style baggage

Here's the story.

I fell in love again on Saturday. With a handbag.

My newest issue of Bust arrived, and it was such the appropriate issue this time, because it was the International Issue--full of cool travel tips and fashions and a whole page of awesomely cool handbags/carry-on bags.

I fell in love, head over heels, with one of the bags.

But. Here's the conflict. (Every good story has conflict.)

I am a little unsure of my style. I tend toward things that are a little... I don't know... unusual. Which you would never know, because I wear jeans and a tee-shirt almost every day. I play it safe. Curb my instinct. But I gravitate toward things that are a little goofy.

And there was an amazing interview, coincidentally, in this issue of Bust, with the absolutely fabulous (I know, I know, I'm hilarious) Jennifer Saunders. Who summed up my style indecision pretty succinctly. Apparently, I am not alone.

Question: Do you find "status anxiety" to be rampant today?

Jennifer Saunders: I think it is. What I love is people's little worlds that mean nothing to anyone else, but within that world it's so fucking important... There was a time when fashion wasn't such a common currency; now people know these names; they know everything. I think people do get very carried away with it, and it can so totally fuck up your life with anxiety. I'm sure we all have it to a small extent. You know everyone slightly questions their choice of most things now. Why am I buying that car? What will people think of me if I'm driving that? So people often just choose something really neutral. There are a lot of neutral things in people's lives now, because they don't want the anxiety of having looked like they made a specific choice.

I love it! So I am normal. Good to know. Thank you, thank you, Jennifer Saunders, for everything.

I love her. She is hilarious. She is beautiful. She is married to the wonderful Adrian Edmondson


who played Vyvyan on The Young Ones, and she is very insightful. And she said her favourite musicians are Joni Mitchell and Elvis Costello--two of my favorite musicians. Sigh. Now I know I have very good taste. Thank you, Jennifer Saunders. You cured me. You rock.

So, anyway. This bag. I couldn't find a picture of it online to post here, so I will describe: it is a smallish, lunchbox-shaped white canvas bag with black handles and trim and a large, snarling black and white tiger face silk screened on it.

I showed it immediately to Jonathan. And held my breath. You see, Jonathan has impeccable taste. (Obviously, har-de-har) Seriously. He has great taste. He was into the whole sleek and modern thing before it was cool to be into sleek and modern.

And, let me tell you, I was shocked that he also really thought this bag was cool. I love a cool bag, people!

So on Sunday, I ran to the computer and looked up the website for the bag, poisondagger.com, and my bag wasn't listed. What the... ? So I figured maybe this bag was new and the company would now rush to get it onto their website since Bust had featured it in their brand-new International Issue.

So I checked again on Monday. No cool tiger face bag anywhere. I was crushed. So I searched the web for a similarly cool bag. And found that once you have fallen in love with a very specific something, nothing else can even come close. And every other bag I even looked twice at made me wonder, what would Jonathan think? WWJT? Will I look like some lame 30-something who is trying to look cool by carrying a bag that she thinks will make her look young and hip?

So that night, I was all bummed and I told Jonathan that the cool tiger bag (which would have been so perfect to carry around London) was simply not to be.

And this is the best part of the story.

My wonderfulamazingthoughtful husband is getting this bag for me! For me! This tiger bag will be mine... All mine!

He went online on Saturday (a whole day before I did) and couldn't find the bag on the website either. So he emailed the company. They told him the bag had already completely sold out. Already! This is how freakin' cool this bag is, folks! But they had one bag left. And so, because my Jonathan is a determined young man, they are sending me this bag in the mail and I should receive it this week--in time for me to carry it around London!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!

Does anyone have a husband like mine? The answer, sadly, is no. Uh-uh. Sorry, ladies. Mine mine mine.

............................................

Postscript: I showed the picture of the bag to my mother Monday night. She said, "Ooh! I love it! It reminds me of The Lion King. I hope you can carry it on the plane, though, people might think you're a terrorist."

God, my mother is priceless.