Things that make you go missing

Apologies for the gap in blogging. On Friday night the breaking news woke the ghosts of my career past and I was glued to television, watching news of the Japanese tsunami until I cold bear it no longer. Other things kept me at bay over the weekend, including some unexpected human drama on Sunday when one of my cats brought us home a rat. 


The rat was not especially pleased and ran down the hallway to hide under some shoes. After hours of tense negotiation the rat surrendered and was taken to the lane way for a debrief and relocation. I understand the rat in question was issued with new papers and has now assumed another identity (hopefully as a rat I will never meet again).   


Normal shillings transmission has been resumed. 


Alert readers will recall I have been going on (and on) about my collection of vintage Gucci bags and finished my last post by promising a post on my favourite. This is her. 

This caramel-coloured oblong of lizard skin loveliness is one of my favourite possessions. I bought her on eBay, one of those rare purchases where the seller had not used very good keywords and few photos so hardly any one looked at (or bid for) this. I ended up paying about $25. She arrived in magnificent condition. 


I use her for evening engagements mostly and find her to be aloof and elegant. Her neutral shade goes with every thing and her gold plated hard ware twinkles under electric light. Most of the big labels used gold plating on their hardware - in those days you got what you paid for.


Despite her sleek appearance, she's roomy and very practical. Her strap can be doubled over so she sits neatly under your arm, Mary Tyler Moore style. My lovely bag can carry a full kit of supplies and you can fit photos, business cards or a phone in her back pocket. 

Her belly is lined with suede. 

She is also my most valuable Gucci, so I keep her zipped up in an old lingerie case. Dust bags, or sleepers as they are sometimes called, are not just status symbols but help maintain the quality of your bag. Dust can dry leather and - if the leather is pale- cause shadowy stains that no amount of cleaning will shift. Dust combined with moist summery air can cause mildew which you may be able to brush off, but it will leave marks on the leather.  If you can manage it, keeping your bags in a cloth covering will prevent dust damage and prolong their life markedly. Not many bags come with sleepers so I use old pillow cases that I buy for pennies from thrift stores. Old scarves or just pieces of fabric would be just as effective.  


And so, another bag. I'm depending on you to advise me if I have rabbited on long enough about the bags already. If you want to meet more, let me know. Otherwise I will make a point of wearing something colourful tomorrow. 


I have no photos of the rat, but here's the clown who brought it home.