It's a clear thing

As I was indulging in a small spot of blog browsing the other day, I stumbled upon a post that, I’m not quite sure why, really got me thinking. May I present the see through Hermès Kelly bag – Plastic Edition 1996.

Obviously no way near as wonderfully manufactured and fetching as the real mccoy, I still thought that this was so funny!

But let me quickly introduce the ‘real’ Kelly bag.. Hermès launched it in 1935 as the Sac à dépêches, but it didn’t become famous until 1956, when Grace Kelly (then Princess of Monaco) used one to hide her pregnancy from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. It was promptly renamed ‘The Kelly’ in honour of Princess Grace. The bag comes in a variety of sizes, with prices starting at $7,000 and easily trumping $50,000! It takes a single craftsman about 18 hours to make a Kelly bag, which can be customized to the buyer’s specifications.

Now a Hermès Kelly (or a Birkin for that matter – one much closer to my heart) is one of those über fashion classics that I’ve always dreamt of having. You invest a sum of money in an amazing bag ONCE, that will accompany you for the rest of your life and will never date. (Any Hermès bag in any condition can be brought into their ateliers, where it will be restored to pristine condition free of charge!) Bliss. It’s one of those pieces where I’m a firm believer that either you invest the money in the real deal, or you buy a completely different bag.

Nevertheless this plastic number really tickled my fancy. I must admit I don’t know the actual price that it was sold for, but I definitely would consider a purchase! I simply think it’s super fun!

But... Let’s think about this more seriously. Who’s more stupid – the consumer (Me!) or the producer (Mr Hermès)? The consumer is 99.9% certainly paying a LOT of money for, yarrr, some plastic in an iconic shape. Namely, the producer is a genius. They’ve managed to convince us that this shape is SO iconic and SO desirable that we’re quite willing to ignore the fact that we’re not really getting the quality, but paying the quantity.

Or is the producer stupid? Surely they’re ripping themselves off? They’re downgrading from the finest quality leather (if the cow has so much as a bee sting, the leather isn’t used) to, yarrr,, some plastic. It’s allowing the likes of Emma from next door to own a Kelly. Then again this is probably amazing publicity for a bag? Emma owning the budget bag, an ideal indication that the bona fide bag is for the beguiling and beautiful bag lady. I’ve lost the plot.

However the bottom line remains - I’d love this bag and I think it’s great!

21

So on 21.12.2012 the world is going to end. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t it be more poetic is it was the 20.12.2012 or the 21.12.2112?)

If I had lots of time left (and was as sceptical about my future as the Mayans are being) I would obviously create a personal list of 21 things to do before the 21^st while aged 21. Sadly there’s not much time left before the 21^st so I’ll condense the list to 10 things I’d like to do…

 1.  Spend a day frolicking in London with all my nearest and dearest – art galleries, restaurants and shopping galore!

2. Host a delightfully lavish dinner party (à remembering that money isn’t an issue, I won’t be needing any anymore anyway, so I’d really splurge!)

3. Invite someone I’ve been meaning to get in contact with for ages but haven’t to said dinner part

4. Invite someone excessively outrageous to said dinner party, purely for entertainment

5. Cook ALL the food for ALL the courses from scratch for said dinner party

6. Skype call the person furthest away from me in the world right now

7. Read a novel in a whole sitting without leaving the sofa (only to go to the loo)

8. Buy a Celine Boston bag

9. Go for a ride / on a hack with my sister dear

10. Spend an evening in front of the fire with magazines and books and a cup of tea. And someone to give me a shoulder massage.

Why I like a good Christmas Jumper

Earlier I read this article on the Sabotage Times (a personal procrastination pleasure) - 'Christmas Jumpers Are For Wankers' and immediately felt I had to fight my ground. Firstly, and somewhat beside the point, 'Wankers' is a wee bit aggressive and derogatory kind sir! Personally my stance with journalism is that one shouldn't spew profanities (I enunciate them clearly, like a fucking lady).

However more to the point, I myself am the proud owner of a fine Christmas jumper, very much akin to this little number on the right, and I really am rather fond of it. Made of 100% wool, it is one of the few seasonal items in my wardrobe that will actually give me some warmth. Considering that in super snowy Switzerland the peak temperature today was -4 degrees celsius, I am very grateful for this. But on a less pragmatic note, I do rather like it. Like anything fashion, it's a little statement - this one seasonal.

Mr. George Springthorpe's grudge with these seasonal sweeties is the apparent 'where's your Christmas Spirit?' attitude towards the non-wearers. Well George, I'd like to take this moment to say that, like most of my fashion choices, I wear this jumper to please myself - whether for warmth, comfort or that innate inner 'tee hee, I'm wearing a Christmas jumper!' feeling to perk up a cold and gloomy December. I'm not inflicting any forced Christmas Spirit on you and I'm certainly no W****r thank you. Remember, I'm a fucking lady.

A right royal baby!

Congratulations Kate & Wills, 'our' royal baby is on the way!! Some may whinge that they took their time, but honestly (not that it's any of our business really...) they really couldn't have timed it better... 2012 was the year of the British, but the birth of Baby Wales / Windsor in will ensure that Britain will stays firmly on the global radar into 2013!

On another note, maternity clothing is going to develop a WHOLE new royal concept! Oh and gutted for K-Mids that she won't be having Champers and Mulled Wine this Christmas though..