Your daily dose of pretty: Cartable bag

There is so much to love about this bag: the retro vibe; the mix of pretty prints; the cute hardware; and it even converts from a shoulder bag to a backpack;

Available from Australian retailer Monsterthreads  for AU$89.

Your daily dose of pretty: ASOS Bird Print Chain Clutch

It would appear I am still obsessed with bird prints, if my love for this purse is anything to go by:

I love the colour, and the kissing birds print. I also love the fact that it's currently on sale on ASOS for £12.50. Although as always that's not an excuse for me to buy it...

Your daily dose of pretty: Shadow Circus Burlesque Fairy tote from HautTotes

I absolutely love the artwork on this tote bag:

Isn't that just gorgeous? The artwork is by Amy Brown, and the fabric is printed exclusively for HautTotes with images licenced fromt the artist. So you know you're not going to see this fabric used for anything other than HautTotes bags.

The Shadow Circus Burlesque Fairy tote is US$49.75 from HautTotes.

Your daily dose of pretty: Green Mini Messenger Bag from The Yellow Brick Road

How cute is this mini messenger bag?:

It reminds me of my first school satchel (in the days before we all had backpacks) only way cooler. My satchel was eye-scorching fluorescent pink - great for visibility but nowhere near as awesome as green with polka dots.

The Green Mini Messenger is NZ$49.00 from The Yellow Brick Road, or if you're in Auckland you can pop into their store at 279 Parnell Rd.

Your daily dose of pretty: Bags by JumpFromPaper

Some days, don't you just really wish you lived in a cartoon? With the bright colours, and lots of white space?

No?

Only me then?

Well, thanks to JumpFromPaper, I may actually be able to fulfil my cartoon wishes. At least with my handbag.

That there is an actual handbag. See:

Actual handles, and pockets, and zips.

JumpFromPaper is the brainchild of Taipei-based designers Chay Su and Rika Lin, and this is how they describe their inspiration:

"One cozy afternoon, the two girls were chatting, when they got to sketching their dream designer handbag. A surprising idea popped up – 'How amazing it would be if a two-dimensional hand-drawn illustration could come to life as a real bag!' They explored every possibility, rendering fantasy handbags in perspective, and giving birth to JumpFromPaper™."

The Bonjour (above) is US$80.00,  and I'm also quite partial to the Play Hooky (US$80.00):

What do you think? Could you see yourself carrying one of these around?

Your daily dose of pretty: Colour Block Bag by Novo

It's a good thing I didn't go into the Novo store at St Lukes when I was Christmas shopping two nights ago. If I had spotted this bag the kids would be getting a couple less presents each!

Colour blocking is everywhere at the moment. In fact the term is getting a bit overused if you ask me - I saw a plain blue scarf advertised as "colour blocked" the other day. I mean seriously? A blue scarf isn't color blocked, it's Just A Blue Scarf! Anyway, I digress. Orange and pink is one of my favourite clashing colourways, and it works really well in this cute wee across body bag, AU$49.95 online from Novo Australia, or a list of Novo stores can be found here.

Your daily dose of pretty: Teal Plume clutch bag on Etsy

Yep, I'm looking at bags again:

But this is a clutch bag, rather than a handbag. So that's different, right? Because I'd be able to fit even less of the Mountain of Stuff I Carry Around in it.

Dammit, as a justification that totally didn't work. Still, I love the art nouveau style of the fabric, maybe I can justify it based simply on its prettiness?

The Teal Plume silklined clutch bag is US$75.00 from redrubyrose on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: Glam bow gathered bag from Freez Clothing

Despite my addiction to pretty things I've spent years ignoring bags and handbags because they never really made my pretty receptor tingle. (Yes, I have a pretty receptor and it tingles. Not telling you where it is though!).

Recently however, after featuring a few bags in the Daily Pretty, I've started to amass a collection of them. The problem with this is that I never actually use them. You see, I carry a lot of stuff around in my handbag. I mean a lot. So much so that transferring everything from one bag to another is time consuming. Not to mention the dilemma I'm faced with should I choose a smaller bag for occasions where my suitcase sized day-to-day bag doesn't go with my outfit. I find myself thinking "but I can't possibly not include the indigestion tablets / plastic cutlery set / dogs' vaccination certificates because what if I have an urgent need for them?".

Yes, I have issues.

This bag wouldn't fit all my stuff, but I want it anyway:

The Glam Bow Gathered Bag is from Australian company Freez Clothing (who ship internationally) and is AU$29.00.

Your daily dose of pretty: Emily shoulder bag from Etsy

You know, I'm pretty sure that at some time over the last few months I'd made mention of the fact that I wasn't a handbag person. That in spite of my obsession with pretty things (shoes, nail polish, shoes, dresses, shoes, makeup, shoes, lingerie, shoes, jewellery, did I mention shoes?) I'd never found myself cooing over a handbag.

And then I did a few posts about pretty handbags.

And guess what happened? Yeah. Turns out I now have a handbag obsession. I've even somehow managed to buy myself several. Which I've not yet used.

So here's a pretty handbag:

The Emily navy cord shoulder bag is US$75.00 by EmmaGordonLondon on Etsy. I want it. I'd never use it. It's rough being me some days, I tells ya!

Your daily dose of pretty: Sparrows Bow purse from Sour Puss Clothing

In recent years I've been gradually weaning myself off the colour black as an option for head-to-toe dressing. I was actually a wee bit of a goth at one stage you know - although realistically anybody who is regularly described by her friends as "bubbly" is never going to make a convincing goth! Anyway one colour I've recently discovered a liking for is turquoise. I've not yet managed to incorporate it into my outfits, but I think this cute wee purse would be a lovely way to add a pop of turquoise:

Isn't that gorgeous? The Sparrows Bow Purse is US$29.00 from Sour Puss Clothing.

Your daily dose of pretty: Dragon Princess tote

I'm starting to think that despite my repeated assertions to the contrary I might actually have a bit of a thing for handbags. Or at least for pretty handbags like this one:

And look, a cosmetic purse to match:

The Dragon Princess Tote is US$39.00 and the cosmetic purse is US$9.00 from HautTotes on Etsy.

Yep, I definitely need more handbags. I also need to carry a lot less stuff around with me so that swapping all my stuff from one bag to the other doesn't take half a freakin' hour!

Your daily dose of pretty: Summer handbag from Mercedes Louise

I have a conundrum my pretties. I have fallen in love with the gorgeous Summer Handbags at Mercedes Louise, and I have decided I am going to buy myself one. But which one? Help me out here, ok?

First up, my favourite colour:


Obviously I'm going to love the purple version, and it comes with a choice of trim - green or pink. Pretty.

Then there's black:


A quick rifle through my closet will reveal my love of black, and this would match plenty of outfits. Plus, pretty.

Or:


Surprisingly, I love this the most. And I'm not a fan of green (except on my nails). The practical side of me says it would be harder to match this to an outfit, but then I already have go-with-anything handbags and this has the wow factor does it not?

So, what do you think my pretties? Which one would you choose? AU$45.00 from Mercedes Louise.

Your daily dose of pretty: Kimono Cuties laptop bag

This laptop bag is just too cute, I totally need it in my life:


I also need a laptop to go in it. If I buy the bag maybe a laptop will just magically appear. Cos that can totally happen. In my dreams.

Kimono Cuties laptop bag US$38.00 from Pin Up Girl Clothing.

Your daily dose of pretty: Blue satin floral clutch purse

There's something wonderfully old-fashioned and lady-like about clutch purses. My problem is, I feel compelled to carry an enormous amount of stuff around with me. Even for a night out without the kids the items I deem necessities take up more room than a clutch purse offers. On the plus side I'm the person to go to at a cocktail party if you have blisters/a headache/indigestion/a sugar craving/greasy fingers.

If I ever do manage to discipline myself enough for a clutch purse, I might be tempted by the offerings from IMHDesigns.



Such a pretty colour, and I love the embroidery. US$72.00 from IMHDesigns on Etsy.

Beware of the ... cute?

How unbelievably cute is this:



This is quite possibly the most irresistably cute thing EVER! I want it so much! US$20.00 from Rainbow Swirlz on ArtFire.

Your daily dose of pretty: Blue Wool Messenger with Kelp Print

Look at the beautiful delicate kelp print on this messenger bag:



Messenger bags can be so utilitarian, but the print on this one makes it quite special. The bag itself is made from blue and white herringbone wool and is US$52.00 from appetite on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: in which I relive my childhood

When I was a little girl I loved Barbie. I mean LOVED. I had several Barbies, and a bike, and a horse (which I constructed a stable for) and, best of all, the Barbie Townhouse which had a lift and a working light. All these years later I still love the girliness of Barbie and all her pretty outfits. When 13 Year Old Daughter was little I got great joy out of buying her Barbies, and I was very sad when she grew out of them and we gave all her Barbie stuff away.

Which brings me to today's pretty:



That's the Pauls Boutique Loves Barbie Customised Patent Twister Bag from asos. Yes it's a wee bit silly, but compared to some of the other bags on offer in the range it's positively restrained and I do like the pink Barbie head silhouette. £80.00 from asos.

Your daily dose of pretty: Glambags handbag

Suffering from a case of Bloggers' Block and completely stuck for ideas for today's Pretty, I typed 'Pretty' into Google Images to see what I could find. Well I found lots of ... stuff. Including a photo of an M.R.I. machine captioned "isn't she pretty" - medical geeks, gotta love them! Give it a try - it's fun (and mostly safe for work, at least until page 17 in my case!).

Anyway my search bore fruit, because I found Glambags, which it turns out is a New Zealand site (woo-hoo) producing cute and unique handbags and totes. Including this:



That's the DBT Russian Red Felt. It's a cutie, I love the whimsical embroidery. Approx NZ$100.00 from Glambags.

Your daily dose of pretty: Tank shooting pink hearts tote

Apologies for the lack of posts yesterday my pretties, I had a sore tummy. It's not sore any more but it is making some very odd noises.

Anyway, enough of the sharing, here's today's pretty:



From Cherry Red Boutique, that's the Tank Shooting Pink Hearts tote and it's US$24.00. Check out the detail on the inside pocket:



Make love, not war my pretties.

Your daily dose of pretty: Gypsy Clutch

This sweet wee clutch purse is on sale at the moment for NZ$71.99 (reduced from NZ$119.99) and I am very tempted.



Made from leather with hand appliqued detail featuring faceted glass beads, the clutch is designed by Luisa Clare and available on Floozy. How cute would this look with a bohemian-inspired outfit, or dressing up your favourite blue jeans?