A little bit of praise

I don't pretend to be a fashion icon or even remotely a fashion victim. Come on, I'm the kind of girl who uses a gene accession number for my gmail password. I never thought I would ever write a piece about anything as futile as fashion or accessories, but fact is I got enamored with a new brand. And even though I've talked about it to my friends, I don't think I've made them justice yet. So here it is: Missiessy.

An entirely French boutique, that makes traditional pocketbooks, purses, wallets, suitcases, bracelets, you name it. If it's leather-based, they can do it. While still in the US, I ordered an baby-blue Ostrich and black leather purse (Coureur collection), and even though I usually don't spend money on bags of any kind, I don't regret my expenses. This is the first leather bag I ever bought for myself. In my entire 34 years on this planet. My mom started offering me handbags as birthday presents when I was 16. Then my mother in law brought me a very cute one from the US, that I carried for years. My friends and colleagues gifted me a very precious Italian one when I finally graduated after 3+ years as a PhD student.

I never bought a single handbag until 2012. Amazing and not a very feminine attitude if you think about it. I swear, it was worth the wait. 

France-based and French-owned, Missiessy follows the pure and old-fashion (understand: by hand) tradition of the master artisans. The nice idea behind the branding is that because it's a small boutique, the entire team is listening to your envies then prepares the a-la-carte dream piece. You get to choose the materials, the cut, the size, the color.
Python, crocodile, lamb skin, ostrich, goat, or Galuchat, in black, cherry red, bright pink, red, orange, neon blue, navy blue, purple, grey, mint, baby pink, burgundy,.... Well I cannot remember them all. Just go check for yourself! The wallets are exquisite, the evening purse are precious, the bracelets are rock n' roll, the handbags are so handy and spacious. And because you design it, it is signed with your name... 

If you get a chance, just stop by the boutique while in Paris. (187 Rue Saint-Denis  75002 Paris, France 01 83 64 57 58). It's the cutest small shop ever, and you'll see and touch tons of precious skins. It doesn't matter if you're a biologist or not: there is really something powerful about these skins. Organic, from strange creatures, it's just beautiful in a weird way...

Told you: there is a serious bias in this report, I fell in love with the brand... 

Here are 2 of the 3 pieces I own (I also have an AMAZING burgundy Galuchat evening clutch like the one above but even prettier, haha; maybe I'll update with a pic).  I love them each and all.

Can be stuffed with a laptop, legos and cars,
juice bottles, and so much more

And I really admire the fact that the owner (Hubert) took the chance of making this a reality, and stood up for quality even if it means the final product may be expensive and thus a little more difficult to sell than their cheap counterpart. I think it was a clever move when I hear my mom and my aunts and their entire generation of Parisian-raised females complaining about Lancel or others having their purses made oversea the cheap way...

Parisian ladies will always venerate their local treasures (sorbets at Bertillon and lingerie au Bon Marche!) so let's wish long life to Missiessy and may they become a part of Paris' lifestyle.