Bags of Blog

Wandering around Manhattan is always interesting, made even more so by the unique and totally fantastic shopping streets, one of which is Elizabeth Street in the Nolita (North of Little Italy) neighbourhood.

After a good few hours of shopping, we were getting hungry and a vibrant place at the top of Elizabeth Street called Tacombi caught our eyes. We were very lucky to get a table because, as soon as we sat down, the lunch-time queue formed outside the ‘restaurant’ - if you can call it that. It was more a large warehouse, with a 1960’s Volkswagen campervan in the middle serving fantastic Mexican food (slider style) – some favourites were the crispy fish tacos and ‘corn esquites’.

Not only was this place interesting because of the friendly vibe, authentic theming and great food but, as many of the Vida Vida leather bags are handmade in Mexico, I found the colourful and simple patterns extremely inspiring. As well as this, New York is definitely on trend, mixing two new food crazes in London that have really taken off; Mexican food and Truck food.

Burritos in particular have taken over London recently. With hundreds of different places including Chilango, The Flying Burrito and Wahaca now filling our streets you really can’t turn a corner without the lovely smell of tacos surrounding you. My favourite of the lot, although all are tasty, is probably Chipotle, which after being established in 1993 in the USA came to Europe three years ago and is definitely the most natural fast food you will find on Baker Street.

The other yummy if not slightly unusual craze is fast food from trucks. Probably due to the amount of music festival trucks with delicious food including perfect corn, proper pie and mash and real burgers which have gained popularity, firstly over the summer at festivals, and later on around London. You can also find mouth-watering meatballs from the Bowler, exotic ice-cream from La Griotta or Mexican Street food from Luardos. Track the trucks whereabouts online at www.luardos.co.uk, @thebowleruk or kitty@lagrottaices.com.

You will find this fantastic food stalls are cheaper than most places, yet the food is generally tasty and organic, and who wouldn’t want to sit by the side of a truck in British Summer now the sun has finally arrived? (It was sunny when I wrote this – honest!)

I wrote an article some months ago sharing my dismay at Chanel’s misbranding of their ‘satchel bag’ (which was not even nearly a satchel!), and so while I was revisiting their A/W12 collection I was very surprised to find that lo and behold, Chanel had tried the satchel again. More surprising than this, was the fact that they had actually done my favourite bag justice.   As far as satchels go, I am quite traditional and I think the best satchels are made with proper leather and classic style in mind. Saying this, Chanel’s satchel was quite good in my books, if not a little too busy for my liking.   I thought, for the purposes of fashion (and hopefully for your entertainment), I would compare and contrast the Chanel ‘satchel’ with one from Vida Vida (below):   [caption id="attachment_147" align="aligncenter" width="445"] Separated at birth? Chanel and Vida Vida[/caption]   The most obvious difference is the material; Chanel’s bag is made of burgundy leather, which is quilted (oh, how original Chanel!) and rimmed with a lighter, shinier edge, unlike the beautiful suntanned brown leather of the Vida Vida bag, which has a subtle edge that is barely visible. Chanel uses a smooth and consistently tanned leather in contrast to the more relaxed vintage look of our leather which has different tones of gorgeous, rich brown.   Then comes the handle; both Chanel and Vida Vida have metal hoops to link the handle and the satchel, but that appears to be the only similarity between the two. Chanel have used a thick metal chain, whereas Vida Vida have kept the traditional sturdy leather strap, and also kept the top handle small while Chanel made theirs larger, and more like the handle for a handbag.   There is also the discussion of the shoulder strap; Chanel’s is made of the same leather as the detailing on the edge of the bag and the buckle straps, is adjustable and can be detached from the bag itself, so this satchel is more of a handbag.  Vida Vida on the other hand have a thick, brown leather strap which stays attached to the bag constantly, but also has a buckle to adjust the length of it.   Another difference is the design in the front of the bag; Vida Vida’s satchel has the traditional front pocket with the buckled strap in the same material. Chanel’s does not have a front pocket, but a panel, made in an entirely different material to the rest of the satchel. This panel also includes the iconic Chanel ‘CC’ lock.  Also, Vida Vida’s straps have real buckles to do up the bag, whereas Chanel’s buckles are fakes with poppers underneath.   Finally, what I think is the most important difference, the price; Chanel = £750+    Vida Vida = £75-£90 (depending on size)   So, if you do not have £750 or more to spend, then please take a look at these lovely (understated and traditional) ladies leather satchels.

“Nellie the Elephant packed her trunk And said goodbye to the circus Off she went with a trumpety-trump Trump, trump, trump”   I was recently revisiting some of my old favourite songs (for my son, Herbie, of course) and after thinking about Nellie and her departure from life at the circus, I couldn't help but wonder; why did she pack a trunk?!   I know that an old-fashioned trunk looks lovely and Nellie already has a trunk of one kind but I struggle to understand how an elephant can walk around with a wooden chest balancing on (excuse the pun) her trunk!   If only she could have bought herself a lovely Vida Vida Leather Weekend Bag before she ran away; then at least she could have hooked one of comfortable straps or handles around her enlarged nose.  She would then found it much easier to leave. In fact, maybe she wouldn't have made such a ‘trumpety-trump’ as she walked away!

I am not huge on designer bags. I have nothing against them, I just feel like they are too expensive to enjoy.  As a result I do not have many (except for the occasional impulse-buy at the sales!), I prefer to window shop (or late night web shop I think it should now be called).   It was during one of these online sessions that I came across a page talking about a ‘Chanel Satchel’. Given that I am satchel mad, I was intrigued. How were they going to renovate the old-school design to give it that modern, designer edge, but keep that retro look?   My anticipation grew as the picture was loading; would I be compelled to buy this bag?   [caption id="attachment_99" align="aligncenter" width="300"]        Apparently this is a satchel - er, no, it's not![/caption]   But instead of delight at the picture I was now staring at, disappointment flooded me. Chanel had not designed a satchel. It was merely a tote with a flap to shut it. No outer pockets, no strong edges, not even a sturdy top handle; it was just a leather handbag (albeit one made by Chanel). I felt defeated, that is until I looked down at the price. It was a good thing I didn’t like it. It would have cost me $600.   For a mere £80 or so, perhaps one of these real classic satchels is a better bet.  I really should send a definition of a satchel over to Chanel. [caption id="attachment_104" align="aligncenter" width="300"]                             Now this is a real satchel![/caption]  

Welcome to the Vida Vida blog and our newly updated website.

As you can imagine, we are extremely excited to announce the launch of our new website.  We have been working on this update to the site for the last few months (well it was a bit longer actually) and finally, we can unveil the sleeker, more informative and quicker website to everyone!

We have a great new payment system using our own Security Certificate (very boring but it means your data is totally 100% secure), a dramatically improved navigation system and new pictures of every single product in our range.  This means you can view, in close up detail, all the lovely features of our fabulous leather satchels, weekend bags, handbags and accessories.

Full details of our very important ethical policy and the history of the company are now available to show the genuine love and care which has gone into making sure we have strong friendships with all of our suppliers – from our expertly-skilled craftsmen to the family-run businesses who supply us with our leather.

Also, we are starting a weekly blog about bags and jewellery as well as other areas of the fashion industry, events in London and possibly book, film and theatre reviews – sort of anything that takes our fancy and perhaps yours too.

In addition to the launch of the new site, 2013 is set to be a great year for Vida Vida; we are looking to add a pop-up shop to our selection of stalls around London, more products and product ranges are on the way, we are set to support a charity to help women and children in India and Matt has begun his training for a fundraising swim across the English Channel in 2014 (news on how to sponsor him and find out more about the charity will appear soon).

We are launching an “occasional” newsletter which will inform you about anything exciting which is happening including new product releases, discounts, competitions and other general news.

Finally, we want to get YOU involved.  So, we would love to hear your reviews and stories about your purchases, additionally if you have any pictures of you with your Vida Vida item don’t hesitate to email them to us so we can use them.  There will be a section of our blog all about our customers and their travels with their bags and a competition for the photo of one of our bags in the strangest location. You can find some of the early reviews in our new Customer Testimonials section!

Andreya - "The Bag Lady"