Featured items - Purses

Moving on from clothes, I knew I wanted to features some of my favorite bags! I always considered a purse to be an essential part of an outfit - sometimes having a perfect match makes the whole coordinate so perfect! While I ended up rehoming a decent number over the last two years (some now with regret tbh), I really love the ones I kept with me.

This Samantha Thavasa medium pass case purse in pink is a somewhat more recent acquisition due to my old Liz Lisa travel purse being defunct. I badly needed a replacement so my first thought was to go to the Samantha Thavasa store at Ala Moana. I told the staff I was looking for a pale pink medium size purse that was good for travel and they pulled this from the back room! I wasn't sure about the versatility of the 2-tone color but I absolutely LOVE the pass case functionality for catching the trains in Japan. The pass case is completely removable and I've also used it on other purses that don't have the same pocket - it still works great and is cute on its own!

A bit sad because I used to have a ton of Liz Lisa clothes that matched almost perfectly but with my more limited wardrobe now, the color match is a bit more off. That being said, I think these are still pretty reasonable and really like these pairings. I'm super sad I don't have more photos of it in use from my Summer 2018 trip when I first used it, but it was during my blogging hiatus so outfit photos weren't high priority at the time. Either way, I'm sure I'll get more use of it in the future!

Without a doubt, I knew I had to feature this Liz Lisa seashell pouchette in white from 2014. It's one of the few Liz Lisa bags I retained after all of these years and love the unique and quirky but simple design. At the same time, because it's a neutral color, I feel like it's not too gaudy.

Obvious pairing choices are sea-themed clothes! I also used to pair it with the Liz Lisa mermaid OP from 2014 when I still owned it which I thought was perfect as well. Ultimately, I think this purse could complete any summer outfit though - not just niche themed stuff lol.

Unfortunately, although I have this purse in 2 colors, I don't know the official name from Samantha Thavasa because both were bought in store and I never thought to check the website for the name before it rotated out! (It might be called Samantha Thavasa Azel Rafi purse?) I was torn between featuring my pink version of this bag instead, but decided the lavender/grey color is a lot more unique! I love, love the shape and design of this purse and will certainly get more colors of it as time goes on (although some slight aesthetic parts of the design change slightly every season). 

This is another case of me wearing I used to have more clothes that matched well with this color, but am definitely a bit lacking now. Despite that, I actually consider this grey-ish color very much a neutral and think it can be paired with a lot even though the color isn't 1:1. Tbh a number of Samantha Thavasa/Vega pastels don't match exactly to Liz Lisa tones though.

I was very excited to do a feature for my Michael Kors Manhattan (medium) purse in black. This is probably my favorite purse at the moment, but I realize it's not super jazzy on its own. I think that I love that it matches exactly the vibe I was looking to fill in my purse collection

It's probably gotten boring to see this in my previous work outfits, but this is definitely my go-to these days for any outfit with black in it with silver hardware, especially my EATME outfits! (I have tons of examples in my IG highlights that I thought would be too redundant to repost but also expect to see this purse a bunch in my Featured items - EATME post!)

This Kate Spade New York Lilac Road marguerite bag was purchased when they first opened the Kate Spade New York outlet store in Hawaii! I love the bright pastel color and the simple scallop detail.

Because the color is pretty bright, I typically like to use this purse as a pop of color in an outfit. But that's also because I don't see this exact tone of lavender used very frequently in the brands I buy either since it's a bit more of a cool tone. Either way, I feel like it's a fun way to make an outfit more vibrant.

I wanted to do a super quick mini-feature on fukubukuro bags but didn't feel like it would be interesting enough for a full 5 weekdays. I settled for just picking two to feature on the weekend after my regular purses instead! 

This Swankiss 2015 Angel Bag fukubukuro ribbon bag in pink really captured my attention when the promo photos were released that year. It's not all that practical, but it's just so, so fun.

I have since found a new home for it. I felt pretty bad that it was just sitting in my closet and I was using it to store stuff rather than even just displaying it. Featuring this unique bag was the push I needed to list it!

Of course how can I forget these Liz Lisa trunk-style fukubukuro suitcases. This one is the rose-ribbon embossed print version from 2015. I was obsessed with the style and had one from 2013, 2014 and 2015. I even bought a second of this 2015 version at one point wtf. The style is so cute and girly but sadly the faux leather just doesn't hold up. I mainly use it to store roomwear now and have opted to travel with the plastic hardcase My Melody collab suitcase instead. 

The aesthetics can't be beat and I loved actually using this suitcase for travel for a few years.

If you're interested to see what my "purse collection" looked like before I downsized in 2018, check out my previous blog post here. Although ofc I retained more than just what I featured here, it's crazy for me to think about how many I used to have. And obviously expect to see more purses in more coordinate examples throughout this series! (I tried my best not to have the recommended coordinates be too repetitive.)

Featured item series

✦ Liz Lisa 

✦ Non-Liz Lisa

✦ Purses

✦ Shoes 

✦ EATME

✦ Accessories 

✦ Outers
✦ Liz Lisa skirts