My Bag Collection #32

Dries Van Noten Canvas Duffel Bag With Adjustable Leather Shoulder Straps

I think Club 21 hearts me very much. With the recent sale, I spent a small fortune which they will love me for it:-(. I must be crazy to spend this much money in these uncertain times of price inflation everywhere. But what's done cannot be undone, I tell myself it's going to be 'shopping drought' for at least 2 months:-P Wonder how true will that hold up to. hahaha.

Anyways here's my latest acquisition for the 'sale shopping' spree. A lovely, macho canvas duffel bag by Dries Van Noten! I was not expecting to find anything interesting from this designer as I think his style is always too ethnic inspired for me. But to my surprise, when I first lay eyes on this bag on the shop window, I find myself attracted to it. I have passed by the Dries Van Noten shop at Hilton hotel many times, each time thinking this is a nice bag but never made an attempt to try out the bag in real. But during sale time, it's a different matter. Who knows what good bargains I could get, so I will 'sniff' into every 'good buy' I can find when it comes to sale time. The bag will not escape my bag radar:-P

My friend and I was making our 2nd round of shopping at Blackjack last Thursday and afterwards, we went to Marni to check out bags for her. We walked past the Dries Van Noten store (next door to Marni) and there it was again, the mannequin holding the lovely duffel bag. My friend went into the store to show me a bag she was interested in and of course I took the chance to check out the store as well. I would never have entered the store alone as this is a women's boutique. Kinda weird. Nevertheless I happily followed, which was a 'wrong' move cos' some mysterious force made me asked the sales lady to let me check out the duffel bag. While trying it in front of the mirror, my heart was pulsating with excitement. The bag looked so right in many ways, oversized and masculine with strong hints of military and explorer style. I love it instantly! It reminded me of the YSL downtown in military canvas. Since I cannot own that, this will be a great alternative!

I knew I wanted the bag but I was worried about spending too much money. I was hoping the bag would cost an arm or leg (considering Dries Van Noten is an A-line brand) and then I can convinced myself it is way too much to spend on the bag. But to my surprise again, the bag is at an unbelievably good price, especially after the 37% discount. It looked like a $2000 dollar bag. But in the end, I paid only SGD $818, which is a bargain for Dries Van Noten. I only hesitate for a moment and almost instantly told the sweet sales lady, "BAG IT for me!" :-P

This is the story of how I 'broke' my bank account and added this lovely bag to my collection.:-P

There are so many things about this bag that I like. First is the olive drab colour (i love military styles!), followed by the 'flight jacket' looking leather handles that runs around the bag. This is a unique way to design a handle for a bag. Thirdly, I am a fan of the used, 'I just came back from exploring Africa' design. How colonial explorer style! Very charming. Lastly, I adore the adjustable handles that can turn it into shoulder or sling bag. If you have a slim enough body frame, you can even carry it like a backpack as shown in the runway pic (although it's a different bag there, but I tried it. It works:-P)

What more can you ask of a bag. 3 styles to work it and lots of attention to details. Even the zipper pull tabs are wrapped in the same canvas fabric and there's a branded mini leather-flap pouch inside the bag that is handy for mobile phones.

All in all, I think I made the right decision to 'suffer' a little deprivation from shopping for the next few months. Getting this bag is a right decision:-P There is immense pleasure in owning this bag.

Retail price: SGD $1299. Where to buy: Dries Van Noten Boutique at Hilton Hotel