New Favorite: Converse One Star Satchel

In high school I had a black, uber-soft satchel that I carried with me EVERYWHERE. It was even big enough to fit a couple of notebooks on the diagonal if I left the bag open.

A girl that I was sure modeled on the side once asked me in History class where I got it, when I answered Venture (it was a Gitano brand I believe) she just about snuffed and turned her glossy mane of blonde hair away in disgust. She must have thought I was either very poor or lying to her. All I knew is that I grabbed my bag (which had a small scuff only I could see) from the sales rack and there weren't any more like it. Mwahahaha.

I almost cried when I finally wore out the poor satchel, and the lining ripped and the handles started pulling apart. That's around the time I switched to a colorful, hand-crocheted bag that a cool friend of mine made me. I also remember getting a red Esprit bag around the same time, from my maternal grandmother. Good times.

I have been intensely missing that black satchel from Venture recently, and so I decided I would begin searching for something as similar as possible and take my time to make the right decision. I preferred it be some sort of a brand (Franco Sarto, etc.) but not something that's ubiquitous. It irks me when folks don't mind wearing a "uniform" when something's hot in the fashion industry!

So I started looking about a week and a half ago. I started online because it was easy. I then looked at a local Marshalls/Homegoods. I even looked at independent boutiques in Naperville. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for yet, so I wasn't really doing a total military-style search yet.

Then, the skies parted and a beam of sunlight hit a purse as I was at Target yesterday. It was -- like most great things in life -- during an unexpected scamper around.

The Converse One Star Satchel in brown actually looks like a taupe-y gray that I'm obsessed with lately. It was a little pricey at $34.99 plus tax--since Target's making you pay for the honor of purchasing a Converse branded product--but OMG I just fell in love with it at first glance.

This is the perfect satchel for me. It's softer than butter, it's faux so it won't suffer much from abuse, its incredibly lightweight (a major concern since I suffer from shoulder/neck issues), and it has a cell phone pocket that'll fit my iPhone.

I love it when a great find and my wallet get together!..Now, speaking of my wallet, if I could only find it inside my bag, it's got so much room stuff can get lost in there LOL ^^;