January 2013: Mimi sale!

Mimi's having a sale. 

Maximum Elsie, in navy, is the one I have my eye on - it's large enough for A4, and all the other bits and pieces you need for the day:

 Inside it, I would keep my Cyril Metallic purse

And this Kindle case in camel

 

Plus the kitchen sink

 

Travel essentials: Brady satchel and Susannah Hunter purse

Now that I have come back to earth with a bump, and September is well and truly underway, I thought I'd share you with some travel essentials: Brady Maclaren satchel and Susannah Hunter daisy purse.

I first saw the Brady Maclaren satchel on ASOS when searching for a suitable satchel - I wanted to find something similar but different to the Chapman bags that I have come across.  I liked it for its simplicity and dimension: a generous sized 'handbag' for the aeroplane; a good sized bag for daily use while traveling around California. A quick search revealed this bag is sold by a number of companies that specialise in outdoor / country pursuits (huntin', shootin', fishin') - a range of prices, most lower than via the Brady website itself.

Key facts: Brady was established in 1887; they make a range of game and fishing bags, many of the styles dates to the 1930s and 40s. If you like a bag with  plenty of pockets, the Brady satchel is not for you as it does not have the pleated front pockets that many of these game / fishing bags have (so handy for gun cartridges etc) - there is just one internal zip pocket.  But this is large enough for storing all precious items that must not swill around the bottom of the bag.

The bags are handmade in Walsall out of top quality canvas, brass buckles and English bridle leather. The canvas seems to have magical properties and repels stains; the grease spot that I feared would forever be a reminder that eating eccles cakes while on the hoof is bad for the health of me and my bag, seemed to disappear. 

My other travel essential this summer was my Susannah Hunter daisy purse which I have had for ages.  Despite being quite small (a large sized postcard) it's possible to pack a lot into it - which of course I didn't hesitate to do. Make-up, hairclips, jewellery, front door key, oyster card were all stuffed in. This particular size of purse doesn't appear to be available anymore - but the zip clutch is similar.

today: Mimi Berry, Sophia & Matt, Quadrille notebooks

Yellow satchel by Mimi Berry, pencil case by Sophia &  Matt, and Liberty print notebook from Quadrille (available via Amazon).

real buckles, not magnets, are the best

 Sophia and Matt pencil case in metallic leather

Quadrille  notebook with Liberty print

Yellow

I love this colour.

Yellow Harris tweed satchel, £105 from Breagha

Tumeric Diamante clasp purse, £38 from Emma Burton

Jane de Bono Penny Sunflower leather purse £25.50

Yellow leather Kindle cover by Little Red Designs, £46

Music satchel / case / bag to put your sheet music in: Cambridge Satchel Company, Matt Fothergill, Mimi

My daughters' tootling on the recorder hardly justify splashing out on music bags, but these are nice - and could be used as work bags, if only for flat-ish things.
Cambridge Satchel Company (so popular that your Christmas order must be with them by...erm... tomorrow) says a laptop computer could fit into theirs...yours for £73.

Cambridge Satchel Company - (chic and more interesting than black) navy music bag

Matt Fothergill's music satchel is more pricey (£149) but leather looks softer and stitching looks nice.

Matt Fothergill music bag

The one I want is Mimi's Beau, new for AW10 and inspired by a music bag, and costs a lot more than I can find in the girls' piggy banks (even though the going rate for the Tooth Fairy is £1 per tooth; there has been massive inflation since the 1970s). £360.

Mimi Beau bag, music satchel inspired, lovely tan colour

One can dream.

back to school

School term started today; why did I wait so long to order my lovely new (navy) satchel from the Cambridge Satchel Company? I've been cyberstalking it for months. Huge demand so that the Back to School look may have to wait until October (which will give me long enough to wonder why I chose navy instead of red).

I'll have to make do in the meantime with my classic Elsie satchel from Mimi (one of my absolute favourite shops on Cheshire Street, off Brick Lane). The yellow is gorgeous, but I'm not sure about off-setting it with brown beige grandad cardi as pictured here; it looks v good with dark grey and navy.