Most of us don’t have a “lifestyle.” We go to work, pick up the kids, fold the laundry, catch the ‘L,’ watch a video, collapse into bed-or variations on those themes.
Living, yes. Lifestyle, don’t think so.
But if somehow you did acquire a lifestyle, here’s the handbag you’d carry as you pursued it.
Clearly this is not the purse for you if you need to carry much more than a credit card, some cash and a cell phone.
But if you’re enjoying a glass of Champagne, lunching at the club or meeting friends for tea at The Four Seasons, slip this little darling on your wrist and you are way better than good to go. You’re enjoying “an essential step in the new look lady.”
That’s an excerpt from the information provided by the Christian Dior couture house celebrating its limited edition Samourai 1947 line of accessories. And it’s a tribute to the sensational “New Look” silhouette that shook the foundations of Paris fashion in the post-World War II era.
The clutch shown here is lambskin, shaped to echo the spirit of the ’40s with a soupcon of Japanese tradition-the elaborate, knotted wrist strap and the ribbon weaving, said to derive from the traditional weaving on samourai (that’s French for samurai) armor.
Now if that sounds like a lot to deliver for a little yellow purse, consider that the dangling logo tag is an “iconic Louis XVIth medallion in enamel tortoise-shell finish” in the original typeface used when Dior opened his luxe fashion house six decades ago.
Despite the $2,700 price tag, this bag was a sellout; others from the line are available locally at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Most striking of all the features of the handbag is the snake curling pertly atop the frame. It’s designer John Galliano’s wink at Monsieur Dior’s love of gardening and animals.
However, if you suffer from ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) you’ll want to slither-fast-in a different fashion direction.
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— During the 1950s, Christian Dior was indisputably the world’s most famous fashion designer; his label alone accounted for half of France’s haute couture exports.
— Other phobias that might make the new clutch a scary fashion choice include microphobia (fear of small things) and xanthophobia (fear of the color yellow).
Source: designmuseum.org; phobialist.com
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Read senior correspondent Ellen Warren’s shopping adviser column every Thursday in the At Play section and join the conversation at chicagotribune.com/ ellen.shopellen@tribune.com
