I've been reading the fashion press long enough to realize that about every month or so, I'm going to run into yet another essay about women and their shoes.So I'm not going to bore or insult you with rehashing the same old points--at least, not at length. Yes, women love shoes. Yes, they're easy to shop for. Yes, you can gain or lose a bunch of weight and they'll still fit.
But here's something else to think about.
If your feet are easy to fit and cooperative, you can go to town with shoes. My 87-year-old mother wears some of the wildest heels you've ever seen. You'll see her at a New Year's Eve party wearing turquoise patent leather sandals with four-inch heels. I love that she wears them, and I pray God I inherited her feet. They're working fine--she has a healthy arch, and no diabetes, bunions or other problems.
But if I don't end up with my mother's feet, I have my strategy all worked out. Because what else is easy to shop for, comes in all kinds of styles, updates an outfit like nobody's business, and works no matter if you've gained or lost 20 pounds? Bags.
Lately I've been a little obsessed with cross body bags. I carried them in the 1980s and early 1990s and loved them. So now that they're back in style, I've been looking for a luggage-colored leather cross body bag. Not too formal. Sort of satchel-ly. To sit right at my hip, with an outside pocket or two at hand for me to flip open so I can grab what I need.
I found it on the Top Shop website. It's $65.00. It's not leather, but so what? I'll tell everyone it's vegan. I think--I hope--it'll be insanely practical. And it will update everything I wear.
My point? Shoes aren't the only accessories that can update your wardrobe in an angst and Spanx-free manner. So think about it. We all carry a bag--is yours lackluster or dated? I'm not saying you have to rush out and buy the latest "it" bag, but if you're in the market for a new one, why not get one that's on-trend?
Shoe image courtesy of Amanda Clark
No! Not the cross-body bags! Nothing makes a prominent bust even more so than those dastardly things!
ReplyDeleteHobo bags for me, thanks...
I can't help it! I blew out my right shoulder in graduate school, and now it's either a hand-held tote or a cross-body bag.
ReplyDeleteAlas, when you get to middle age, life is nothing but compromise.
p.s. Also I hate hobo bags. I can never find anything in their deep black recesses.
Lol! I don't really like the cross bodies either. I have three HUGE hobo-like bags. What those things carry is nothing short of obscene. I'm constantly wrecking nails (and getting hangnails) scrummaging around in the corners to find something I swore I put in the inside pocket...usually headache pills of some sort. Sometimes I long for those "mini bags" from the late 60s.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a new bag (or dyed old bag)is a great way to update your look, along with boots and a new hairstyle (which I'm getting today. Woo!)
LOVE cross-body bags! I have narrow, sloping shoulders which means constant fiddling and holding and adjusting of a shoulder bag. Most of the time that's not a big deal but I adore cross-body bags for shopping, day trips, any situation where I want my stuff at hand and my hands free.
ReplyDeleteI splurged on a new, red, leather Tignanello shoulder bag in January. It's not cutting edge, fashion-wise, but it's slouchy and it's cute...and it's red! (And I don't give a fig about whether or not it matches my shoes.)
I vote yes.
ReplyDeleteI need a bag with "a place for everything". I love a bag with at least a dozen separate compartments.
ReplyDeleteMy job has dress code of black, white and tan. My POP of color is a purse in a bright color. My favorites are red and bright pink. My new black one has bright lime green piping.
Handbags are the bane of my existence. I know what I want - the classic Coach saddle leather City Bag, which can be, I believe, a cross-body bag. Do I have $300 for one though? Uh, no. I keep checking TJ Maxx and Marshall's for something similar but they seem to have fallen prey to the logo/bling/fringe epidemic. So for now, I have an ancient leather satchel that I haul stuff around in but it's really on its last legs.
ReplyDelete