Bags of Blog

am absolutely loving the Tim Walker photo shoot in this months Vogue. I am a huge fan of Tim Walker’s work, having been to his amazing exhibition at Somerset House last year and owning two of his gorgeous coffee table books. This however is even more magical as its shot in Bhutan which I have been lucky enough to visit. His pictures from this Vogue in Bhutan convey the beauty and intrigue of this magical Kingdom perfectly. I visited in 2007 after our yearly visit to our workshop in Rajasthan. We made our way right across India and up into Bhutan. We felt very privileged as they only let a small number of visitors in a year as they are trying to restrict tourism so it doesn't ruin their incredible culture and landscape. Who cannot love a country who talks about Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than GNP. A phrase coined as a signal of commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's culture, based on Buddhist spiritual values instead of western material development.   The Bhutanese people are amazing. They still all wear their traditional national dress on a day to day basis but they also have very modern views on subjects such as the roles of women in society, which are far more liberal than their neighbouring countries. It was a pleasant change form India to be able to chat freely with women in a bar who were having a beer!     The Tim walker shoot takes them to some of Bhutan’s most special places. In the Vogue article the photos are accompanied by a written piece by the model who is in the shoot who mentions the hard walk up to Tigers Nest Monastery .     The photos from this location are stunning and it brought back lots of memories from our visit there. Not nearly as glamorous but me in a similar spot wish my backpack had been filled with anything so fabulous. 

Such a special place.

So with Father’s Day soon approaching (June 21^st in the UK in case you didn't know!), I thought I would lend a hand to any of you who don’t know what to buy your dad by writing about our Father's Day gift ideas. Similar to the one written for Mother’s Day, I have tried to pick a different leather bag (or accessory) for different types of dads. So whether your father is constantly hitting the gym or prefers to dabble in all the latest gadgets, there should be something for him here!

The Out and About Dad

First up in the mornings, the man on the move; whether he’s constantly on business trips or sneaks off for a weekend playing golf, he will definitely appreciate one of our gorgeous leather travel bags. These bags get better the more they are used as the leather begins to soften and darken, and so the gift will be appreciated for many trips to come. My personal favourite is our special leather laptop bag which works perfectly for business or pleasure, with enough space for documents and a 15” laptop, as well as fitting an array of your bits and bobs: clothes and cameras and whatever else you may need.

 

You could also go for our leather weekend bag or one of our larger duffle bags as they have all the space he could need while looking extremely stylish!

 

The Sporty Dad

Next we have the gym-obsessed father who spends his Saturday mornings trying to get the family out of the house and beat his personal best. If this sounds like your dad, then worry no more, we have the perfect bag for him to drag to the gym in the early hours of the morning – one of our leather duffle bags. Ranging in size from 16” to 24”, there will definitely be the right one for all his gym clothes and fancy running trainers, and, because of how great it will look, he will never want to go anywhere without it!

Gadget Man

If your father is constantly upgrading his tech and always downloading the latest apps, then one of our leather iPad covers would be the perfect gift! Whether you choose to protect his iPhone with a lovely iPhone cover, his iPad , Macbook or even iPad Mini, his gadgets will look great and be protected when he’s on the go. In both tan and black leather, and with three styles to choose from, I think one of our leather iPad covers is a particularly good choice, especially the beautiful black leather iPad case organiser (my personal favourite).

The Workaholic

For the corporate dad who is always making deals and dashing to meetings, our large black leather messenger is a great present. It’s sleek and stylish, and its simple design looks good with everything, and it has enough space for endless documents, folders and even a 15” laptop! We do have a smaller version as well as countless other laptop bags if this isn’t the one for him!

The Cool Dad

Last but definitely not least we have the cool dad; always on trend and down with the kids, he is (or at least he thinks he is) the least embarrassing father, using the latest slang and wearing the latest fashions. If your dad is a little like this, and perhaps you want him to tone it down, then our leather laptop bag is a great gift to make him look effortlessly stylish, and as the design is so timeless, he will impress everyone with his classic style! Hopefully this has somewhat helped you with the difficult task of finding a good Father’s Day present, and to add an even more special touch, you can get the gifts personalised with a short message embossed into the leather like his nickname, initials or something a bit original perhaps.  What more could you (or he) ask for this Father's Day?

With the first weekend of Coachella over and the summer festival season officially underway, I thought I would have a browse through some of the best outfits from the Californian sun for a bit of summer style inspiration. With Coachella attracting countless celebrities and models each year, it’s no wonder it has become so fashion-forward, and with too many outfits to choose from I thought I would pick out my three favourite festival fashion trends from 2015!  

 

1.  Dressed all in white

  The first trend that seems to have spread like wildfire is the ‘all in white’ look. From Paris and Nicky Hilton’s formal and put-together look to Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio and friends’ coordinated and casual style, everyone has been wearing the neutral colour! Definitely a favourite of mine and white is the perfect colour to wear to bring out your (probably minimal if you live in England!) summer tan!        

2.  Boots, boots and more boots!

  Next up was the constant trend of working boots into your summer wardrobe. Boots are the perfect shoes to wear with everything as they’re stylish and comfortable, especially good for festivals where you’re wandering around and dancing your nights away! While I tend to go for ankle boots in the sun, like Kendall Jenner, you could brave the knee-high trend like Hailey Baldwin; whatever you choose they will be perfect for summer!    

3.  Tassels everywhere!

I think one of the most popular trends of this year’s festival has been the gorgeous leather tassel. Seen on everyone from Fergie to Gigi Hadid, both wearing cut-off shorts with sleeveless tasselled jackets and even Cody Simpson in a tasselled cape, this trend was hard to escape from. What’s great about tassels is that you can go as out there as you’d like, simply wearing some ankle boots with tassels or going all out with tassels everywhere – you’ll look stylish whatever you go for!   Obviously, with all these trends taking hold, you need a handbag to go with the outfit and that's where VidaVida are able to help.  Our range of vintage leather satchels, saddle bags and wonderful tan brown leather handbags all add a finishing touch to these casual summer looks.  You really do need somewhere to hide your festival essentials and we have bags in every shape and size whether you are a light traveler or someone who likes to be prepared for anything.

 

After cleverly managing to avoid actually spring cleaning my house, and instead attempting (and failing) to clear out my handbag last year, I have realised that I can no longer afford to avoid the clear out any longer. I am notoriously bad at both organising my stuff, and at letting go of useless bits and bobs, so this should be fun!

 

I began in the living room, but as an all-or-nothing person, this is where I made my first mistake. Instead of doing the sensible thing and working on one section at a time, I decided to empty all the shelves and cupboards at once, put everything together, and organise from there. As I’ve said, this was a big mistake; I ended up surrounded by a huge pile of photos, books, souvenirs and other random clutter with absolutely no idea what to do with it all!

 

After a good few hours, (I wish this was an exaggeration), I had sifted through and decided to part with a measly four items, and then simply returned everything to its original position, having given up on a room revamp. The changes I made were hardly noticeable, but I felt a strong sense of achievement after a whole morning’s work.

 

I then ventured into the bedroom, where again I made the same mistake by emptying my whole wardrobe onto the bed and immediately regretting it. I realised it was too late to do this in an orderly fashion, and so began rifling through my clothes, making a ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’ pile. It may be no surprise to you that the largest pile was ‘maybe’, and the smallest, ‘no’. After a lot of trying on and ‘when will I actually wear this?’, I managed to say goodbye to some long forgotten pieces and even rediscover some old stuff! The wardrobe’s clear out was definitely more successful than the living room’s, though I did keep way more handbags than I should have!

 

 

 

I thought that I was bad at throwing away things I no longer use, but I had nothing on my two boys. Within ten minutes of sorting through Herbie’s toys, most of the things I had thought we could lose had been returned to the cupboard; as soon as a toy that hasn’t been played with in months is threatened, it becomes their favourite! Although I managed to sneak out some of the odd socks and the occasional soft toy, unfortunately most of the clutter in the boys’ bedroom stayed.

 

So that was my (arguably) successful attempt to clear out the house. I think next year I might just stick to cleaning out my handbags as it’s a lot less hassle! I did however, feel strangely proud of what I had managed to get rid of, and so I rewarded myself with a brand new leather saddle bag which is the perfect size to store all the bits and bobs I carry with me constantly.

 

Enjoy your Spring Clean! 

With Easter finally upon us, almost every shop I have been into this last week, from supermarkets to health food shops, has been selling multiple variations of chocolate eggs.

 

I am a sucker for chocolate, and so I am sure I would appreciate a sweet treat this weekend, but I was thinking last night about the sheer amount of chocolate that must be given at this time of year; from crème eggs to Malteaster bunnies, Easter is the time for chocolate (and a few hot cross buns!).

 

But what if you’ve got used to not eating chocolate after giving it up for lent? Or you’ve stuck with your clean eating New Year’s Resolution and don’t want to give up now? Or you just – strange, I know, but these people do exist – don’t like chocolate very much?  If so, maybe receiving a huge amount won’t be that great come the weekend.

Oh, and perhaps the image below will be a bit more incentive for you.  It certainly scared me!

 

After much thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that, as chocolate eggs might not be for everyone, we should instead start giving something that no one can say no to: bags!

 

 

 

Who would turn down an amazing leather saddle bag?  Or a gorgeous naturally suntanned leather travel bag?

 

So if you’ve not yet splurged on a huge nest full of mini chocolate eggs, why not buy your loved ones a beautiful bag!

 

Not only will it be way more original, but it will last them quite a lot longer (as I know Easter eggs normally last a few hours at most), and you can buy the unsold chocolate on Tuesday for half the price – the best of both worlds!