suggestions--and I finally went and looked at those links from Zooza. You know what? I would actually rather try and make my own tote bag. I don't want to broadcast "expensive and classy," I'd much rather broadcast "crafty and classy." Thanks for the bump back to reality!

4 comments :

drwende said...

Maybe I'll just think she spent waaaay too much money on a bag--or I'd assume it's fake.

Yup. I always assume the jogging-suit-with-pricey-bag ladies spend all their time sitting in front of the TV, shopping QVC for bargains and stuffing themselves with Cheetos, since they clearly don't know how to dress to go out in public. (And I don't assume that about everyone who's badly dressed -- just the Bag Ladies!)

You're far better off having people assume you're a creative person who spends your time with a sewing machine! (Assuming they think anything more complex than, "Oh, pretty bag, pretty fabric!")

scb said...

What Wende said.

If I bought an expensive tote bag like that, I wouldn't have any money left to buy anything to tote in it...

I'm not sure about some of the advice that budget fashionista is giving...

(I'm also not sure which is your favorite of those bags. Either # 3 or # 4?)

I think you could make yourself a much nicer and more useful totebag, and still have money left to buy groceries.

drwende said...

Kathryn will be insulted again, but I see the author of that book as one of the people whose advice discourages many women from looking our best.

Once you've been told that you "need" a handbag that costs more than your mortgage payment... do you get excited and go shopping? Or do you sigh, figure "fashion" is out of reach in your life, and go back to schlepping the same old bag? (Or do you figure the whole fashion game is silly and continue to buy basic black on sale?)

The problem is, no one other than a 24-year-old fitness instructor looks good in a jogging suit regardless of accessories, whether the suit came from K-Mart or Juicy Couture. Most women's money would be better spent replacing the jogging suit with casual pants and a casual top in a Joyous Color. If people are focused on your face and thinking that you're looking healthy and happy, they're NOT pricing your handbag.

scb said...

Right on, Wende!!!

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