Wearing: Shirt by Zara, thrifted; Spray-on Jeans by Ksubi; Clogs by See by Chloe; Sunglasses from asos.com; ‘big black bag’ from ebay.

So, the story of my big black bag. Origin unkonwn and brandless, I bought this rather plain looking sack of a bag from one of those generic Chinese sellers on ebay for $17, shipping included. After seeing it for the first time, and becoming inexplicably besotted with the design, it took me about 3 months to actually come around to buying it, thinking ‘it’s so cheap and plain, but damn I love it!’. I just love how the bag is so big and floppy, and that it has both tote and shoulder straps. It cost me next to nothing, it’s made of crappy PU, smells of radioactive fish and was probably made in someone’s backyard sweat shop, but every time I see it I feel so ‘me’.

Later I realized this was probably inspired by the ‘It Bag’ of 2007, Givenchy ‘Nightingale’, famously coveted by Ashley Olsen, as below.

It makes me think that style, taste and human aesthetics is totally subconscious and is probably on a base level, universal, and not everyone is simply brand obsessed. I’d never seen or heard of the Givenchy ‘Nightingale’ and so I wouldn’t have known of its ‘It Bag’ status, and yet I fell in love with a bag that was a soft replica of it, though that bag was presented in the most unfavourable light, being sold on ebay.

Needless to say, I’ve made acquiring the large black Givenchy ‘Nightingale’ my new year’s resolution (but only to replace my big black bag when its silly PU material inevitably breaks).