Bag Lady: Spring Styles

Spring and consequent warmer climes require a different handbag altogether. No more does my hefty black tote seem appropriate. I don’t know about you, but I long to be skipping over corn fields with a small pastel number swinging freely from my shoulder. Of course my multitudinous array of possessions forbid me from forming a joyous relationship with a tiny bag. But there must be some way of finding a middle ground? And find it I shall.

This Zara number is a delight – it has the depth to be useful (i.e. carry more than a handful of coins and a Mars bar) yet the daintiness of a bag half its size. A little more unusual is this braided leather beauty, again from Zara. Neat yet fairly spacious and my very favourite shade of peachy pink.

Alternatively, if you like to embrace homegrown accessories I recently stumbled across UK leather brand Brit Stitch after seeing some gorgeous bags scattered across the Instagram feeds of a number of lovely bloggers. On further investigation I discovered Brit Stitch have a beautiful range of handmade leather goodies in a plethora of shades and sizes. I have a particular soft spot for this heart adorned shoulder bag which is crying out to be paired with a white dress and some sunshine. Speaking of sunshine, a little lemon yellow never goes amiss when spring has sprung and this mini satchel is the perfect shade.

Rather charmingly the Brit Stitch history started with a milkman in 1967 who required a leather cash bag. Craftsman Peter Jones obliged and the story started there. You can’t say that about a Topshop bag, can you? This also neatly explains the milk inspired naming of the styles, ie. full pint, half pint, mini milkman, milk token, etc. I need one of these in my life urgently and I’d suggest a browse if you’re that way inclined.

Pleasingly it seems that there are spring bags out there that straddle dainty and practical. Although I may still need to have a spring clean where the contents of my handbag are concerned…