All bags great and small – Part III – Queen Viv

I have long been a fan of Vivienne Westwood clothes and bags (ever since my mother took me to the World's End store when I was a young girl). I respect her intelligence, her anarchistic spirit, and the whimsy that she puts into her designs.

The other night I was picking up some take out food and saw an older woman with one of the most gorgeous VW bags that I've seen...a large shoulder bag in a white tartan...she was wearing it with a grey tweed coat and the combination was so beautiful that I did something I rarely do and spoke to her about her bag (I always feel like a stalker if I go up to strangers like this, but in this instance I couldn't resist)...my worst fears were confirmed, she'd bought the bag a while ago in London.

So much for that, until I visited Viv's site and found the same bag in a different plaid. With the current exchange rate I am trying to talk myself down from the ledge but we shall see...especially as it would be a perfect addition to my current collection of Westwood bags.

This black leather clutch was actually my mother's. The hardware on the zip isn't the best quality but this is a great way to add a punk element to even the most conservative outfits.
The plaid Derby bag holds a surprising amount for a smaller bag, makes me feel like Alice in Wonderland, and is showerproof...I know this isn't the first thing that comes to mind when buying bags but I have a couple of bags that fall into this category and it's nice to have a fashionable, good-looking bag that you can carry when it's raining without having a nervous breakdown.
My final Viv bag is one of the Treasure Island bags from the F/W 05 collection. I love Liberty fabrics, so the combination of two of their prints and a Westwood bag was too hard to resist. Unfortunately this bag isn't one that can be used every day...the pale fabric attracts stains like a magnet...