La Alaskeña

I am a bad shoe/purse buyer. Just awful. Since becoming a vegetarian I have eschewed leather, which makes buying shoes and purses quite difficult, as you can imagine. But mostly it just doesn’t occur to me to buy purses and shoes. I already have purses and shoes that are not yet falling apart. Why buy more?

In 2005 I bought a plain black purse in Mexico City. I loved it. It was the right size, and it matched everything. At least I think it matched everything, but then I am the one who didn’t find out that brown and black don’t match until my first semester of college. (My exact words: “But they’re both dark!” True story.)

That purse went with me everywhere I went, logging thousands and thousands of miles, surviving customs checks, coat checks, and bounced checks (kidding!). And it started to show. It faded from too much sun. The stitching started to unravel. Still, I didn’t buy a new one until about 3 months ago.

Here in Alaska, a lot of people like to display their money on their arm with an expensive purse. I don’t get it. I really don’t. I don’t have money to spend on designer purses, and even if I did, I’m pretty sure I could come up with something more creative to waste money on than those ticky-tacky candy-colored Dooney and Bourke or Coach purses. At least go for something interesting. Gosh. And don’t get me started on logos. Chanel and Louis Vuitton may keep their logos; everybody else needs to calm down.

I realize that this is completely hypocritical seeing as how if I had the financial wherewithal, I would totally spring for designer clothing, and then pair my haute couture with shoes from Old Navy and my purse from the Gap. That I got on sale for $13.99. Oh yes. Yes, I would.

Convince me: why should I spend more than $30 on a purse? Whyyyyy? No seriously, convince me, because I really want this purse. It’s so pretty. I would gladly spend $65 on a dress, but on a purse? Ha.

Purse by Etsy seller Shecological

 P.S. I know I have been a bad blogger as of late, both posting erratically and not answering comments. I do try to answer every comment, and I’m just thrilled to bits when you take the time to comment on my posts. My schedule as of late has left me with a keen desire to spend every moment of my free time sleeping, but please know that I read all the comments, love them, and will answer them when I get a day off (Monday). I am also planning on luring more readers and keeping the ones I have with some sort of giveaway. What will it be? No earthly idea, but I’ll come up with something good.

In an effort to break loose from my uniform of long-sleeved t-shirts and stretchy pants, I bought a long black skirt. It’s long, covers me up, and isn’t sweats! Hurrah! Still, I haven’t worn a long skirt since my days playing Cecily from The Importance of Being Earnest in high school, so I was a little nervous. It’s out of my comfort zone, ok? Also, it kind of reminds me of the dresses that the polygamist women in Texas wear, or Nicki’s wardrobe on Big Love.

prairie chic by andreastaats on Polyvore.com

I ventured out with Kurt to the grocery store. I told him that people were going to think I was his youngest wife. Well, maybe if we were in southern Utah. Incidentally the only other woman at the store wearing a floor-length skirt was an Old Believer, which is kind of like Alaska’s version of the Amish, except for um… they’re not Amish. They don’t even look Amish. But they both wear long dresses and cover their heads! So there.