Lunch Time Poll: Do I keep this Calvin Klein Chelsea Drawstring Bag or return it to Winners? ;)

Calvin Klein Chelsea Drawstring Bag

This always happens to me.  I get hit by the bag mafia at Winners.

So I was at my local Winners at Cloverdale Mall looking for a cool designer bag for Fritz’s b-day.  Of course I’m looking for her and I find something for myself which I’m not entirely sure if I need.

What did I find?  Oh just Calvin Klein Chelsea Drawstring Bag in RED number.  Its sold out everywhere and it was in the Clearance section!  I was surprised that it hadn’t been scooped up already!   This happened to me in Chicago at Loehmann’s years ago when I found an apple green Cynthia Rowley bag in a clearance aisle for $75 reduced from $300.

The Calvin Klein Chelsea Drawstring Bag was reduced from $198 to $120

Retail Price: USD198
Price: RM830
Colour: Black, Red, White

Features
Calvin Klein quilts the posh drawstring purse
in luxe lamb leather for a chic go-anywhere effect.

• Calvin Klein bag
• Lamb leather; lining: cotton
• Shoulder strap with 8-1/2″ drop
• Drawstring closure
• Diamond quilting throughout; silvertone hardware includes grommets and logo
  plaque
• Interior features cotton twill lining, zip pocket and 2 open pockets
• 16″ W x 12″ H x 7″ D

Um..yeah.  See what I’m dealing with?  See what us girls go through?  Thank god I don’t have children.

My question is, do I keep this? Look I have a chest full of bags but yes indeed this bag is hot and reminds me of a more affordable red Chanel quilted bag.

Will I use it?  Sure.    I can rationalize anything.

Do I love it?  Sure. 

Is it useful? Sure. 

Is it a good deal?  Sure.  But just because its a good deal it doesn’t mean I have to keep it.

Is a  Calvin Klein Chelsea Drawstring Bag in lambskin worth $120?  Hmmmm……

As an aside, while I was trolling through the bag racks for close to an hour and a half at the Winners in Cloverdale I stalked  2 Hillary Radley bags, 1 Tommy Hilfiger, 1 Furla and 1 Nine West.  None of them matched up to the Sisley Bag that I ended up finding and buying for Fritz for her bday.  I’m seeing her tonight so pix will follow.  It’s a creme bag with snake skin trim on the opening of the bag.  It’s pretty but not too much I guarantee you.  You can use it as an arm bag or a cross body.  The cross bag handle in the bag is also snake skin.  It was quite the score as Sisley bags are pretty expensive and the coolest thing was that there was just one left!

The Winners in Cloverdale is a goldmine.  I bought Rayban’s from there in the early summer for a fraction of what they go far in the boutique stores.  I was never a huge fan of Winners before but these days especially the Cloverdale Mall location is really bringing their game. 

Is it worth $120?  What do you think?  I have to make a decision by next Wednesday.  For now the Calvin Klein Chelsea Drawstring Bag is sitting in my hallway.  Staring at me as I type this.

Do the poll below please!!

Yours in fashion,

Mel xo

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A present from me to say thank you for subscribing to my blog!

The holidays are coming up and for those faithful followers to my blog, I would like to post out a sweet gift as a thank you in December!

If your a fan of my blog and already subscribed…Thank you!  Expect a gift in the post! Just e-mail me your mailing address by making a comment on any of my posts.  Better yet e-mail me at thirtyfourflavours@gmail.com

For those yet to subscribe – please do! I’d love to have you on board!

Yours in fashion,

Mel xo

eBay Seller Spotlight: Vintage317

MAGGI B TAPESTRY FABRIC TOTE BAG FAUX ALLIGATOR TRIM

I’ve happened to fall upon a great seller on eBay that I wanted to give you the head’s up on.  Her name is Kelly and she has some lovely goods under her username ‘vintage317’ on eBay.com.

I find that when I get on one of my fixes for something in particular I can’t stop thinking and looking for it.  OCD perhaps?   

MICHAEL KORS NAVY PRINT KIMONO SLEEVE SCARF DRESS

I was at the Clothing Show in Toronto a few weeks back and was looking all over for a Mexican dress and nada.  Instead I started a Vintage Coach bag addiction – please don’t tell Tebs.   Yeah, me…Miss Punk Rock herself.

Anyway, I made a saved search on eBay.com for a Mexican dress (try this out it saves you sifting through the same stuff like a rack at Winners every day).  Every day an e-mail came into my email box and nothing really caught my eye.  Until I saw a lovely dress that Kelly had posted.  I ended up buying it for $35 (before shipping) – a steal based on what I was seeing.  What really sealed the deal with this dress is that it had a drawstring back.  You see sometimes these Mexican dresses look a bit too Moo Moo for my liking – but this one rocked.

VTG 70's BLK EMBROIDERED MEXICAN OAXACAN MINI DRESS

After I won the item I happened to look at her other items and man it was like I was looking into Heaven.  I complimented Kelly on her wares and she was very appreciative.  We got to chatting through eBay.com  I went on to learn that Kelly is 56 years old and studied fashion merchandising in the 70′s and then opened her own shop with a friend when she was just 20!

After the shop closed she became an assistant buyer for a high end store in Buffalo.  She got married in ’79 and started a family which kept her at home.  Her daughters are now 25 and 28.  6 years ago her husband encouraged her to try eBay because she states she ‘never lost my passion for fashion and I was finding such amazing items at estate sales and thrift shops.’  Kelly says that she ‘runs my business by myself from my home and I now travel to NYC on a regular basis for inventory.  I go in to the flea markets and warehouse sales.  I am drawn to the 60′s and 70′s fashion and always wonder about the journey that each piece has taken to arrive in my hands.  No matter where I go to shop I KNOW that I am going to find fabulous vintage items because they are everywhere….all you have to do is look.  My personal favourites are Emilio Pucci, Dior and all things bohemian.’

Ladies, Kelly sets the price right at just $9.99 USD for her auction pieces.  Nice and low to get you salivating and hooked.  When the time starts ticking…honestly you just can’t help but bid a lil more for these lux pieces.  They are well worth it for what you get in quality.  Who doesn’t want a Pucci bag for $80 or a Christian Dior jacket for a mere $100?    If I was rich, I’d be all over it.

VTG COACH BROWN LEATHER LAPTOP iPAD BREIFCASE TOTE BAG

I don’t usually recommend eBay sellers but this one I highly recommend.  I think I may just do an eBay spotlight from now on.  Great vintage at great prices!  Keep up the great work Kelly!

Yours in fashion,

Mel xo

Ray-ban Wayfarer’s bought for $129.99 from Winners

Reese-Witherspoon-Rayban-Wayfarer-2140

Well, I just happened to go to my local Winners at Cloverdale Mall in Etobicoke over the weekend to look for a cool Duffle Bag for my trip to Chicago in August for Lollapalooza.  I’ve lucked out in the past with a North Face jacket there and was just really more on a mooching around trip.

Well it was quite to my surprise that I found two pairs of Ray-ban Wayfarer’s.  One in black and the other in Tortoise shell on a sunglass stand.  You know when you aren’t looking for something but have it in your mental checklist of things to buy but don’t want to spend full ticket price?  Yep that’s what was happening in that moment for me.

Original ticket price was $185 per pair, now marked down to a Winners price of $129.  Score?  Indeed.

I’ve needed a good pair of sunglasses for a while and was done with my cheap and cheerful pair.  They were looking a lil too ‘Matrix-like’ for my liking.  Sure, I can’t really pop RX lenses in them as the Ray-ban’s existing lenses itself are worth $50…but they are lovely and hopefully they will last me for a few years.

Well at least I have my sunglasses sorted for Lollapalooza. 

Yours in fashion,

Mel xo