I had never owned a fancy evening bag.
True no longer.
For my daughter’s wedding, I wanted something to keep my phone and lipstick in and sling over my shoulder during cocktail hour, and hang on the back of my chair while I ate dinner. So here we are. I took a look at TheRealReal, where I had previously only sold some shoes I didn’t wear, and found this gold Kate bag in “Excellent” condition. Made much more sense than buying new, as I rarely need such a thing. Besides, with the tassel and that name, how could I resist;). Shoes: Malone Souliers. I like the two different golds.
But this may be more useful than I knew. Regard, with the orange Ann Mashburn. (Bag color difference is due to a lighting change.)
Cork platforms feature tiny gold specks. Perhaps pushing their limits, paired with a gold satin bag, but tiny cracks in the Appropriate never hurts. Like a style wink, essentially.
Or with my tropical Dries polo-necked shift, should we ever go back to Hualalai,
or the 14-year old black urban/bucolic Dries that remains, to this date, my most cherished piece of clothing. Faille pumps from Neous.
Now I just need to get out more. Hikes to granite-embedded lakes in the Sierra in technical pants; evenings in new cities with satin. Or such is the vision. In any case, these days I love to look into my closet whether I wear what’s in there or not. Having spent the past 16 years considering fashion and designers, not to mention the meaning of style, those hangers tell me a story I enjoy.
Me and my very big navy blue sweatpants hope you have a wonderful weekend.
38 Responses
Even if you don’t get out much an event-ready wardrobe needs an evening bag that plays nicely with whatever you’re going to wear. The next time you replace your phone you’ll need to keep the dimensions of the bag in mind so you don’t out-grow your once in a lifetime evening bag.
Aha! Good point on the phone. And I agree, it feels quite nice to have an evening bag that can take me out to any occasion.
Beautiful choice! Even better that it goes with other pieces in your wardrobe!
Thank you so much! I’ve loved the design of these bags for ages. That logo+tassel looks so so great to me. But never thought I should indulge!
My reluctance to buying the larger iPhone… it doesn’t fit in ANY of my evening bags… telling my grown son that resulted in Are you kidding me? Your photos will be better, get over it! Why don’t the Apple designers consider this serious design dilemma?
That is completely reasonable! Once one has collected a few lovely evening bags, the phone must be bought to fit the bags.
Hear, hear! I want a smaller phone next time — I have shoulder and neck pain and really dislike that my phone increases the weight of my bag so much. Truth be told, I really miss when phones were phones, cameras were cameras and small bags held all we needed, but I know that’s an unpopular opinion.
Agreed! The bag is fabulous! Can’t wait to see the final ensemble. Sadly, my aging eyes are now reluctant to give up the giant iPhone — thus, dresses with pockets have risen in wardrobe priority. Adaptation may be the new superpower.
I am guessing that few of the iPhone designers are women of a certain age who carry evening bags LOL. And priorities – I care less than the young ones about my photos, I admit, but I understand the thinking.
What a great bag! It’s a great find that brings out the best in your existing favorites, and this does so beautifully.
Thank you so much! When it arrived, and I realized it was a greenish sort of gold, I was very pleased. Adds that je ne said quoi business!
Oh, you clever girl! Your array of pictures tells a whole fashion story. But the two golds against the wisp of green chiffon – dollink, it’s to die for! You are going to look so good – understated shine, supporting and celebrating the bride, while being your own fabulous self. Your daughter is lucky to have you.
My father used to call me “Clever Girl!” Thank you so much, I feel his approval with yours:)
Nice YSL bag. The color works with many pieces in your wardrobe. Win-win!
All my bags are smaller and the only priority I have is, my phone and wallet must fit inside the bag.
Thank you! It does feel pretty win-win. I’ve stopped using a wallet, carrying a change purse for bills and a little cardholder instead. This bag has a built-in card holder, so I think that will help make it easy to find lipstick and comb if I need to.
It’s looking more and more fabulous! Dying to see the final outfit…
Love the tropical shift from Dries, a classic you can enjoy forever.
If you are considering fitting a new phone into that lovely purse:
I have a Samsung Galaxy 5 flip phone I can fit into any pocket, the dimensions collapse to teeny tiny: Unfolded: 165.1 mm (6.50 in) H 71.9 mm (2.83 in) W 6.9 mm (0.27 in) D
Folded: 85.1 mm (3.35 in) H 71.9 mm (2.83 in) W 15.1 mm (0.59 in) D.
The photos have the usual Samsung Galaxy brilliantly high quality.
I’ve wondered about the durability of the Galaxy flip phones versus the high price but will feel much more comfortable getting one due to your recommendation. Thank you, Martine!
Aw thanks! I hope these sneak peeks haven’t set expectations too high. A real person, with real fraying and goofy expressions, will be wearing all this LOL. Thanks for the recommendation for a phone. I’ve used an iPhone for so long, I don’t know if I can switch, but for a flip phone I’d be willing to at least imagine it.
A “style wink” — I love that. Especially love the gold satin with your two Dries dresses. And, of course, with your MOB dress! Hope you’re able to share a few photos with us, at least of you and the lovely bride. I don’t remember you mentioning the date of the wedding other than that it’s in September — did you? But I can sense from the tone of your writing that you do indeed feel all set now. I know it will be the best day ever. ❤
I’ve gone through my jewelry this week, letting a lot of things go. And in doing so, I found that I feel more strongly than I remembered about certain pieces — like you said, that they tell me a story. I like seeing the small collection I’ve kept. A necklace of my mom’s, another given to me by a friend’s family that I wore as a teen, more gifts from my grandmother and my mom. These in particular bring back a lot of feelings. I only kept a few necklaces, and most happen to be of lengths that look very nice layered: the tiny gold ones together; the pearls together or separate; the 925 silver ones over a turtleneck (I have terrible metal allergies like you). I haven’t worn necklaces in years — usually only earrings and a watch — but I’m thinking of changing that and wearing them again in this season of life. I’m pretty sure you got me thinking about these things by mentioning your mom’s locket last week.
I hope you have a beautiful weekend!
I am sure I’ll be able to share a couple of photos. Hope I don’t let everyone down!
I love that you spend some time with your jewelry telling its stories, and the idea of tiny layered ones, and pearls.
Aww, you can’t possibly let us down. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we just want to celebrate with you because we’re all friends here. I’ll probably be celebrating in navy blue shorts (too hot here for sweatpants) while you’re in your lovely silk organza.
Love all of that perfection. It all goes because its your eyes and style. Plus the big sweat pants!!
Thank you Queen of Beauty! Big sweat pants are one of my happy places
Those shoes! The bag, too, and yes, it looks surprisingly versatile, but those vertiginous beauties, so sexy! so classy! Yowza!
And seriously, it was 14 years ago that you bought that Dries dress? I remember that post quite clearly, and I didn’t think it was that far back in the mist (the mists are advancing?!). It’s such a great dress.
Oh thank you! The shoes feel surprisingly stable and comfortable. I’m not sure I’ll wear them again, TBH, in which case I’ll sell them forward, but they are beautifully made. And it was 14 years ago. I’m in the same mist:). Hope we can meet up again soon xo
Thank you Grande Artsy Sturdy Real Person with Fraying Goofy Expressions and Hair Journey Hair, for sharing all these advance clips with us!
I’m sure you’re going to disappear any minute for a month of devoted attention to your daughter, so am thanking you NOW!
The fact that the bag is named “Kate” just heightens the natural perfection of your choice. But the GREEEEEEEEN of your wedding dress, and the GOLLLLLLD of your shoes/bag are extraordinary! I’m so excited for you!
Don’t know when we’ll see you next, but please know we’re feeling your joy and excitement right along with you!
-F
You are so welcome! It’s my pleasure. And you are right:). Next week I plan to post a little goodbye here, and then be gone for September. Thank you for endorsing my green and golds, I know your color sense is spectacular.
I recoiled at seeing the “YSL” on the bag.
Aaaaargh! The pang of shame that went through me! Followed swiftly by, I should have written the whole post I was considering, about logos and High WASPdom. And then followed by, “that’s kind of mean,” and then by, “maybe it was with a wink to our shared background?” And then by, “ah well,” and a little shrug;)
In any case, yes, used to be I loathed a logo. Nowadays, I have a different perspective, for some logos at one end of the spectrum and some recognizable design elements at the other. But it truly would take another whole post with logic and everything to fully articulate, so will have to wait for October:).
I agree, that was kind of mean. I don’t know why I felt compelled to add my opinion, and I apologize.
It’s OK. We share a culture, and before I started writing about style my whole family would have been appalled at the logo. I remember about 14 years ago I bought a Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis bag, where the logo was embossed and almost invisible, and they were semi-aghast. It’s a really worthwhile topic, and I’ll write about how and why my attitude has shifted.
Thanks for the apology though, that’s really nice of you.
This is an interesting topic and I’ll look forward to your October post.
It’s not mean to be averse to logos oneself — the root of that is in etiquette (at least the way I learned it). It’s unkind to those with less to advertise wealth in daily life or to appear to attach undue value to it. That makes young people feel inadequate and possibly spend money they don’t have in order to assuage that. It doesn’t matter as much when at a celebratory event: people often rent their entire outfits or are there at the behest of someone who dresses them for the occasion, etc. I’m not a High WASP, just an educated Southern girl. I learned to always be prepared for a wedding, an interview, a formal dinner and a funeral so that I don’t have to scramble to find something appropriate.
Still, the visceral logo-aversion is a standard for myself and not something I apply to others, or try hard not to at least. Some people do indeed buy to boast. But I know most people just need somewhere to stash their things and it is almost impossible to find any bag on short notice that isn’t an advertisement for the designer. I still get the little recoil too, though, as though I know one day it might happen to me. :)
It would be interesting to learn if people have an aversion to logos/labels such as Levi, Carhartt, or that swoop one of the sportswear companies uses.
Family!
Husband and I were redoing a condo to quickly list for sale. Time came for appliances. We huddled. Okay, GE for the kitchen. I countered “This neighborhood calls for GE Monogram,” so off to the specialty showroom where a salesperson pounces upon entrance.
Husband walks off to bear sales pitches from “Rita,” while I find the Clearance/Discontinued section. Holy cow! There sits the gas range of my dreams, matching refrig and hood, and tags with redlines drawn through 3 descending prices!!
I summon my professional voice and find the Manager. Yes, you may have another markdown if you buy all 3 pieces.
Installed; and who comes by to visit but older brother. He SCREAMS: “How can you LIVE with those blanketyblank garish logos?”
Epilogue. We fell in love with the place, decided to keep it, are living there now, and not one day have we ever noticed the Viking logos.
That evening bag is perfection. I have a v small vintage black mock-croc handbag that I use for evenings but really, I’d much rather have a maid. To take care of all the vital little bits and pieces. Another dream goes west.
Ha;). Priorities, it’s all about priorities. Well, and dreams too. Your little bag sounds lovely.
When you write about clothing labels, you might want to consider, even include, the image of Terese Agnew’s remarkable portrait, made entirely of clothing labels, of a textile factory worker. https://www.craftinamerica.org/artist/terese-agnew/
Been away from the internets (purposefully and also travel is Sierras with limited service). Thank you for always being a lovely corner of beautiful writing and photos. I know the wedding is soon – looking forward to the final reveal but loving being part of the process. Thank you for the distraction from the political hellscape…