NYC Cuteness Day, or, A Near Missed Connection With a Very Dubious Bag

OMG. Is today NYC Cuteness Day or something? I have seen SO many cute outfits today, and I only left my apartment like an hour ago. A cute stripey vintage sundress, a gorgeous cream jacket embroidered with birds (way less barfy than it sounds, seriously), even a baby with a cute sun hat on!

Unfortunately this cuteness streak came to an abrupt halt when I got off the train and spotted a woman wearing black bedroom slippers – flat, satin with the poufy shit on top. Seriously.

But all hope wasn’t lost. The winner of today’s Cuteness Day Awards in the Best Original Handbag competition was this chick rocking this RAD bag – it appeared to be vinyl with an antique floral print and brassy chain fixtures. I put aside my dignity and for the sake of you, dear fashion friends, interrupted the bag owner’s morning iPod coma (I know – a total shonda in some circles, but fuck it) and asked her exactly by whom??? her bag was made.

In the girl’s words, it's a “new designer” named "Katie Van Zeeland." A quick Googling turned up Kathy Van Zeeland (an honest mistake or a RUSE to steer me away from her consumer-assumed ownership of the brand?) Anyway, after an extensive search (I won’t tell you how long because it borders on the obsessive side of things) I came up with NO bags by that brand that were anywhere as cute as the one that girl had. We’re talking like J.Lo-esque crap you'd find on sale at TJ Maxx or something (not to hate on the Maxx because I’ve scored some serious shit there, but you know what I mean). For example:




HORBS!

But, "they" always say you’ll find whatever you’re looking for in the most obvious place (or something like that), and eBay, (or “home,” as I like to call it), pulled it up faster than George Michael's pants in a public bathroom. And here it is folks:



Not impressed? GOOD! Then DON'T BID! Was it worth risking my laptop's stability by having like 50 tabs at a time open in Firefox? Possibly. Will I bid? Probably. Anyway, this bag rules, but otherwise Kathy Van Zeeland is a.) NOT a new designer and b.) in general a purveyor of basically busted bags and accessories – mostly metallic!!—bejeweled in horbs faux rhinestones, grommets and studs, oh my! Overall, a dud of a designer with a happy accident I happen to love. The end!

PS: SERIOUSLY, pleeeease don't bid. My birthday is in mere DAYS and you saw all the trouble I went through to track down this bag. In my mind, it's already mine.