Assistance please

Do I want this bag? It is the Ymail bag I have been lusting after for infinity and it is in the sale at mytheresa.com at what is quite a reasonable price for a practically-sized YSL leather bag. But guys, it’s not the black with gold lettering…it’s the gold with black lettering. I just don’t know if I feel the same way…help. I just got some unexpected money and if it was the gold I would probably buy it as I have had too many near-misses with her, my dear Ymail.

I think I’ve answered my question during this post, and decided that gold bags just aren’t me anymore. That money should stay in the account until some hideously expensive purchase I am certain about pops up. Keep thinking: APC trench; Ferragamo flats; Miu Miu bag that isn’t gold. Okay, I am calm. I will post this ramble so you can see what happens to my brain when it comes to Ymail. I know it’s wrong but I just can’t walk away.

S

My 2009 bag lust

I have decided which bags I am going to fruitlessly desire all of this year and I’m going very simple after last year’s Ymail “address” bags, for which my heart still whimpers once in a while.

Instead, I am looking at bags which, on the deeply theoretical day when I buy them, I could then use every single day of the following three to fifteen years so it would receive as much love as it really deserves. A beautifully designed and executed leather bag that doesn’t stand and say “hullo! I am expensive.”

I’ve had my eye on various versions of this Marc by Marc Jacobs bag for almost a year and I love this new paler blue colour. I was planning to buy the dark blue when it went on sale but when I got to the shop (I was planning to buy it at Heathrow duty-free) it was sold out. Sad face. The Miu Miu bags are the perfect non-brown designs and look solid enough to deal with being my bag. I would probably buy the blue but I also love the pistachio, even though I hate pistachios.

S

Miu Miu bowling bags £680.

Marc by Marc Jacobs shoulder bag £328.

Pale & Interesting – The Oscars

As far as I could see, there were three main themes at this year’s Oscars dresses (they should have their own dedicated event):

1) Pale and interesting – Jessica Biel, Penelope Cruz, Marisa Tomei, amongst others, all rocked this look. I’ve heard a lot about soft coral salmon type pastels making their way back into our lives but I’ve managed to ignore them so far but this might be about to change. The problem is that those colours look amazing on a couture Dior gown but less so on a Benetton jumper.

Penelope Cruz in vintage Balmain

Jessica Biel in Prada

Marisa Tomei in Atelier Versace - my favourite of the night

2) Strapless – almost every dress was strapless. I love a good strapless and I think this ties into a wider theme of celebs wearing clothes that are less obviously flashy- it is no longer ok to flash your cash, so even though a bodiced dress is probably more expensive than a bejewelled one, it still makes more sense to go for the classic, subtle look. I love a bit of flashiness but I enjoyed the old school glamour of it the subtle this time.

Natalie Portman in Rodarte

Halle Berry in Marchesa

3) Recessionista/Boring – this was best seen on Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt. I guess they go to these things all the time but that’s more the pity for us poor souls who like to look at their clothes afterwards. They weren’t the only perpetrators of boring*; I didn’t even like Kate Winslet’s outfit – controversial, as I’m damn glad she finally won that Oscar, but still not digging the outfit.

Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab & Brad Pitt in Tom Ford

Kate Winslet in YSL by Stefano Pilati

* It is a given that I wish I looked like any of the above, despite whatever I say about one of their outfits.

All photos courtesy of style.com

A

Net a Porter new designers

NaP is adding new designers for this Spring and there were quite a few familiar names, plus some that remain a mystery. Some new additions:

• Theory is a label that every department store in the US sells. They do nice basics, but hopefully NaP will stock more exciting, simply executed items than I saw in the US because they were pretty boring there. I’m not spending £90 on a jersey top. Celebrity favourite Preen tags along, seen here on Leighton Meester (is everyone up to date with GG? I’m watching it after I write this!)
• Big hitter YSL, previously only patchily available on its own website, joins the NaP party. If only they had done this earlier, it would have made stalking their “address” bag easier for me, which may or may not be a good thing. Established label Etro, which I really liked on Kate Bosworth last year, will also be stocked.
• Young designers Thakoon, Christopher Kane and Kova & T (all they seem to design are leggings) show that NaP is keen to cover all bases. Jason Wu has probably been chosen because of the exposure during the inauguration.
• Victoria Beckham. ?

S

Eye Popping Brights for Spring

And when I talk about spring, I mean accessories. I love how easy it is to jazz up an existing outfit with bright accessories, and what better way to welcome spring? If I could make it spring by sheer willpower then London & I would have already cast off our boots & coats. If only.

Anyway, here’s how I’d like my handbag to look in the coming few months; filled, to the brim, with every type of acessory so I can pick and choose depending on my mood. Feeling juvenile? Then I’ll wear them all together. A

Spring 2009 Accessories

Web whispers

Why the sudden abundance of private sales websites with discount designer clothes? The somewhat more chic online versions of TK Maxx allow members to buy past-season and end-of-line clothes, bags and shoes for considerable money off. Why the sudden explosion in invites? Is the credit crunch resulting in a lot of unsold designer clothes being bought up by resellers?

While koodos.com et al have been around for a while and have occasionally tempted me, for example with a discounted YSL Y-mail bag (below), which may be the only It Bag I’ve ever really loved, I don’t quite get these sites. I’d like them to be more transparent how they go about sourcing their stock and how we can be sure it is genuine. Buying is all part of the experience for me; that’s why I prefer eBay auction to buy-it-now – where’s the thrill?

However, with job liquidation looming, I am applying my shopping brain to the Christmas Party conundrum (hey, at least I don’t have to go to a work do!) and am feeling the pain of Kingdom of Style’s unemployed doyenne. They direct you to a website dealing in Zac Posen and other well-chosen designer discounts, so it may be worth a look. Personally, I saw a nice dress in the window of Primark the other day…

S

My lost love