Yoshi, Yosh, Yoshi - oy oy oy

So just to be clear, although it should come as no surprise to regular readers, I don't do designer stuff. To quote the man from Radio 4's Down the Line - 'What is point? What is point of designer label?' That pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole thing.

 

I've nothing against quality, I've nothing against buying things that I like, but buying stuff with a logo just because of the logo, and giving someone who can afford to pay for it some free advertising into the bargain - just not me.

 

So why then do I have not one but two Yoshi bags and why am I hankering after a third? (I won't get the third one, I just like it)

 

This was my first.

 

I think it's called Shop Til You Drop

 

Anyway I saw it in a shop in Kirkwall when we were buying shoes for Son No 2 and fell in love with it, and either you can see why or you can't, there's no explaining. It was what I might describe as Not Cheap, although it didn't reach triple figures, and OH bought it for me a few days later for my birthday. And a little later on when I earned a bit of cash from some copywriting that I did, I treated myself to a matching wallet.

 

 When I got the bag home there were all sorts of tags and tissue and bits of card in envelopes inside it, which I suppose are all part of making you feel that you haven't squandered an unthinkable amount of money on a handbag you can really only use when it's not going to rain. There was also a 'Certificate' with a number on it. No 85 out of a 100. And stuff about the company who made the bag, which is called Yoshi and apparently is some sort of fusion between Japanese design principles and British Craftsmanship.

 

Now here's the thing. I don't care. I don't give a fig for any of that. I bought the bag because I liked it. If I hadn't liked it, it could have been rarer than hen's teeth and only £10, but I still wouldn't have bought it just because it was a Yoshi bag. All the gubbins - I say again - What is point?

 

My other Yoshi is a black satchel type bag (nattily lined in cerise which is attractive) and can be glimpsed in the photo of The Irresistible Bear here . I bought it because it is big enough to put A4 stuff in it. So it's useful for taking to uni/supervisor's meetings without looking like a briefcase. Because briefcases are just a bit  - what? I don't know. But I don't want to be seen with one.

 

So there you go. My one unwitting foray into the world of designer bags and limited editions. And the worst of it is - all that teasing of my sister over her Radley obsession?  I've had to give that up.