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| Whistles “Verity” backpack |
As the unofficial start of summer arrived this past weekend, I reflected on some of my favorite warm weather options. Some things are a hit all year round but become especially fabulous in summertime. Yes, the obvious answer is ice cream which I will eat in a blizzard, but since I’m focusing on accessory options I would have to single out the cool iciness of silver, particularly in its latest leather incarnations.
You know how they say that three items equals a collection? I like to think that seeing three similar items (or more) in short succession equals a trend. On Friday as I browsed through Bloomingdale’s I noticed that they had added a new leased department on their steadily improving trendy second floor. The UK brand Whistles is not seen all that commonly in the US, and other than a few boutiques, Bloomingdale’s is the only major store carrying the high street brand. What immediately caught my eye was the shiny leather silver “Verity” backpack or rucksack as the Brits call it for around $500( also available in ho-hum navy and tan), which would be a stylish way to lighten your load at least visually for the summer months.
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| Kenneth Cole Sling Bag |
On Monday I came across an ad for the Kenneth Cole Avenue B metallic sling bag in silver. While not technically a backpack it has that look of fun summer nonchalance slung over one shoulder instead of two. It’s available at KennethCole.com for $348. Another interesting option in more of an east/west shape is the Alexander Wang silver lambskin metallic Marti Bucketbag Backpack which is reduced from $1,150 to $920 on Ssense.com. This bag is more of a crinkled leather perhaps making it softer and a bit more squishy as well as being a higher end designer therefore justifying the investment. If you prefer more of the north/south orientation in a bag there is the Novella Metallic Leather Backpack by Collina Strada reduced from $485 to $315 on DJPremium.com. It is also available on Urban Outfitters but not currently on sale there. This bag is more of a matte silver with a sort of art deco-ish magnetic flap closure giving it a kinship with the Whistles bag that features the magnetized flap as well.
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| Collina Strada Backpack |
If you’re wondering how versatile a silver bag is, I would suggest it as the new neutral. Silver is stunning with summer brights or neons, as well as more monochromatic looks of all black and all white or black and white together. It also looks great with softer pastel colors; in fact there’s not much that it won’t work with. You may want to put it together with some silver shades and of course a silver statement necklace, earrings or bold bracelets. It’s hard to OD on silver when the mercury goes up as it adds such a refreshing bite to your outfit. I have noticed one thing about sterling silver jewelry which is that in the warmer months it tends to mix with the salt in perspiration and dull a bit quicker than usual. You will also notice this reaction if you are at or near the beach and the silver is exposed to the salt air. A tip I picked up at the John Hardy jewelry counter is to clean your silver with a quick sudsing and rinsing of Kiehl’s Liquid Hand Soap Coriander which smells wonderful and will brighten up your silver very nicely without having to put on gloves the way you do with most silver polish.
Still not convinced that silver is the way to go this summer? Consider the attention you will receive from your megawatt showstopper bag. It will give you “sweet” memories of your childhood at camp when you opened the Hershey’s silver chocolate wrapper and made and ate S’Mores by the campfire. And “reflect” on this scenario…no need to bring an actual reflector to the beach or pool. Your bag can do double duty by both carrying the sunscreen and serving as a “soleil reflecteur.”
