Givenchy Antigona Medium Sugar Orange Leather Tote

Have I finally found my dream handbag?! I think so...

My love for the Givenchy Antigona tote has come out of the blue and all at once. I've seen it around, after all, it's nothing new as it first launched back in 2012 but I think I fell slightly in love with InTheFrow's pastel pink Antigona when I saw it in the background of her blog pictures. 

It certainly wasn't love at first sight with this bag... I didn't fully appreciate the plain beauty it has. Now, I adore how simple and clean its structure is; it's very understated but totally unmissable at the same time.  Structured bags to me are everything - I'd always longed for a Celine tote but the price tag put me off. The Givenchy Antigona starts at £1,280.00 for a small or £1,365.00 for the medium style I own. I was lucky enough to purchase my Antigona in the Selfridges S/S14 preview event which gave me 50% off, I am SO glad I got up early that saturday morning!

At first I went straight to the pink Antigona but it was sold out. I looked at the orange bag as my next favourite colour and was in two minds as to whether I should bother purchasing but I did and I definitely made the right choice. The colour is so bright and bold which I love against the simple chic design. I was worried as to how I would pair it with outfits, I'm not usually a bright accessories kind of gal but a fashion savvy Twitter friend, @SJ_Selina, suggested wearing with blacks, browns, greys and green garments. I can safely say i own a lot of black dresses and some grey pieces. I love the grey and orange combos best I think.

 The only slightly negative thing I will say about the Antigona is that it is rather heavy for a bag with minimal hardware. The structuring of the tote and chunky (but super pretty) zip mean the opening to the inner of the bag is quite stiff and not very wide at all. I'm sure the latter will loosen over time but I don't mind. My Alexander Wang Rocco is heavy and I don't mind, it helps me to not over pack!

I wish I could own some of the other designs and colours but I am so lucky to have found this beauty in the sale! I'd love to know if any of you have your eyes on an Antigona - which colour? What do you like/dislike about the bag? 

xoxo

Birthday Fun

Turning 25 isn't so bad...

My birthday was on the 16th, finally falling on a Friday, so I decided I'd love to have a long weekend away in Manchester; my absolute fave place to shop! Birthday money burns holes in purses  even worse than normal money, y'know....I've had a few requests to see what beauty bits I was gifted and bought with my birthday money which I'm hoping to put up tomorrow. I went a little mad at the Tom Ford counter! Need time to try everything so I can chat about it in more detail.

My parents always get me the most yum cake, made to order from somewhere and this year didn't disappoint! Victoria sponge - lots of butter cream, jam and icing a-plenty with a sprinkling of glitter... I  still always make a wish before blowing the candles out :)

My fiancé and I stayed for the first time at the Hilton in the Deansgate area which was lovely. I love the bizarre shape of the building, I always see it on the way into MCR, very iconic but for some reason never chose to stay here before now. We went for the exec suite rooms but the very first had the most awful smell so we had to change and ended up directly under the Cloud 23 bar but thankfully you couldn't really hear it. We were right next to the presidential suite and their must have been some pretty important or snobbish people next door because they had strange bodyguards stood outside our/their doors all night.... So much for some privacy! Other than that, the hotel was nice and I really enjoyed my stay.

I think I took this skyline-y picture from the executive lounge area whilst getting slightly drunk off the free bar our room got us. Looked really impressive and for me it's the perfect place to just sit, chat and drink. There was a glass pane in the floor that I was stood on without realising that it actually showed you right the way down to the ground below... I quickly hopped off once this fact was pointed out to me!

I was surprised with some birthday bubbly from the Mr after a long hard shopping sesh' at the Trafford. This Lanson pink champers is seriously tasty! 

I've eyed Mulberry for so long, their bags being something of an obsession to me so it seemed only fair that I should treat myself to something from the collection sooner rather than later.  I knew I wanted it to be classic above all else and very simple. Something I could use with absolutely anything. Once I'd picked up the black and gold hardware LilyI was sold. Timeless and effortlessly chic. I wore it out on my birthday night with a Karen Millen bodycon and it looked and felt dreamy...

So this was a crystal skull I saw in Selfridges filled with Vodka for £62. I adored it and I totally regret not buying it now. Yes it's vodka and I don't care much for the stuff but you're paying for the skull ornament. Would have looked so cool on my shelf! I could still get it I guess, we'll see.

I also saw this uber cute fox knit from my all-time fave designer of amazing and uniqeu sweats; Markus Lupfer.  I have a thing for pretty foxes on anything and this is the best I've seen, th sequins are so sparkly and it has this look in it's eye that makes me coo but I can't bring myself to part with £310 to take him home with me :( Let's pray for a sale, huh?!

Before leaving Manchester, wrong 'un that I am, I had the best culpa ever from this Starbucks somewhere along 230? Deansgate. It was the only one that wasn't packed and I managed to bagsy a window seat. I'm easily pleased! I think better and reflect more when I get a good seat in these places :-) So i'm another year older, maybe not wiser, but I'm loving life right now and I can't wait to see what 25 brings.... 

xoxo

Alexander Wang Rocco Duffle in Pale Gold Hardware...

Hello.

My name is Emma, and i'm a bagaholic.

 Bagsnob? Whatever you want to call it, I LOVE my handbags.

I've had a lot of people asking about my Wang bag lately, and I like nothing better than a chit chat about bags so here we go! Sorry if I start to ramble ;) 

Firstly, some piccies...

Alexander Wang Rocco w/ Pale Gold hardware

Even my nails match the studs! Nerd.

I was in love with this bag the very first time I clapped eyes on it in Harvey Nichols, Manchester. It was the original; black pebbled leather with antique gold hardware. I cooed over it every single time I ever went back in the store for a year or so before I finally got my very own Rocco in pale gold hardware.

I'm glad I didn't rush in to buying this bag, as I went through phases of liking different styles, starting with the orginial, then the rose gold and then pale gold hardwear. The rose gold is still one of my faves, but I think it looks best on the the more colourful variations of leather - grey, baby blue and tan with rose gold are TDF!

The pale gold for me ended up being the perfect version - the studs are super shiny which the antique brass lacks and the rose gold has too much of. It also has the style of stud I like best - cupcake rather than the bullet studs of the original. Those of you not that into your bags are probably starting to think i'm totes insane and/or too fussy. Quite, but that's for another day.

The leather is a dream. So buttery and soft but totally hardwearing and thick. Most designer leather bags cost well over 1k, so even though this bag packs a punch at £700ish, it's nothing compared to some out there!

The all important weight issue... Right. This bag has studs and thick leather. It's amazing quality, so none of the materials are cheap and thin or pretend hardware, so yes, ofcourse it's heavier than your average bag. Is it too heavy? No, not for me and I tend to carry a whole load 'o junk in my baggage! Just don't overload it, which is common sense as overloading will only stretch the handles and make them look saggy.

So there you have it, my all time dream bag. Doesn't mean I can't still lust over others, so watch this space ;)