"Flash - a-ah - he'll save everyone of us" - Queen

It's been asked before...by me and by others...but, really, why is there such a vast difference between Urban Outfitters in the US and the UK? UO wasn't on my London "stores to visit" list because, well, I find it irritating to travel all that way and end up in shop that I could go into every day. Except...and here's the rub...it's not the same. Which is why, dear reader, I found myself guiltily walking into the Urban Outfitters on Oxford Street...climbing the stairs to the top floor...and gazing in rapture at the racks of Peter Jensen, Karen Walker, APC Madras, et al. Such an embarrassment of riches...surely a few could make their way across the ocean.

Of course, the men's floor needed to be checked to see if it offered the same temptations for Mr. Heb. It didn't. But...hidden behind a display near the cash register...we did find some bags from the limited edition collaboration between Eley Kishimoto and Eastpak. Now, I've been a fan of Eley Kishimoto's prints for years...the lure of a messenger bag in their signature flash print was too great for me...especially as I need something to lug my laptop round in and Mr. Heb (very generously) offered to buy it as an exceedingly early birthday gift.

As an added bonus, once you've bought the bag, you can log onto Eastpak's website and join the "Flash Association" using the unique number sewn into each bag. I'm not sure what benefits are obtained from membership (I'm guessing it will just mean a slew of new spam hitting my mailbox) but the enamel flash pin attached to the information card more than makes up for an enlarged mailbox.