Of Books and Bags

Sorry for the somewhat pretentious title. I couldn't help myself because this post is about books and bags. Actually, it's about the Decatur Book Festival and tote bags made out of old Book Festival street banners.

The 2009 Decatur Book Festival isn't until Labor Day weekend, but things are gearing up for it. You can check out the author line up and event details here: www.decaturbookfestival.com. If you like books and reading and/or funnel cake, this is the festival for you. So mark your calendars.

Back to the bags. Lauren and I not only love tote bags, we also love any accessory that has a little bit of a past (recycle, reuse, woohoo!) and helps others at the same time. This is why we love Toms Shoes and why we love these Decatur Book Festival totes. Not only are they recycled street banners for previous book festivals, they're made by a Colombian refugee who just recently moved to Atlanta.

So, what starts out as this:

Photo courtsey of Lenz Marketing

Turns into this:

Pretty cool, no?

Stay tuned to the Book Festival website for details about how to get your hands on these highly covetable totes. In the meantime, check out this article in the AJC today about the project. It'll make you feel more socially conscious just reading it!

CL

Just Like New

I bought this handbag (see photo below) over a year ago at the local thrift and used it everyday for about a month. Then the straps started detaching from the purse (damn it all!). I tried to sew them back on, but even with a mammoth sewing needle, I could barely punch through the layers of leather. So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of - I shoved it in the back of my closet hoping that it would magically repair itself.

About a month ago I started shopping around for a nice black purse when I remembered two things:
1.) I didn't really have money for a nice black purse and
2.) I had a thrifted leather handbag (without attached straps) crumpled in a corner behind my shoes.

I brought the handbag to the local shoe repair place where the owner raised an eyebrow at my pathetic sewing attempts (I turned bright red and pretended like I didn't know what she was pointing at). She ended up replacing the four leather tabs that connect the straps to the purse. It set me back $24, which is a lot better than buying a brand new purse that wouldn't be nearly as nice as my newly refurbished one.

Catherine: one
Conspicuous consumption: zero


Outfit details: H&M hat, cardi and tank, Zara vest, pants from Rockit in Decatur.

CL

Made in India

A few weeks ago I went to Miami for a brief (and very random) few days. One of my finds was this faux-coral studded purse/box from Luna Designs: a store specializing in belly-dancing attire and fashion/accessories from India.

It wasn't just the metal and coral that drew me in, it was the success of a fashion bargain that left me beaming. You see, two hours before stumbling on to Luna Designs, I had dragged my poor bf to Zara. I spent a few minutes drooling over a purple studded purse-box (that looked exactly the same as my Luna bag), but convinced myself that $88 was just too steep. The fashion gods were feeling generous and let me pay only $35 for mine at Luna Designs. Ah sweet, sweet victory (I'm genuflecting right now).

P.S. If coral is not your thing, they also had a purple one (a la Zara) and another with turquoise. They don't have these specific purses on line, but I would just drop Luna Designs an email and give the fashion gods a nod.