Gimme Some Skin

(Image via Anya Hindmarch)

I know you must think that I am always falling in love willy nilly at any hot pair of shoes or flirty little dress that I lay eyes on. But it's not true, I promise. I'm not as easy as that. Honest.

When it does happen I know. My pulse races. My palms getting sweaty. A blush steals on to my cheeks. My mouth forms a shy smile. I do those Diana eyes. I giggle girlishly and play with my hair.

And it happened to me today. When I saw this. Isn't it heaven? I want it so badly I can hardly see. It is made of leather, python and the central panel is shagreen, or the skin of a stingray. Isn't that awesome?

Andy Pandy

(Image via Hobbs)

Isn't it a bore/stroke of luck when you buy one item and it necessitates the purchase of another?

I love my Hobbs parka, but it just looks wrong with my red handbag. It has always been a pet hate of mine when you see a woman around the shops wearing a fleece or all weather jacket with a smart leather handbag. Those are just two things that are not meant to meet.

And my smart red leather shoulder bag and parka seems similarly heinous in my mind. So I've been carrying a very old Hennes brown canvas bag instead. But I don't think it really communicates the message I want to portray. And obviously I am me and I want to buy something new.

So to this. The NW3 Andy bag by Hobbs.

I love that it is cross body. So that while it is black leather and smart it also just about crosses into casual and so doesn't glaringly clash with the parka.

It is small and so I won't be tempted to carry around all my worldly possessions as I am want to do.

It is about a quarter of the price of the Anya Hindmarch cross body bag that I was lusting after.

So my question to you is... do any of those points justify a purchase?

Swap Shop

(Via River Island)

What about this as an alternative to the Russel & Bromley beauty that is too expensive? It is a tenth of the price and that is a fraction I could get excited about. But it is tiny. And you know how much I like to lug around a lot of pointless crap...

The search for a cross body bag is becoming a bit pressing as I want to wear my lovely COS cape and a shoulder bag just will not do in this situation.

I have seen a couple of young ladies struggling to reconcile a shoulder bag with a cape and I'm sorry to say, but it just can't be done. Bunching and gaping do not make for an attractive look, and I refuse to do that to myself.