bags

Clare Vivier Messenger Bag

I'd had my eye on this Clare Vivier Messenger Bag (in black) for a longgg while (Exhibit A: blog post from over a year ago), but f*%! that! Lusting over. Bitch. been. bought. It's mine, all mine (praise Jesus for Shopbop discount codes!)!

It's a beautiful, slouchy bag that looks cute hanging on your shoulder or across your body, but also looks great in that bitchy sitting in your elbow crotch look (HBIC status). It's very flexible and doesn't really hold shape, which I love, but I know frustrates some about bags. One of my favorite things about it is that it comes with a cute little pouch that can be detached from an inside leather strap via a hook. I find the matching leather pouch to be perfect tampon size, but feel free to designate it to keys, lip gloss, or spare change if you're one of those freaky people who haven't had a period in ten years and obviously needs to see a doctor about it or stop exercising so much. Dr. Steve Brule, for your health. Okay, what else do I like about the bag. Well, when watching Jesse and Celeste Forever I saw Rashida Jones had this bag too and I was like, "Twinsies! Oh, Rashida.. we're just meant to be best friends, huh?!" I don't even really want to be best friends with Rashida Jones, so not even sure what that was all about. It's a bag thing, you wouldn't understand, I guess... I really like the bag.


One thing to be aware of about this bag that I actually didn't anticipate, having never seen one in real life prior to ordering online, and have heard others complain about is that the leather finish is not probably what you expect. Or at least not what I expected. First off, fairly fragrant raw leathery smell, and not intoxicating Wilson Leather store smell. A little grittier and more dead animal parts-esque. I described that far more awful than it is. It just has a bit of an odor to it that hits ya pretty hard if you stick your head in the bag and take a big wiff. 

Which I did. Not sure why. 

But back to the point at hand.. buyers' expectations of the leather.. it's not like a finished smooth leather, it's more raw, but not exactly suede. In between the two? Luede? (It's cowhide, for those that actually are curious.) This leaves it really susceptible to damage (watch out for rain!) I'm thinking, as it can scratch pretty easily. Also, you can't adjust the strap, which somewhat bothers me, as I'd like it to be a tad bit shorter AND I'm thinking as the leather stretches, the strap with lengthen, if only slightly. Maybe it won't? Only time and use will tell. 

Also, it was smaller than I imagined in my head. I don't count that against it because that's my own mental shit. It annoys me when people review things and they are all negative and say something along the lines of, "Oh, it didn't live up to my expectations," when their expectations were of their own building. That is not the fault of the dress that you mistook it for the second coming, honey, so don't take your disappointment out on it. /rant. I only say honey when I'm being bitchy. So hunty of me. Hey hey, RuPaul.

Final Verdict: I really like the bag. So much so that I want it in tan/cognac, grey, and the red version too. Only real beef, wish there was an adjustable strap. I'm happy I got it, and I'm super happy it was on sale. It's pricey, so if C.R.E.A.M dolla dolla bills y'all are of no worry to you, get it. If you're a penny pinching Forever 21 faithful, don't waste your rent on it. If you love it and and you want it, do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care. ;)