Gorgeous Bags from ‘Bags and More’

Twitter is a wonderful way to chat to new people, especially about the topics you love. In my case this is fashion of course, and I have often spent time having Twitter conversations with a lovely lady called Jackie, who runs a fabulous on-line company called Bags and More. Bags and More is not just your run of the mill bag company, it sources beautiful hand made bags from Madagascar. I’ll let Jackie explain more about what makes these bags just so special.

“…All the bags are very limited edition.  They are made in Madagascar by a small family concern.  Compared with other bags from Madagascar on the market, the quality and finish of our bags is superior.  My suppliers live in France, but travel back to Madagascar in the Autumn to design and oversee production of next year’s lines.  We only stock around 6 of each style and the new season’s lines will be on stock in May 2013.  The bags are made of woven raffia (this is a hand-made process) and machine finished with leather trim.  Most of them have lining and interior pockets with zip tops.  The beach bags (i.e.Arc en Ciel) are drawstring but the inner wall of the bag has been treated to give a water resistant finish…”

I loved the background story behind the bags of ‘Bags and More’, so when Jackie asked me if I was interested in test driving one of the bags, I was very happy to agree. I consider myself to be a connoisseur of bags and wanted to see what these Madagascan treasures were like to use everyday.

I chose the Rabat Noir bag, because I loved the Autumnal shades that this bag comes in. The brown/beige/tan colour way would be a great neutral to match in with so much of your wardrobe, and the tan leather hand stitched strip around the base and edging gave this a classy feel.

I have to say I just love this bag. It was larger than expected and held an awful lot of stuff – I got purse, keys, umbrella, notebook, phone, camera, tissues etc into my bag and still had so much room. The bag was finished to a really high standard that meant this design looked as good as part of a smart look as it did with casual. And it is also very good for the security conscious. With both a full zip fastening and then a buckled flap across the front, this bag ensures that all your belongings are kept secure and safe.

This bag has a retro feel to it, it made me think of the sort of bags that Audrey Hepburn carried in ‘Roman Holiday’ or Grace Kelly carried in Monte Carlo during the 1950s. Because of this, I first styled it in quite a retro way using a jacket and shoes found in a local charity shop.

But this can also suit a more up-to-date look, looking great with trousers, and even when teamed with glitter and sparkle.

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