Bag Whore: Writers Always Prefer Takeout

Bag Whore. It’s simple. It’s straightforward. Neither prettified nor Frenchified (something I do far too often to be considered cute). Bag Whore. It is what it is, glorified in all its cheekiness. There’s a ring to it, non? Here’s to a sporadic handbag column fueled by a long-time obsession first introduced here.

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Marie Turnor understands; it’s evident when looking at The Picnic. Opting for the manila leather may be a little too literal (see above), and since I’m a bit of a closet magpie, gold is the only way to go. Clearly.

This is less is more at its very core. Simple hasn’t been done in a while, simply because simplicity is sometimes the hardest to do. Do it wrong and it is easily forgotten; do it right and it is beautiful. The Picnic is minimalist, under the radar. Almost too easily overlooked yet renders a second take from a passerby with keener observational skills than the majority (probably another writer, then). There’s a lack of hardware that allows for clean lines sans interruption – a sense of peace writers seek in the midst of a stream of inspiration.

It’s also kind of cheeky: an adult version of the nostalgic brown paper lunch bag we clutched eagerly with sticky paws. A PBJ sans the jelly, a Capri Sun (my parents were anti-Ssips!), a plastic baggie of gold fish were prized back then.

Beth Goodman, founder of the LA-based Marie Turnor Accessories, attributes the inspiration to something more glamorous.

Children are grubby, after all.

But when a Parisian woman grasps a red paper bag, it becomes a moment of enlightenment. “I saw it as being a clutch,” Goodman had said to T Magazine.  “It just looked to me like it should be, it was a chic and simple shape. I knew I had to create one in leather.”

Call it the gentrified lunch bag, if you will. Because it is and, therefore, is fabulous. Available in an array of buttery leathers in anything from classic to unconventional colors, there’s a Picnic for everyone. Simple is what the writer needs: an upgrade from a beloved canvas tote for carrying around all the essentials—miscellaneous Larabars, pens, Post-It notes, IDs, keys, a lipstick for a last-minute meeting, iPhone—except for the quintessential laptop.

Would Carrie approve? It’s no Fendi baguette, but sometimes a lunch bag and some hot takeaway are just what a girl need.

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Marie Turnor “The Picnic,” $175 – $295

xx

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