Dooney & Bourke

Always with the Dooneys

/ Meg / 2 Comments

crisp_dooneySo Dooney & Bourke is trying to get me again — they’ve unveiled a new line of handbags! I wasn’t crazy about their Shadow DB line from last year, but the new Crisp Anniversary line is gorgeous. I love the brown and cream combination! I really, really want a brown Dooney — I could easily wear it with many outfits to work; it’s a neutral, so it matches many of my “weekend” clothes; it’s classy but not stuffy; it’s . . . beautiful!

Of course, I absolutely have to behave myself . . . even in light of the fact that my favorite style of Dooney, pictured at right, also comes in a fuchsia combination. Fuchsia! Pink! God, I love pink. But I already have a pink Dooney — and between all the stuff I’m buying on Etsy (but not selling — how sad!) and the state of the economy, I’m going to officially sit on my hands now. But if you’re looking for some eye candy before the weekend sets in, check out the new line of handbags here.

The ‘Big Girl’ Bags

/ Meg / 5 Comments

dooney2

I have a problem — a very big Dooney problem! I’m completely obsessed with these bags, as I’ve detailed before. They’re fun, classy and . . . expensive. Not ridiculous or extravagantly so, but still not really cheap. Of course it’s all about the quality and I know I’ll have them for a hundred and one years — or until I’m sick of them, which will probably never happen — but I can’t just that to justify spending the money in the “current economy.”

How many times a day do we listen to diatribes on the economy? I listen to quite a few, not to mention all articles that pop up in my e-mail and on my favorite blogs and websites daily. It gets pretty disturbing to read about the “fall out,” which just reminds me of an OAR song I like called, aptly, “The Fall Out.”

But once again, I digress. Here are my three Dooney & Bourke bags, with the left-most signature fabric bag being my most recent addition: a Christmas gift from my parents.

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They’re just fun! They make my stomach do a little happy flip when I look at them. Of course I rarely seem to actually carry them out in public, but I love to smooth my little fingers over their pretty surfaces! And the bright pink, rope-patterned bag has a special place in my heart: I bought it for myself with one of my first “major” paychecks from my post-college, full-time job.

It’s my Big Girl Bag.

We all have our Target satchels and freebie totes we use to lug stuff back and forth from school or work. We have our old leather hobos that we picked out a solid ten years ago, and we throw our wallets in there and run. They’re no frills — purely functional. We don’t have to worry if we drop them in the dirt accidentally or a pen explodes in the pocket or we get caught in a rainstorm unexpectedly. They’ve been through it all — they’ll be fine.

But Dooney bags are fragile. Not fragile as in you can’t actually sling them over your shoulder, but “fragile” in that you have to take care of them — not bend their handles all up or throw them on the couch haphazardly. And wearing a Dooney (or Chanel, or Louis Vuitton, or Vera Wang . . . whatever is your handbag drug of choice) makes me feel empowered and grown-up. If I need a purse to make me realize I’m an adult, I guess that’s a bad sign, but there’s just something about the feel of an expensive handbag that makes me happy. I’m not a shoe girl or a serious clothes horse, but I need my purses!

And I can’t wait to carry my new one come spring! Another reason to look forward to the end of a cold, rainy winter!

Pink Dooney lust

/ Meg

Okay, I’m already back to the Dooney obsession. This is what happens on pay day Fridays at work — we’re all shopping like crazy. Not that I’m actually prepared to quite shell out the $195 (plus shipping) for this gorgeous pink purse, but I can dream about it!

I love the quilt pattern to this one . . . and, of course, my eye goes straight to anything pink. I’m going to compile a list of all the handbags I’m drooling over so I can make an informed decision when I decide I’m really ready to hand over my plastic for a new one.

My only apprehension in purchasing a “fancy purse” (aside from the obvious cost) is the serious fear of actually damaging the bag in my standard, run-of-the-mill traipsing about town. I’m in and out of my car carrying cans of soda, newspapers, magazines, other totebags, and my lunch so frequently, I hate having to think about whether or not I have newsprint on my hands before I close my fingers around the pristine, gorgeous white straps of a precious Dooney or other such fancy purse. Much to my sister’s chagrin, I’m all about the ease and comfort of what I’m wearing — it needs to look fashionable for work but stay in place, stay clean and stay unwrinkled for as long as possible. I demand the same of a handbag. And when I’m constantly worrying about whether or not the oil from my own fingers will discolor the handle of my purse — which is usually overflowing with random stuff — I consider this quite an inconvenience.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to buy it.

Dooney purse lust

/ Meg / 1 Comment


I have total purse lust — but I’m getting discouraged while searching for my next Dooney. I’m telling you, these Dooney & Bourke bags are like crack. I received my first one as a birthday gift from my mom when I turned 20, and I went out and bought the pink rope patterned bag as a treat to myself this past spring. I figured I was working really hard, I had some extra cash and I’d been lusting over this pink purse for far too long. I just realized I’ve never actually taken a picture of it, which is a travesty. I’m going to correct that later! It’s gorgeous!

So this yellow purse — the “girly bag” motif, as it were — is my new obsession. My sister has a wristlet with blue and pink details, and I’m dying for a green one with pink details (hearts, I suppose). I can’t find it. I saw it months ago on the Dooney Web site and now, mysteriously, it has vanished. Along with my rope pattern. Along with several other patterns I’d been salivating over!

Outrageous!

I’d start to go the Ebay route, but I’m afraid of what I might wind up with if I try and order a Dooney online. I guess I’m a purse snob. I don’t know. All sorts of excellent bags and bargains are to be had on QVC, though. I’ve started to crack and buy more than a few from there, but decided I need to hold firm until I find the bag. My pink and green girly bag.

The search continues . . .

UPDATE! (9/12)

Yes, I have very exciting news. Not only did I find the aforementioned green-and-pink bag combo, I found an even more exciting purse — a brown girly bag! Yes!

Must . . . resist . . .