Mulberry Taylor Tote
Mulberry Eliot
All this talk of credit-crunch, recession, failing stocks and shares, Madoff and Stanford-esque cons, looming mass unemployment and doom in the retail sector has created a less than perky Spring season so far. It's certainly clear that there's something serious going on when the Financial Ministers of the world's G20 countries gather to discuss the issues and choose to meet in the small, suburban commuter town of Horsham in West Sussex. Their pockets have been clearly hit as badly as the British public if they're having to endure what must be one of the most boring and uninteresting places in the country; yawn-inducing doesn't do Horsham justice, it's as grey as the paintwork on a sea-worthy Naval vessel. Sadly for certain members of The Established Man Office it features on their Friday night train journey to the more rural and charming areas of West Sussex, thank God for ES Magazine to distract one from the monstrous commuter belt territories!
But this got us all thinking on the fashion desk at Established Man Towers yesterday afternoon, what might all these ministers be carrying their expensive suits in? Luggage is a serious issues for us frequent fliers and if its not the great spaces in Terminal 5 we're traversing then let it be that fortnightly trip to the country for some quality hermit time. In the past old favorites have been Longchamp, a huge navy weekend bag that thankfully bears little resemblance to those Longchamp bags certain echelons of the Sloane community like to patronise. The other option is an iconic Paul Smith weekend bag, perfect for hand-luggage on those well-known budget airlines us peasantry's travel by...Ryanair anyone? With it's heavy canvas printed livery of old suitcases one might unearth in a Brocante in Provence it almost tells its own story of discovery after finding it under a pile of clothes at New York store Takashimaya for a minute sum...we do love a bargain. Along with that we're a big fan of the Tote Bag and there's nothing like a goody bag that we can use and use again, thank you Frieze Art Fair for those Jack Spade bags way back in year dot, they're still going strong, unlike the truffles contained within!
So bag options aplenty but what with constant office gallivanting both on the domestic and international front our luggage options Chez The Established Man are looking a little tatty around the edges and its got us thinking about what might fulfil our Summer travels whilst being a good investment, we must do those G20 ministers proud down in delightful Horsham, obscene spending will be frowned upon and this must be an 'investment piece'. Thankfully such dilemmas can be solved on home turf...phew...for a moment there we thought we might have to decamp to Paris and a trip to Goyard! But no, our favorite kind of Berries have some freshly picked varieties and we're ready to gorge on them like an overweight child at a pick-your own on the finest of summers day.
Burberry aren't synonymous with their men's accessories when it comes to large bags but good old Christopher Bailey, he's not old at all we just mean we can rely on him for good things constantly, has come up with a small capsule collection of fine car-boot candy for the stylish gentleman traveller. We were drooling after the Spring Summer 09 Prorsum collection only the other day in the Bond Street Store, inspired by the garden and currently plastered across every magazine in Mario Testino's shoot at Petersham Nurseries and we think the Brown Leather Bag is the perfect match yet will last until eternity and surely get better and better with age like a fine wine, it's Dairy Milk shade of brown will never appear ostentatious and would be as happy in the melee of Mumbai to the manicured boulevards of Monaco. Other options feature the infamous Burberry check in an over sized sort of way, much like those over sized plaids for A/W09 we love and what with the revival of the Burberry house check at the Prorsum show in Milan last month snap up one of these and you'll be right on trend before the trend even hits.
Bin those Goji berries, enough of the super anti-oxidant properties of the Acai berry and do just shut up about the power of Blueberries. There's only one other berry we want right now along with a bowl full of Burberries and that's the Mulberry. Another great British brand, the arm-candy of many a stylish yet understated female and also a loyal male following for its men's bag options. With the departure of former Creative Director Stuart Vevers to Loewe a while back we were unsure the success of this very English setup would continue to roll on like a hamster in a cage. Of course Mulberry came up trumps and carefully placed accessories superstar Emma Hill in our Stu's position and hasn't the girl done good. In the old days the usual cravings at about 3pm in The Established Man offices would be for a chocolate hobnob, a Hummingbird Bakery red-velvet cake if we were feeling really greedy, a slice that is..not an entire cake! However with the gymkhana of men's accessories to check out on the Mulberry Website we now get a daily dosage to curb our lustings for a Mulberry Green Taylor tote, with its casual undertones, nothing like a bit of the grass-green and some fine leather there just for good measure this is one way to splurge like a fashionista yet appear like a recessionista and carry all that crap in some seriously stylish get-up. For those who need a little more of the enclosed feel then meet Eliot. No No not the bloke to sort out the boiler..that's Derrick, no our mate Eliot is another fine choice for some airport action. We love the woven canvas handles paired with leather and that Navy Blue colour way has Biarritz written all over it, understated glamourama, nothing we like more here. We better get saving for some serious manbag spending.
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