I chose every bag I've ever owned for being practical. This is a letter about the first one I chose because it made me smile.
Six things this quilted tote gets right that years of sensible black bags never managed, from a woman who hadn't thought about her handbag in a decade until she saw her friend's
I'm 59, I keep a neat house, and you may remember my letter about the laundry basket. So here's another confession. I've always bought handbags the way you buy a kettle. Black, sensible, a pocket for everything, and replaced only when the strap gives out. I don't think I've ever chosen a bag because I liked looking at it. Most women in New Zealand I know are the same. So this isn't a review. It's a woman who finally chose a bag for the right reason, explaining why.
The bag I'm writing about is the Sasha, from Florence Pearl, the New Zealand shop based up in Auckland since 2010 where my laundry basket came from. I first saw one on the chair beside my friend Carol at our café, and when the shop asked if they could share this letter, I said yes, as long as I could be completely honest in it.
Here's what years of sensible bags taught me. A handbag only ever does two things. It carries your things, and it disappears. Nobody ever says a word about a black tote, and I'd come to think that was the point.
I chose the curtains, the cushions and the welcome mat. The bag I carry every day, I just kept replacing.
This bag is the first one I've chosen on purpose, and after a few weeks of carrying it, here's what it comes down to.
At home on the armchair. The cat has decided it's hers too.
It's handmade, and it looks it
The quilting is soft, with a lovely handmade feel, and the black cat asleep on a stack of books, with flowers and butterflies around it, is the kind of detail you keep noticing. It feels more like a little piece of art than a handbag.
Full or empty it stands there like a little piece of furniture. The old one went out with the trash that same week.
It holds its shape
It doesn't slump into a sad heap the moment you set it down. The quilted cotton-polyester keeps its shape, day after day.
There is no bad side to show to the world. The blooming flower faces the crowd and every passerby says something.
Everything has a place
It's lined, with zip pockets inside, so my phone, glasses and keys stop playing hide and seek at the bottom.
Carried a full load of books down two flights and the handles didn't so much as strain.
It goes in the wash
Gentle cycle and it's done. My black bags never got washed in their lives, and honestly it showed.
It goes everywhere with me and gets stained all the time. A quick wipe and the flower looks brand new.
There's a size for every day
Small (34 × 40 cm) for the shops, medium (38 × 35 cm) for an outing, large (43 × 40 cm) for a day out with a cardigan and a book. Same price for all three.
A large for the weekend market and a medium for daily errands. The prettiest useful things I own.
There's one that's unmistakably you
Over 60 designs: cats, dogs by breed, sheep, Highland cows, hummingbirds, sea turtles, books and flowers. I started with one. I won't pretend that's where it ended.
Folded it flat inside my suitcase when I traveled for the weekend. Popped right back up afterward and the flower looked like nothing happened.
This bag, next to the sensible one
Nobody buys a black tote because they love it. You buy it because it's safe. Here's the difference, side by side.
About the price
Right now every size is $99.95 NZD, down from $332.95 NZD. Take two and you get an extra 15% off, three and it's an extra 20%.
A word of warning, kindly meant: they're making room for new collections, so it's heavily reduced, and once a design sells out it comes off the website and that's that. Which is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to know.
If your handbag is sensible and nothing more, this is the one I'd put in your hands myself, while the design you want is still there.
Helen
Cat Parade Laundry Basket
- Handmade patchwork: a beautiful magnolia embroidery and detailed
- Lined, with inner zip pockets
- Machine washable on a gentle cycle
- Three sizes: S 34×40, M 38×35, L 43×40 cm
- Free NZ Shipping · 30-day free returns
About the writer.
Helen Parker is 59 and lives in Queenstown, New Zealand, where she keeps a vegetable garden and a neat house. She's a customer, not a writer.