Try It Tuesday...Design Your Own Handbag!!

Well, for the first time in my blogging life I am going to jump on a band waggon (my aunts none the less) and do one of those advice-post-where-you-link-back-to-one-site-and-they-tell-you-were-to-go-to-get-all-the-other-good-advice-for-things-to-buy type posts (technical term for them....obviously). I know I have seen lots of the blogs I read participate in "Works for me Wednesday" and "Fight the Frump Friday", so I am thinking you all know how this works. My aunt is now hosting the Try it Tuesday, which I am sure will be full of wonderful advice every single week!

I have never done one of these things before because...honestly I am a blog off the top of my head kinda girl. I lack any form of planning style to my blog posts (what? can you tell??) and as soon as I give myself a deadline I begin to avoid it. Therefore, I will not be participating in the Try it Tuesday every week (the pressure...I can't take it), but I will be sure to save my advice posts (Like for the Wii Fit or even a good book series) for Tuesdays. I am sure I can handle at least that much structure! Now, I know lots of my readers are much better with participating in these sorts of things, so go on over to Mrs. Who's Open Book and add your own post about what you want people to try!

Now, to my personal Try it Tuesday advice... Designing your own handbags! I first heard of the little Chicago boutique 1154 Lill several years ago. A good friend of mine got me one of their purses for me as a Christmas gift. It was amazing how she was able to choose the design and materials for the bag, making it look so personal and exactly like what I would want! I still carry the purse on a regular basis and it has held up better than any cloth purse I have ever owned. The one that she made for me is reversible, so you can actually have two purses in one!

When I was in Chicago for work this past winter I went to visit my childhood best friend and the first thing she said was, "GREAT, now we can FINALLY go to Lill!!" We went over there, and let me tell you, seeing the shop in person made me love this company even more. The small house like shop is full of the different styles of purses, bags and totes, but then also covered in all the different options for fabric swatches and materials. They help you with what fabrics compliment each other, and will walk you through the design of a bag that will be uniquely you. While there I got a new make-up bag, but I still cannot wait to go back and get a new tote next time I am in town!

If you can't make it to the actual shop in Chicago (or Boston, Philly, or Kansas City) then you can always design and order your custom purse right online! I can spend ours on their site looking through all the options. The bag's are not cheap (from $50-$200), but like I said, they seem to last forever. Plus, in the end you will have a new bag that will suit you perfectly...because you got to make it yourself!

PS...while working on this post I designed ALL the bags that you now see...now I just need to decide which one I want to order!