handbag

August 13, 2009

Bagonia’s Busy Bag is for Women on the Go, Like Me

If there’s any one word that accurately describes my life, it’s “busy.” Between my two blogs and my graphic design business, my 4-year-old and my husband, there is very little down time in my life. So when I stumbled upon Bagonia’s Busy Bag, I was more than a little intrigued.

I’ve told you that I’m addicted to purses, and I wasn’t kidding. But because we’re trying to live a simpler lifestyle and pare down our belonging to the essentials, I recently decided to part with the purses I rarely use. They will either be sold at our yard sale or be donated to a local thrift store, which benefits a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence. I’ve also been looking for a single bag that can meet most, if not all, of my needs. I tend to switch purses a lot, based on my outfit, how much I need to carry, etc. The Busy Bag would certainly simplify things for me.

It is made of vegan leather, vegan suede and reclaimed fabric and has a super-organized interior with compartments for everything. These days, I find myself attached to my iPhone and my new DV2 laptop from HP, and it would be great to put them all in one bag. And I can’t tell you how much time I usually spend hunting through my purses for my keys, or my cell phone, or a pen or whatever. Separate, purposeful compartments and pouches for each of these things would save me an immense amount of time.

To make it even more unique and desirable, the Busy Bag has a hidden compartment in the back that contains three reusable shopping bags. I have a stash of reusable bags, but most are too big to fit in my purse, so I usually carry either my Chico bag or my RuMe bag because they each fold into their own pouch. Having a purse that comes with multiple bags and has a special place for any I might want to add would keep me be a huge plus that would keep me from forgetting them at home.

The Busy Bag is available in two styles: bow & ribbon, shown at top. Bagonia has a bunch of other great styles too, so check out all of them. If you covet them as much as I do, you’ll be happy to hear that Bagonia is working on a new line of products that will launch soon. I can’t wait to share them with you!

Why It’s Green:

Designed and made in the U.S.
Made of vegan leather, vegan suede and reclaimed fabric
Contains reusable shopping bags

Price: $225

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August 2, 2009

Bag-Nista? These Green Purses will Make You Drool

Want to see the obsessed consumer in me come out? Put me in front of a rack of beautiful purses. In the days before I become a much more conscious shopper, I practically lived at TJ Maxx. Racks upon racks of designer clothes at steep discounts? Every day? I thought I was in heaven.

These days, it’s pretty rare for me to walk through the discount retailer’s doors. But when I do…it’s a challenge for me to walk past the purse department without finding at least 1 (or 5) I just can’t live without. So I’m thankful that my constant search for gorgeous eco-friendly finds often leads me to beautiful handbags that won’t leave me with a crisis of conscience. In this case, I also won’t have to break my pockets either.

These beautiful printed bags from Overland are an eco-diva’s dream come true. They are incredibly green in terms of materials, though I do wonder where they were made. Just as important, however, they are drop dead gorgeous! I’ve always been a fan of the combination of chocolate brown and just about any other vivid color. The green, nature-inspired pattern used on these purses makes me want to pull out my debit card right now!

I promise I’ll try to restrain myself, but I make no guarantees I’ll succeed