GIRLS, BOYS, ARTS, PLEASURE

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Teresa Cannata'

In the 80s I was a teenager who was striving to find her own (style) voice in the world. I’ve never been cool and surely I wasn’t at the time, maybe because I wore hand-me-down clothes most of the time (I still do it) and I wasn’t part of the group of the beautiful and cool people at school (the so-called “paninari”). At the time, wearing specific items by specific designers was a social statement; if you didn’t, you were out. I was out but I must admit I was happy with it. I couldn’t afford designer clothes or shoes but my sister and I opted for spending our money on accessories instead. Three are my top bags of that decade: a small zipped clutch bag by Trussardi, a big envelope clutch bag by El Charro and a bucket bag by Bottega Veneta, which is now in my sister’s closet.

In my mind bucket bags will always be connected to the 80s, but it seems this style has been recently revived. The famous Diego bucket bag by Alexander Wang paved the way and many others followed. I used this bag style back then but I don’t think I would do it now: bucket bags were kind of unpractical, weren’t they? You always had to loosen the strings to open it, so annoying. In any case, no one can deny they’re still cute, right? If you are a fan of them, why don’t you give them a second chance? Kenzo has included two beautiful bucket bags in the spring/summer 2012 collection: one is made of pvc and calf, while the other is made of pvc and net with calf details. Both bags have a short braided handle and a detachable shoulder strap. I like their relaxed and kind of sporty vibe, so I would pair them to a casual outfit – a grey gym sweater and flared jeans, or a destructured trench, a t-shirt and calf trousers.

http://www.kenzo.com