Reading Dana Thomas' book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre a couple of years ago and my disgust with fake brand name items have fueled my quest for real luxury: interesting accessories with a personal touch that look unique and don't resemble whatever "It Bag" or anything you might find on Lindsay Lohan. Handmade items that one knows exactly who designed them and where they come from are my definition of luxury. Of course, they need to be and look exquisite.
Nolita area in Manhattan is an excellent shopping destination if you're in the same frame of mind. Elizabeth street is full with stores of up and coming designers who offer an individual point of view and gorgeous clothes, jewelry and perfume. That's why I found myself there on a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, and how I stumbled upon Ananas, designer Jennifer Baum Lagdameo's boutique.
I saw this handbag in the window and simply had to have it. The Mila bag was also available in purple and a few neutral colors, but the emerald green was perfection. The leather is soft, the inner design offers enough small pockets to ensure I don't misplace my phone, the interesting touch of the natural wood hardware and the lining (the pattern is based on photographs the designer has taken during her travels some years ago) are true luxury.
Ananas boutique is also full of other lovely items like scarves, belts and jewelry that complement the collection (the new colors almost make me happy about fall. Almost). As I was about to pay for my bag, I noticed a few resin-made rings. As you can see, one of them came home with me.
Jennifer Baum Lagdameo works with natural materials and all handbags are made in NYC.
Ananas boutique is located on 248 Elizabeth St.. For additional address (North America, Paris and Japan) you can check the website. No e-commerce but they do take phone orders.
All photos are mine. If you're interested, my nail polish in the pictures is Barefoot in Barcelona from OPI's Spanish collection. More photos and reviews coming next week.
I have often wondered about the disappearance of the notion of personal in luxury. The easy take is, of course, that those who might be called "nouveau riche" are more interested in demonstrating they are capable of dropping the dollars rather than bespoke or unidentifiable quality. A few years ago, I tried to talk myself into truly learning how to sew, because I figured that in the future, a human seamstress would be some sort of rare art form. Yet another abandoned get rich scheme... ;)
ReplyDeleteThese bags are wonderful. Thanks so much for giving them an audience here.
Wow! What a striking weekend handbag that is. I love the color and the blond wood is a cleaver and complimentary way to secure the flap.
ReplyDeleteScentScelf, I had to laugh at your comment about learning to sew. I grew up when sewing was a required class for girls. I made all my own clothes and earned extra money by sewing clothes for women in the neighborhood. Back then, we didn't think of it as custom tailoring or being anything special. It was just the way things were done.