So, I have a bit of a different post for you today. As y’all know, I love anything British-made, quirky and colourful – and I’ve found a company that embodies all that. What’s more, they make handbags! The purrrfect company for me and I wanted to tell you all about it.
Today, I’m introducing Brit Stitch, a totally British maker of satchels, which come in an unbelievably extensive range of models and colours – just a couple of which you can see from my collection photo above!
Although only launching in December, Brit Stitch are already stocked online on mulitple fashion websites; take a peak at The Hut, White Noise and Hippy Chic for more info. The prices range from £70 – £173, which may seem a little pricey at first but is highly competitive with the legendary Cambridge Satchell Company which have been huge for the past couple of years. For me, the price is totally worth it – these bags are of such high quality and of British origin that I am prepared to pay around £100 for a bag that will last me years. In fact, the above collection will probably last me way longer and work out far better value for money than buying a cheap new bag every couple of weeks or so Primark.
The cutest and smallest style of bag that Brit Stitch make are the Half Pint bags – such a sweet name. The idea behind them is pretty cute, too, and another selling point for me (y’all know I’m a sucker for a sweet story!) It goes a little something like this…
Once milk was delivered in glass bottles. The milkman was part of the fabric of life, stopping daily on doorsteps to put the world to rights. Toby, our local milkman needed a cash bag. On his round was Peter Jones, a master leather craftsman who made him one. That was 1967. He brought it in recently to have the strap repaired. From that bag an idea grew and that idea is Brit-Stitch. The business that Peter Jones started back then is now run by the next generation and also the finest talents in the industry who embody the finest leatherworking craft traditions…
The two half-pints I have are in Grayed Jade and African Violet. Both are totally on trend for Spring/Summer 2013 where pastels are huge! Although both being very colourful, they are surprisingly easy to style with almost any outfit – the colours perk up a monochrome outfit by injecting a little colour, can be used in conjunction with other pastel shades or even used to clash against bright prints. Surprising versatile!
The next size up is the rather appropriately named The Milkman – I love that Brit Stitch carry on their 46 year heritage forward to the modern day in their brand. I have them in colours Wax Lemon and Chintz Rose, which are again beautiful spring colours but in totally wearable shades that go with almost anything.
Wax Lemon is a beautiful pale yellow shade, very creamy and very neutral. All the bags come with detachable straps, which are fully adjustable via a buckle – this is a lovely touch as, being tall, I often struggle to find straps long enough to go comfortably around my body. I have no problem with these!
Chintz rose is also an extremely wearable, neutral colour; it’s almost a nude shade which will go with plain outfits and patterned prints alike! As you can see from all my pictures, each bag is so well made with real stitching along the seams and high quality silver hard wear. I hope y’all can see how well made these really are from my pictures, as they are so well made!
Right kittens, I thought it would be worth while to compare the sizes of the Half Pint and The Milkman together. I don’t think the size difference is totally obvious on the website so I thought this would be useful. There is no doubt that these are small satchels, I mean, you can take off the straps and use them as clutch bags, however, they really do fit so much in!
The next size up if The Office – appropriately named, it is the perfect size for carrying bits and bobs to work. I would have killed for one of these this size when at uni! These are in Poppy Red and Rust. I know I am going to get so much use out of these bags – the Poppy Red will go with any of my outfits, as I am forever rocking a red lip and red nails. The Rust will also go with anything, as it is a beautiful dark tan colour, suitable for any outfit.
The Office comes with the option to either have a buckle or a rotating clasp and I have one of each. My Rust bag has the rotating clasp, which I think is such a cute modern take on the classic satchel. It is a little sleeker than the traditional buckle satchel and I will 100% be using this for work. This is a new style of The Office and this was made especially for me – I am so excited to be trying this for the first time!
I chose the Poppy Red colour with a buckle as I knew this would be more for play than work! When I think of a classic satchel, this is what I think of. It’s cute, medium size, rounded, buckled and a bright pillar box red. This is gonna get so much use! I love pairing red accessories with my red lipstick and this is the perfect vintage handbag – can’t tell you how much I love it!
The final and largest satchel in my collection is The Laptop – obviously big enough to fit laptops in! This is the perfect blogger’s accessory. For my blogging, I travel a lot and often take my laptop with me to edit videos and pictures on the train. I own a 13″ laptop and this fits very comfortably inside with plenty of room for an A4 pad, as well as my purse, make-up etc. Very practical and yet still very cute! This bag was also especially made for me, which is such a wonderful kitsch touch – in fact I was able to select all colour ways and bag styles from a Pantone Swatch, how amazingly customisable and cute!
My mum always speaks about her own school time satchel (I won’t say of what decade or she might kill me!) and how it had removable straps, a handle at the top, two buckets and a wallet inside. For me, The Laptop emodies this. It is 100% the classic satchell, in colour, material and style. When I showed my mum this bag, she cooed over it for days and still is – it brings back so many happy memories for her and I’m looking forward to creating my own with this bag.
I can’t wait to show ya’ll how I style these bags in my Outfit posts. Unfortunately, I’ve been super busy these past couple of weeks and all my event reviews are taking up a lot of time, but I have no doubt you will be seeing a heck of a lot of Brit Stitch over the coming year – both on lilykitten.com and in the shops!
They're all gorgeous. I google imaged Brit-Stitch and your picture of all of them, side on, in a row came up first. Stunning. I have a chintz rose half-pint on the way and I'd love a postman in violet or minty green. Really great pictures, thanks! Louise whatlouwore365.blogspot.com
Meet The Creator
Full time I'm an ambitious Head of Marketing and Communications in the luxury industry. Part time, I'm an enthusiastic British Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle blogger and YouTuber from Manchester, UK. This blog has been my outlet for the past 7+ years, and as a longstanding, Award-winning blogger I take the most enjoyment from creating content I truly love and believe in. All authentic. Always.
They're all gorgeous. I google imaged Brit-Stitch and your picture of all of them, side on, in a row came up first. Stunning. I have a chintz rose half-pint on the way and I'd love a postman in violet or minty green. Really great pictures, thanks!
Louise
whatlouwore365.blogspot.com