miss b loves ...........bags

                                    

The number of bags in my wardrobe continues to grow almost as quickly as my shoe collection. This interest in bags has developed over the years and I'm just drawn to them in all their shapes and sizes. Fifty Bags that Changed the World by Design Museum was obviously the book for me...........

It describes each iconic bag which has had an impact starting with the original 1860 Gladstone red Budget Box used by dozens of
British Chancellors of the Exchequer on Budget Day........... 

......there's the carpetbag, newsboy bag, gas-mask bag and the schoolboy satchel (which seems to have had a revival - I especially like the Cambridge Satchel Company  range of sizes and colours!)

Of course the quilted  Chanel 2.55, allowing women to carry a handbag with their hands free, is featured........

.......and the bags named after celebrities....the Alexa by Mulberry, the Hermès Kelly bag...........

and of course the legendary Birkin bag........

Even the humble plastic carrier bag gets a mention! The book is full of little snippets of information.........and here are just a few.....

• The Chanel 2.55 was named after the date of its creation - February 1955 and the chain strap was inspired by the key chains that dangled from the waists of the nuns in Coco Chanel's convent school.

• The Chairman of Hermès is said to have met Jane Birkin on a plane where she accidentally dropped the contents of her Hermès datebook, complaining about its size .....and as a result the oversized Birkin bag was designed.

• In 2000 when Queen Elizabeth visited Italy, La Repubblica newspaper carried a front page story about her patent Launer handbag.

• Mulberry's founder, Roger Saul, started out designing belts and chokers for London fashion stores such as Biba and within a couple of years was supplying stores such as Bloomingdale's in New York. 

So.... I can definitely recommend this book to all bag lovers or design enthusiasts (and there are several others in the series too including - Fifty Dresses that Changed the World and Fifty Shoes that Changed the World which I reviewed here)

and finally......my bags.......clutches, totes, beach bags, shoulder bags, handbags........from the inexpensive to the occasionally extravagant ....whatever catches my eye....shall I just show you a few?......

You can't have too many sparkly clutches....and these two are my latest ones........

bobochic clutches

This Pucci tote is a great summer bag which I bought a couple of years ago....I remember being so excited to find it drastically reduced! 

and a handy holiday bag by Orla Kiely....no wonder that book caught my eye!!!

My most unusual bag must be this tiny beaded pyramid-shaped one with a cute little wrist strap, a gift bought in Hong Kong several years ago....... 

Mulberry is probably my favourite luxury brand and my Bayswater which I've had for a few years now just seems to get better with age and I know I'll use it forever!

The cutest bag is.....my macarons shopping bag already mentioned here.....

and finally..... my new black Mulberry Effie East West hobo.....an extra-special anniversary gift and another forever bag.........

On my wish list for spring.......a handy nude tote........the Tod's D-Styling Tote or the Saint Laurent Muse Two would be perfect.......

but I may just settle for this very reasonably priced calf skin one from Zara ........

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or maybe a cute satchel......

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and that would then complete my handbag wardrobe......well, maybe for a while.......... 

PS I couldn't possibly write a post on bags without including one of the most talked about bags .....the Chanel Hula Hoop Bag as seen in the Spring/Summer 2013 show. 

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'It's for the beach' Lagerfeld told the Daily Telegraph post-show. 'You need space for the beach towel. And then you can put it into the sand and then hang things on it.' 

Apparently it won't be going into production but don't despair......the mini version will be on sale in March although you may struggle to fit your beach towel in it!!

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