Although I can often see the appeal in things I wouldn’t necessarily want to own or wear (being able to step outside of one’s own personal taste is, after all, an important qualification for writing any kind of criticism), my own taste is usually pretty predictable, at least to me. I like crossbody bags, calf hair, leopard print and purple or red mixed with black. On the other hand, I generally don’t like wearing or carrying bright colors, logos or brown of any kind. Somehow, though, I still want every single one of the MCM Logo Backpacks that you see above.
When I came across these backpacks a week ago, I had no idea that Megs and Vlad had used them in their LUISAVIAROMA Style Lab. They had yet to return from Florence, and I was over here, frittering away my time on the Internet, as one does. (Or as I do, anyway.) I had put them aside to write about them, and when Megs returned, we got to talking and realized that we were similarly obsessed, despite the fact that these backpacks don’t fit either of our personal styles particularly well. Objectively, they might even be a tad tacky, but in a way that makes them fun and adventurous. Like Diane Vreeland so famously said, a little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika. Being utterly refined all the time is bland, and these backpacks are anything but.
Still, that doesn’t explain why I want one so badly (the lime green one, to be exact), despite the fact that they’re entirely outside of my normal aesthetic footprint. I’ve been looking at them for a week, and I still can’t figure it out. Sometimes, though, you just have to go with your gut; style is, after all, intuitive. When was the last time you were completely thrown off by your own taste in handbags?
MCM Stark Medium Backpack
$620 via Bloomingdale’s
MCM x Craig and Karl Medium Backpack
$970 via Bloomingdale’s
MCM Logo and Studs Small Backpack
$660 via Bloomingdale’s
