Any colour, as long as it’s black…

…In regards to accessories, that is.  Since vowing to streamline my wardrobe back in Jan, I’ve been pretty good in picking pieces with more longevity (minus a few ‘screw this’ Asos off the shoulder tops in the process). The main sticking point is with bags, I’ve only bought a few bags this entire year – one being the Sophie Hulme cross-body I’ve got my year’s use out of within 1 month.

For me, the criteria of a decent bag is: it needs to look cool and feel modern, it needs to be real leather, it needs to look expensive but also be under £300. These days I’m happier to invest a bit more in a bag, but I will never be a £1000 handbag kind of girl (at 32, can I still refer to myself as a girl? I digress…).

I’ve been after a decent bucket bag for over a year, and Mansur Gavriel’s ones are still too far from reach sadly (I don’t have the cash or the discipline to be on a waiting list). When I saw these Manu Atelier bags back in Istanbul I was smitten, but as I flew in late I never got to meet the designers until they were over in London. I was sold – the coolest girls you’ll ever meet. And they know their stuff, they’re a family business using traditional Turkish handcrafted techniques – all the bags are hand-cut leather.