Trends

The return of the mini satchel

 in Handbags / Trends  tagged fall 2019 / satchels / summer 2019 by

shore projects watch

They’re baaaa-aaack! Did you miss them? Or were you like me; a little bit relieved that bags got bigger so you could carry more stuff? Yeah, mini bags got old fast. So why in the world are they back? Perhaps they never actually went away. . .

While mini bags had their hey-day a few years back, many handbag fans could never jump on the trend. The mini bag requires a special kind of handbag connoisseur. One who only carries lipstick, a small set of keys, and a smaller smart phone. If you attempt to carry a wallet, sunglasses, or any other common purse essential in your handbag, the mini satchel would not allow it. It was quite unforgiving!

When bags crept up in size, taking us back to small and medium sizes, the mini satchel appeared to disappear into oblivion; until now. For some reason, there have always been hold-outs. Despite the size of handbags getting back to a more practical size, many handbag fans have stood their ground and continued to defy logic by carrying around teeny, tiny, little bags that often-times look like they would refuse a small set keys!

Designers and brands aren’t dumb, they can see a potential market. They figured out there were enough mini bag holdouts walking the streets to sustain a comeback. Boy, are they all making a comeback! Don’t get me wrong, I love a comeback story, but mini bags? Worse, mini-satchels? The structure of the satchel makes the bag harder to get into than a mini cross body bag with a nice zipper, or a mini hobo bag and the like. Satchels are often narrow at the top, right where your hand needs to reach for something. It’s a great way to chip nail polish, scratch your hand on a zipper, or become frustrated from the annoying mini opening of your mini bag. So much mini! Ugh!

Don’t get me wrong, mini bags have their place, perhaps even, the mini satchel. But, and this is a big but, there isn’t anything practical about a mini satchel. They seem ornamental to me. The only time I find a mini satchel practical is if I am dressed up for a special occasion and don’t need to carry sunglasses, car keys, or a wallet. When that is the case, the mini satchel needs to be dressy, if not formal. For those types of occasions, I tend to reach for a formal bag. Is it just me? Am I the only one who feels like one’s hand should fit inside one’s bag? Am I the only one that wants to fit my wallet in my purse?

It should be interesting to see if the mini satchel makes as big of a comeback on the streets, as it has on store shelves at this very moment.

What are your thoughts on the mini satchel trend? Is this a trend you enjoy wearing? Or are you like me, and you demand a bit more space inside your bags?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Best pre-fall 2019 handbags

 in Handbags / Shopping / Trends  tagged fall 2019 by

pre fall 2019 handbags

The best Pre-Fall 2019 handbags from top left: black tote bag (under $400!!) / lady bag with lock (hot new IT bag) / navy shoulder bag (on my wish list!) / reinvented Marcie bag (also on my wish list!) / Christian Louboutin tote bag / brown structured lady bag /

We have not even entered the summer season, and stores are already stocking pre-fall 2019 handbags for us to covet! I always look at the pre-fall season as a glimpse into the upcoming fall season, and what store buyers will likely be stocking their shelves with.

This pre-fall 2019 season, we are seeing medium shades of brown, more structure to handbag silhouettes, less logos (thank you!!), and classic styles; such as the lady bag reinvented.

Chloe seems to be taking inspiration from old IT bags in it’s archives, and creating new styles for the pre-fall 2019 handbag season. I spy a Paddington inspired padlock on the new lady bag pictured above, and the Marcie has been transformed into an east/west lady bag with some randomly placed circle hardware on the top handle-I don’t know why, but I love it-despite the random hardware placement!

Handbags for the pre-fall 2019 season seem to be sleeker, and more timeless, than we have seen in the past few seasons. I love how logos are heading back onto the clasp of the handbag, instead of being splashed all over it. With the exception of Christian Louboutin’s tote bag, somehow that large cursive logo just looks right. Hmmmmmm

I could use a navy bag in my collection, and a medium brown bag would be amazing too. The new Marcie is speaking to me, as well as every lady bag I have placed my eyes on. Someone hide my wallet-stat!

Shop pre-fall 2019 handbags online:

Which pre-fall 2019 handbags are your favorite? What do you think of the return to the anonymous, sleek and classic handbag for pre-fall 2019 season?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Tie dye for spring 2019

 in General Fashion / Trends  tagged runway trends / spring 2019 / tie dye by

spring 2019 fashion trends tie dye trend

Spring 2019 fashion trends tie dye trend from top left: rainbow tee / maxi dress / 1970 style tie dye tee / retro style tie dye tee / self tie skirt /

Despite the fact that the 1980s and 1990s dominated the spring 2019 runways, there was one huge trend from the late 1960s, and bulk of the 1970s, that sprinkled the runways in New York, Paris, Milan and London; tie-dye. That’s right! Our childhood summer camp activity is currently high fashion. It’s time to grab our Grateful Dead records, dust off our turn-tables, and peace out in tie-dye.

Out of all the spring 2019 fashion trends, tie-dye is the most fun. You can buy white clothing or accessories and host a tie-dye party at your house, where you can create your new spring wardrobe; or you can attend summer camp and make your own designs while enjoying nature! Or, you can be like most of us who will purchase something with a tie dye design from the store. 😉

Tie-dye for spring 2019 is being found on everything you can imagine. Designers didn’t limit the hippie print to tee’s. You can rock your colorful tie-dye, or two-tone tie-dye, on any article of clothing or accessory your heart desires. There are tee’s, skirts, jackets, pants, dresses, jumpsuits, shoes, scarves, handbags; you name it!

For the spring 2019 season, I am eyeing both dresses and skirts with tie-dye prints on them. I already did the tie-dye tee thing in the 1970s and 1980s. This time around, I think it would be fun to rock tie-dye on something unexpected; and to me, anything other than a traditional tee is unexpected.

The tie-dye trend is reminiscent for me. I was a small child in the 1970s and I grew up in Marin County. We had a ton of hippies in Marin, and they turned into aging hippies in the 1980s; which was the decade where I spent the bulk of my childhood. We had hippies everywhere. There were people in tie-dye driving bugs and hippie vans all over the place. While my family was conservative, seeing a hippie trend does take me back to my childhood; which was peaceful and fun. I love a trend that sparks happy memories!

Shop the tie-dye trend for spring 2019:

What do you think of the tie-dye trend? Is this something you plan to wear? If so, which type of clothing do you plan to rock the tie-dye trend in?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy