L.A.M.B.

Cheetah: A Surprising Neutral

RaeBelle

Recently I was talking to one of my friends about a particular bag I’d choose for an outfit. Based upon what she told me, I nominated my L.A.M.B. Cheetah Mandeville for the outfit. And then gushed at why this was such a good bag for the outfit.

This Cheetah print contains black, brown, and white in the pattern, three neutrals. And since it has all three I’ve always felt fine wearing it with any colour in my wardrobe. I never thought I would use an animal print so often, but it really feels like it could go with almost anything!

And because a picture is worth a thousand words, my Cheetah Mandeville.

Handbag Styles and My Thoughts

RaeBelle

There are so many different handbag styles out there and everyone has their favorites and dislikes.  I thought I’d pick a few that come to mind and share my thoughts on them.  These are the bags I thought of initially.  If I think of some more, maybe I’ll add another post 🙂

Hobo – I really love the way some hobo’s look!  Bags like the Belen Echandia Enchant Me and the Tano Minilisa are a pleasure to look at and I’m sure they’d even look good on me (I’ve never tried either).  But something about every hobo I’ve tried just doesn’t seem to work in my life.  Really don’t know why.  I wish I could find one that works for me.  I guess I just need a super lenient return policy to find the hobo that works for me.

Tote – I love a good tote bag.  One of my favorite times to carry a tote is on the weekends when going to one of our many local farmers markets.  They are so useful!  Just sling it over my shoulder and I can carry all of my normal purse kit and my purchases.  I can even carry a few extra fabric grocery bags in my tote!  I even use my totes as a daily bag when I want a bunch of extra room for items like a pair of flats and a chunky sweater.  Some of my favorites are the L.A.M.B. Wiltshire / Williamsfield and the Belen Echandia Rock Me (which I can’t wait to receive!)

Satchel – I adore satchels.  This is my absolute favorite handbag style!  FAVORITE!!  Everything about the satchel makes me happy.  Depending on the bag, I can hand, arm or shoulder carry a satchel and it’s the only type that really works for me.  I like how most of the satchels I’ve seen have some structure and don’t fall all over themselves.The Belen Echandia Charm Me (Currently only available through BE Couture, I own 2), Belen Echandia Make Me Smile Midi and the L.A.M.B. Mandeville (I own many Mandeville’s)

Clutch – I don’t go where only a small bag like a clutch is required, but I figure this is a classic item to have in your bag wardrobe.  To that end, I just ordered my first clutch, a Belen Echandia Clutch Me.  I figure this will be great when I don’t want to carry a large bag, or when I’m traveling for business and need to carry a few important items with me.  I might be going to some business meetings with high ranking executives and I’m hoping the clutch will make me look like I ‘fit in’ a bit more.  I can’t wait to see how I use it!

Laptop Bag – A laptop bag is a must for me.  I travel for business and always need to bring at least my work laptop and sometimes a personal laptop as well.  While my laptops aren’t huge, they definitely don’t fall into the tiny category either.  One of my favorites that I already own is the McKlein Willowbrook.  I love the fact that I can attach it to my carry on, roll it, or remove it from the wheeled base and carry it with the handles or shoulder strap.  Talk about multitasking!  It’s probably my most used laptop bag.  Because all of my business travel involves a laptop, I’m always on the look out for another great addition to my collection.

Messenger/Crossbody – Since I’ve been blessed with large breasts, these bags can be a bit of a challenge.  To date, I haven’t found a messenger style bag that is both comfortable and looks good when worn crossbody.  But bags like Belen Echandia Surprise Me look so darn appealing, it’s really hard not to buy the bag even if I can’t wear it like it’s intended.  I’m thinking about doing some more experimentation with these bags to see if they could work for me.  Or just wear the bag over heavy coats and sweaters so it doesn’t break oddly overly my torso.

Loving L.A.M.B.

RaeBelle

I need to write about the other handbag company I love, L.A.M.B.  L.A.M.B. is really the first handbag company I really fell for.  I really love Gwen Stefani’s style, it’s so very her.  I think it’s great that she’s so involved with the designs and only carries her own handbags.  She’s a great spokes model for her line!

Most L.A.M.B. bags make the crucial work life/personal life transition that I require.   I have a few bags that are too casual for work, but I bought them with only casual usage in mind so it’s okay.

A big part of me loves structured handbags.  My favorite structured L.A.M.B. has got to be the Mandeville.  I have a bunch of them.  It’s big enough to carry all of my regular kit with some room to spare, but not so huge I look like I’m carrying everything I own.  It’s really a great daily bag for me, which is why I own so many.

L.A.M.B. gives me a great way to inject a fresh and a little funky style into my wardrobe.  I’m normally very conservative with the way I dress, so L.A.M.B. adds to that little extra something to my outfits.  It’s really a fun way to spice out an outfit or a day!

I’m planning to write more about L.A.M.B. and feature a Mandeville in Handbag Diary.  So this isn’t the last you’ll read about them