Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would've done a column on who we're dating but that seemed a little bit much. This Week Chioma Nnadi writes about the Property Of Luther Day Tote.
Before I moved to the States I'd never heard of the word pocketbook. I remember being at a party downtown when a fuzzy man came out of nowhere and complimented me on mine. Pocketbook? Was this some weird American pick-up line? The bearded gentleman was from Philly and explained to me that pocketbook was just another word for purse. This only led to more confusion since when you talk about a lady's purse in the UK, you are generally referring to her wallet. After living here for a few months I figured out why there were so many ways to say handbag–in New York, a flashy purse almost has the the same bragging rights as a nice new Porsche.
I still don't care much for "it" bags or their bells and whistles, so most of the time I gravitate towards simple and beautifully made things to carry my stuff around in. I also have a thing for anything vaguely unisex. Every once in a while I might pull out something fancy but on the day-to-day I don't like my bag to upstage my outfit. The Property Of Luther Day Tote sits nicely into that comfort zone. There is no outlandish hardware or unnecessary logo-ing, it's all just seamlessly designed in classic tote bag dimensions. Handbags should look better with age, and the slate grey leather looks good even if there's some crazy accident with my pesto and salami sandwiches at the bottom of the bag.