Bitesize #17
The story of the bag that wasn't The Bag and yet another rec from one lit girl to another
It’s Sunday and I’m the cosy kind of tired and so I snuck back into bed after we’d been at the breakfast buffet. Did I tell you we went on a weekend trip to the west coast of Sweden? It was my boyfriend’s 30th birthday gift from me, to go oyster fishing/picking and then spend a night at a spa hotel where we also got to enjoy the otsters we picked earlier in the day as an appetizer during our dinner. A real 10/10 experience if I may say so myself. I even learned that we apparently have a highly exclusive oyster in our west coast waters — which is just divine. After this experience I’ll definitely be eating oysters more often. A real nutrient-packed food, too.
And on that note, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
One of the topics that came up during dinner last night was how we’d had quite a friend-filled week before we left. And how happy we both were that it feels like we’ve gotten into a routine of both having friends over and going to our friends’ for dinner. I’ve previously written about my thoughts on friendships and friend groups, or more specifically how challenging it can be as an adult to feel like you’re okay even though you might not be sharing every aspect of your life with five best friends (a la F.R.I.E.N.D.S). But honestly, it IS very nice to feel like you have like-minded people around you, to share, laugh about and even compare situations with. Not in a negative way. Just, in an interested way. None of us have any answers on how to adult properly and successfully, so we might as well share notes — right?
I guess this newsletter has unofficially become a place to share my book club recommendations (tell me when it becomes too much and you want me to shut the hell up about my books). But. I have another truly great book to share. Let’s see a show of hands of who’s read Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. First of all, the title alone is enough to bring tears to my eyes. It’s equally heart-breaking in Swedish (En stund är vi vackra på jorden).
The story is a letter from a son to his illiterate mother and the story oscillates back and forth between different moment of his upbringing, or even stories of his mother or grandmother. It’s raw and honest, careful and brave — all at the same time. Themes such as childhood, parenting, mental health and survival, juxtapositioned between growing up during a war in Vietnam and growing up as a homosexual asian in America. I hope this is a book that gets read in schools.
I was so happy when I scored the sexy chocolate brown Bowling Bag from Cos, thinking that I had made the purchase of a lifetime and I would from this day on be the fabulous woman with the gorgeous oversized suede bag. When the text came telling me I could pick up my package my heart actually skipped a beat with anticipation. I was so ready for my new improved life to begin.
The second I unboxed the luxurious buttery smooth bag from it’s environmentally friendly dust bag I could sense that something was off. Not wanting to accept defeat so easily I brushed off my initial reaction as an unwillingness to treat myself to such a splurge. “It’s MY money and I deserve nice things” I told myself like a mantra, urging the hesitation to subside. The next morning I packed all my school stuff inside the huge and hugely attractive bag, ready to begin the new school year in the most fabulous manner possible. My boyfriend carefully stopped me in the hallway, asking if I shouldn’t just give myself a full 24h before making my final decision? With a sigh as huge as the bag I rolled my eyes at him and went to transfer all my belongings/loaned books into my trusty old ATP Atelier tote. Why are you trying to ruin my life?
In the evening I stood in front of the mirror taking pictures from all angles imaginable to try and get a sense of why I didn’t feel the way I thought I would. Colour? Love. Fabric? Couldn’t be more buttery or seductive. Shape? Mm… maybe sort of a little less attractive than the Margaux BUT I DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY. Okay calm down. Size? Swimming pool, even after stuffing it with four books, an A4 notebook, my computer and some knick-knacks for the hell of it. But that’s a plus, no? I can fit all my school necessities plus my gym kit, which is technically a good thing.
The next day I did the process all over again, carefully placing book after book into my Mary Poppins bag. I bravely headed out the door and — immediate regret. The stuff in it kept swimming around causing it to hang weirdly on my shoulder and it felt far too heavy to wear in the crook of my arm. This led me to ending up carrying the bag like a NY business man in the ‘40s. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it was far too long to keep between my feet on the subway which, due to the suede, I didn’t want to do anyways. Except, when I put it on my lap it spilled over onto the lap of the person sitting next to me (again, due to the sheer size). Cringe, as the kids say. I spent all day feeling awkward and exposed lugging around my boat of a bag.
So now it sits in our guest room quietly waiting to be shipped back to Cos so that some other person can give it the love it deserves. The weird thing is that I still want it to work. It’s so dreamy and cool, it’s almost unbearable. But I’m an adult on a student’s budget and so I have to be sensible and realize that this just isn’t The Bag.
Luckily, I found another one at & Other Stories. But that’s a story for another time. (She’s perfect).
As much as I long for the sunshine to heat up my frozen limbs in the spring, I now am really craving those crisp fall mornings where leaves crunch under your feet and there’s a sense of still anticipation in the air. I’ve always been such a sucker for the start of the new school year. Maybe because my mum always made us feel really special with brand new notebooks, pencilcases and indoor slippers as children. Some of my favourite memories from my childhood include us biking through a forrest near our house as a family, on our way to meet up friends for waffles and hot chocolate. Those days make me feel much more nostalgic than lazy days at the beach for some reason.
I’m seeing about 3.2 billion posts about suede right now. And I get, we all want to wear suede. We’re all really into Massimo Dutti’s suede jackets. Heck, I even bought myself not one, but two suede bags (although I’m returning one as you know by now). But I’m dying to know — does anyone have any other trend forecasts for fall than suede? I’m not trying to be snarky and I genuinely believe you should write about whatever you want. But if you’re sitting on a really great piece about fall styling that doesn’t focus solely or mostly on suede, please share in the comments! I will be contributing my own take whenever I finish reading my 700 pages of litterature for school in a few days.
And with that I conclude this week’s Bitesize. Hope you enjoyed it and as always, pls pls make my day by leaving a comment. I truly love hearing from you all!
Talk soon,
Julia
I purposely haven’t included any suede in my edits mainly because it’s just not functional for wetter climates. I’m not going to recommend dropping serious cash on high quality suede when it can be ruined instantly by rain!
Also - you definitely made the right decision with the COS bag! 👏🏻
The Cos bag is a definition case of label dickmatization (a la Neverworns). It’s not The Row but because it is the best variation we’ve seen of the lauded Margeux it’s easy to want to it to work. Sigh. I’m sorry it didn’t but I look forward to the update RE &Other Stories.
Also, the pic at the end with the girl who has a sweater WITH dress shirt over her shoulders is so insanely chic.