tarte tatin

I was at a shoot last Sunday with stylist Kat Manalo-Erro when I noticed her cute, bright orange leather tote.

You know me and my love for leather, brights and totes, so I demanded where she got it, and was so excited when I found out that she designed it herself and that she was selling it, and that she had a few in her car! Shopping at work—fun and convenient, although it will cancel out the work you did since you just spent the money you made, lol.

She only had magenta and gold, and though I loved the gold immediately, I wanted to see her other colors first before I bought.

We met today and I was so torn between the gold, eggplant and red. They were all so pretty, but I told myself to choose only one. I finally let go of the red and it was down to the gold and eggplant, except they were both so lovely….so you know what happened.

Meet Goldie. I love the hue of gold, it’s bright but not loud. And check out the cute matching bag tag.

This is Mr. Eggplant. I love how it’s a cross between deep purple and navy, and the leather is so buttery soft. This is slouchier, perhaps because the treatment used for the gold one gave it more structure.

The totes are so roomy that you can use it as an overnighter, and the leather is so soft that you can fold the sides to keep it closed when you’re at the mall and want some security.

Look how spacious! I think Tank would fit inside. I love how Kat covered even the bag base in the same color leather as the bag. Notice also how there is a mini-pouch inside—I asked her why she didn’t sew a pocket along the tote and she said that she wanted the bag’s exterior to be stitch-free, and from experience I know that putting a pocket against the tote a la Longchamp’s Le Pliage would make one side sag forward.

The bag’s shape makes it perfect for packrats and hoarders (like me), and even men. I can totally see J rocking this tote.

And the price, for soft leather and that size is a steal (I’ll leave you to find out the price when you inquire with Kat). It also pays that Kat is super OC with stitching, she told me that she would really personally make sure each stitch was solid before accepting the bags from her manufacturer, and that during her initial bag making stages, she even went so far as to sew a bag herself when she couldn’t find a bag maker that satisfied her!

Check out her site, Katre, at http://www.katrebrand.com. She has clothes, too and a lot of things under wraps (I won’t preempt her, lol). She’s also working on something special for me and I can’t wait to show it to you, along with the cutest model wearing it. ;)