OMG. Luxirare has done it again!

Knocked it out of the ballpark! Considering my love of hardware, I'm swooning over how she used hardware when designing and making a leather travel bag and remained so true to her style.

Check out her travel bag, just check it out!

Photo from Luxirare

I have a pile of hardware with visions of stylish bags dancing in my dreams. After weeks of traveling for work, have a few days to play. I think I'll play with hardware and leather and fabric today.

Thank you Luxirare for the inspiration ...

Make A Birkin or Kelly Style Bag

Maybe you want to make a statement by carrying a non-animal skin bag. Maybe you don't have the money for the real H. (Uh, maybe? More like, likely.) But still want a classic style like the Birkin or Kelly bags? Here are some tips to make one. It might take some work. But it wouldn't be worth it if it was too easy, right?

-- Search for the OOP Vogue 7892 handbag pattern
-- Adapt this paper Hermes Kelly pattern
-- Download directions to make a Birkin style trash bag
-- Get kelly bag fasteners and padlocks at MacCulloch & Wallis

Trying to make a knockoff look just like the real thing would never ever look right. And it wouldn't be the right thing to do. So get a little crazy. Add your own touches. Why not use an old Hermes-style silk scarf for a lining. And frankly I find the single color bags boring. Mix colors and show your style, like these artist-designed Kelly bags on the Hermes site (to see more, click on the les Kelly de Leila line drawing for a slide show):

So as you can see, you can be inspired by your favorite home dec fabric, faux fur, remnants of tribal fabric, studs, stencils, paints. Have fun with it!

Another personalization idea -- cover the bottom with many rows of feet like those on this Alexander Wang bag:

Check out this new line called Leah & Bliss, where they went nutso, encrusting Birkin style bags with jewels. Then carrying the bags in public. How can you miss this walking down a sidewalk? So people asked about them. Now they sell them. The rest is retail history.

(Pardon me I feel a rant coming on ... WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH why don't I create something fabulous and get the guts to parade it around and then ... and then ... !!!)

Finally, this Washington Post article explains differences between the Kelly and Birkin, but we're not going to worry about this too much, because this isn't trying to be anything like real, right! Although according to this article, it is fitting that Lady Gaga is putting Sharpie graffiti and spiked studs on a Birkin and not a Kelly.

Snaking Its Way Into My Life

I've never been very afraid of snakes. When we were little kids, the boys in my neighborhood played with bugs and snakes. This was in the days before cable TV and video games. When we actually spent most summer days outside. Us girls kept a respectful distance, but I was never scared. Even when opening the mailbox one day and garter snakes rained down out of it. On me. Surprising and shocking, yes. Super scary, no, not as much as big hairy spiders. Now that's scary.

The shedded snake skins in our backyard were fascinating, and pretty.

So no surprise that I'd fall for the python trend. I am not trendy, so I tried to resist. But resistance is futile.

Here's what I plan:

Sources:
Python coating fabric from EOS
Leather strap in chocolate brown, beige, camel, ??? I need the python fabric in hand to decide.
Chocolate Bemberg lining (or a fuschia or chartreuse would be a fun surprise)
Possibly View C of Kwik Sew 3133 -- a design with a flap
Large oval turnlock on the flap
I'd attach the strap with D-rings or rectangular rings to balance the flap hardware

If you want to make a handbag to take for a walk on the wild side, leatherwise on eBay has great thin leathers for sewing. Right now, embossed and printed leathers up for auction:  lizard, python, crocodile, baby tiger, gator, jaguar, crazy zebra, ostrich, cheetah, stingray, tortoise shell and more. This crocodile has a ton of texture. Lizards and python and crocodile are in various colors. They have beautiful floral embosssed leathers too. No affiliation, I'm just an occasional customer who's loved every leather I've purchased from this seller. If auctions have ended, keep stalking them, often they're relisted.

Disclaimer: No baby tigers were harmed in the making of this post.

Try This Unique Zipper Detail On A Handbag

Continuing my obsession with zippers ... while flipping through the latest Garnet Hill catalog, I found this Cole Haan handbag:

Garnet Hill photo

Check out the zippers. The second inside zipper seems to be possibly functional as well as decorative. Even if only decorative, this is a great idea to add some "acceptable edge" to accessories and clothing. By "acceptable edge," I mean adding some metal without looking like a steampunk wannabe. (nothing wrong with steampunk, I actually like it, but it's not appropriate for my work image)

This zipper detail could be accomplished by modifying the pattern to cut pieces and seams to accommodate the zipper detail, or add a godet and insert it with zippers in the seam. As you can see better in the photos below, the Cole Haan bag has a mix of leather with suede pieces behind the zippers. Nice idea.

This could also give your handbag a feature similar to expandable suitcases, allowing you to carry a slim bag most days, but widen the bag on days when you need to carry bulky items.

photos from Garnet Hill

Couldn't you also make unique zipper pulls like this one, with a combination of leather strips, small D-rings, small grommets and metal pieces?

Calorie-Free Chocolate

The post below about leather for the French Country carryall reminded me, the Anthropologie Mauritius Bag knockoff is sitting dormant on a desk because ... I need leather. Totally forgot about that project. As you see here, I have more ideas and visual obsessions than the discipline to complete a project.

And now summer is here. This is a yellow and white eyelet bag! It must be finished. Soon.

While I have chocolate color leather, it's about 2-2.5 ounces and a bear to sew, especially double thickness. I need a thinner, more pliable and drapey leather for my machine to handle. Leatherwise on eBay has never let me down in the leather department. One example, check this out, don't you just want to lick this?!




From Leatherwise, I have corduroy ribbed leather, tiny leopard print suede (which I made into a hat posted on PatternReview), silky black lambskin, delicate lilac suede, oh I love their leathers. The pieces are just enough for sewing an accessory or adding trim. The distressed pieces would make great coat/jacket collars and casual totes. Or what about making slippers to wear around the house? You could use their animal print leathers to make stuffed animals. I don't know if the dye lots on individual pieces are similar enough to buy multiple pieces for a larger project though, but probably worth contacting Leatherwise.

One For Me, One For You

Duh, an obvious solution to the question below. Do both! Buy one for me, and still make a knockoff as a gift for someone else. What better way to do a knockoff than to have the original in front of you? It's on sale now! It's affordable! It's possible!!



UPDATE on March 4, 2008:

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" she says ...


Mauritius BagReady to carry messenger-style or with a ladylike grasp, the detachable leather strap and handles of this tote let you decide. Either way, sunshine yellow cotton peeking out from white eyelet won't steer you wrong on island-hopping adventures.
Detachable crossbody strap
Zip closure
Cotton, leather; cotton lining
9''H, 18.5''W, 7.5''D
11'' handle drop
Imported style #843170

We're sorry. This product is no longer available.


I'm a loser. In the shape of an L on her forehead ...

To Buy Or Sew?

An UPDATE on The Birth of A Knockoff post:

Those of us who sew can get really rankled when people assume you sew to save money. Like you are cheap. Not just somebody who wants a good value, but cheap. Well here's the news for you ... you don't always save money. In fact, sometimes sewing can cost more. Sometimes you sew for the challenge of it, the pleasure of it, the satisfaction of seeing the final outcome that was once just a mirage of a vision.

Creating knockoffs to look as much as possible like the original is a fantastic sewing challenge. I chose the Anthropologie Mauritius bag as a good late winter knockoff project, to finish by the time spring hits and I'm wearing a white tee with jeans, with the white and yellow bag for color:



It would be a good knockoff because no-how no-way would I pay $298 for a bag with such limited usage potential. But its current deep-discount price of $109.95? Should I benefit from today's retailer woes? Or proceed with the knockoff as planned? I have acquired:
-- the fabric
-- the Mary Jo Hiney Designs pattern
-- some of the metal pieces

I already have brown leather. I still need a yellow fabric to go under the outer fabric and fill in the eyelets with yellow. And, a lining fabric.


It would cost under $109.95 in materials, for sure. But what about the time factor?

What would you do?

The Birth of a Knockoff

This Anthropologie Mauritius bag is so much fun for next spring/summer, with a sundress or paired with classic tee and jeans:But even on sale, it's $199.95 right now. Thank goodness I love to sew! And so plans are underway. This week, this natural/yellow eyelet fabric from Gorgeous Things arrived:

It's a brighter deeper yellow than the picture so it very closely approximates the Anthropologie bag color.

Here's a pattern that's easily adaptable, Journey Handbag pattern by Mary Jo Hiney Designs:

Next up: yellow fabric to peek out from behind the eyelets, a lining fabric, either a very thin leather or faux leather, and the hardware. Oh, the hardware. I struggle with finding great hardware. But find it, I will. I have brown leather in the stash but it's thicker and I'd rather not wrestle with it.

Track the progress to come ...

Such a Rich World to Look At

There's been plenty of eye candy obsessions in the past week, just no time to post. Did much photography of: the Oshkosh EAA air show last weekend, two cats who are finally getting along enough to be in the same frame, my gardens. And fall catalogs are arriving in abundance. I love fall and winter clothes. So this is daydream season, dreaming of unlimited disposable income and no responsibilities. This outfit would be my first purchase and it's not unreasonable. But about the bag, although over-priced bags are all the rage right now, I'd rather invest than pay for what's carrying my wallet just to show it off to the world (but, if it goes on sale or eBay, all bets off). From Nordstrom, the Francesco Biasia handbag:

Carry it with this jacket from J. Jill:

The print catalog shows a neat collar detail that the model is blocking with her hand in online photo. This is the worst place in the whole photo to put her hand. I don't understand why they chose this photo. Anyway. I'm more "winter" coloring than "autumn" color, although maybe the neckline dips low enough, this might work without making my face look terminally ill. But I would probably wear this with a cream shell and an interesting necklace or looooooooong and looped skinny scarf made from this fabric:

Weekends and Fridays, I would wear it with jeans like these at Anthropologie:

Monday-Thursday trouser suggestion from Anthropologie:

I like the detailing that could work on weekends too, so it's not a conservative wool trouser appropriate only for work.

Despite the fact that I own plenty of shoes to wear with this, and really don't need to pine away for more, a look is incomplete without shoes. Thus some Zappos surfing results in various ideas for shoes:

This last shoe idea is really cute. Oh man, surf-shopping so dangerous.

Enough playing for today ... must go do laundry with the clothes I already own ...

Design Bags To Go With Your Ribbon Shoes

Gotta move on to other things this evening, but I leave you with this, another Chicago company, 1154 Lill Studio that custom makes handbags and totes from fabrics that you choose:

There's lots of different handbag, evening clutch and tote styles and tons of fabric choices. Here's one I designed real quick:

Same style, different design:

One more so we have an odd number of photos (sounded like good reason to me):

See? You could spend all day and night playing with patterns and colors. Have fun!