So I finally took the plunge. After a full year of lugging totes around, and a miserable few months of summer classes in the city, again, schlepping texts around Manhattan, I have finally done the unthinkable. I bought a "rollie bag." My dislike for them is fairly unfounded. The variety just isn't there, and I'd rather fall in lust with and buy a new tote each season than wheel around a bag I just am not crazy about. Not to mention, they can be a bit pricey, and most are downright manly. Well this semester, the books are just too much to handle in a bag with, well, handles (only). Case in point; I scored a fabulous kahaki green, nylon Sequoia tote with a great cross-body strap at Marshall's this summer. The price was unbeatable, and the bag looked like something that would survive the Gulf War. Sequoia is a little-known (to me and mine) French luggage brand, and because the average Marshall's shopper probably hasn't heard of it, I got it at less than 10% of the online retail price, way in the back of the clearance rack (I meet most of my steals there). However, looks can be, and are deceiving. The handles began to tear after just a twice-weekly LIRR-to-Subway trip from Center Moriches to Wall St. Not ok. The bag is now in a discarded pile on my floor, undeserving of even a photo on the blog.
Back to my new pal on wheels.. Black or taupe, black or taupe, black or taupe? The choice was hard, but I went with taupe. This fabulous bag is adorned with black and white snakeskin, so it will coordinate with anything black, and the black bag was a bit severe looking. And with my black locks, I didn't want to channel my inner Selma Blair (Elle's Legally non-blonde nemesis) in my attempt to avoid looking like law school Barbie.
So taupe it is. Going with a rolling duffel, rather than a rolling briefcase bought me a generous 20" x 13" x 10".. and don't worry, I measured the books.. it will be a squeeze, but without upgrading to a carry-on, and looking like a flight attendant any time I decide to wear a skirt suit, this was the best choice. Really, on Wednesdays, with Constitutional Law, Evidence, Property and International Sales Law & Arbitration, and few breaks between, I needed a bag that does its job.
So kudos to my girl Diane von Furstenberg for producing fabulous, (mildly) affordable rolling luggage. The woman is walking fabulousity, and the epitome of class. And now I can be too, on my way to class. So this gorgeous bag.. she's mine, all mine, thanks to www.ebags.com. So if you want one for you, and especially if you go to Touro, opt for the trendy "Betty." She's covered in zippers and comes in an array of colors. Further, in effort to fend off any copycats out there, a gorgeous, vintage DvF scarf will be lovingly tied to the handle on my bag. So authentic, so fierce. Printed with the DvF logo, and her very own mantra, "life is love." Word.
Thanks, Di. www.dvf.com
