The Stella McCartney Falabella Tote first gained favor over a year ago when celebrities as varied as Rihanna and Kate Hudson began sporting the simple, biker-chic faux leather bag with every kind of outfit you could imagine. Many variations on the Falabella theme have followed, and now that we’re on (by my count) the third season rotation of these chain-trimmed purses, one has to wonder when McCartney will run out of ideas.
I can’t tell the future, but unfortunately, inspiration didn’t run out before someone suggested making a crochet version of the bag, which you can see at left. Or, come to think of it, maybe it did, because this iteration isn’t exactly inspired.
At first I assumed that most of my distrust of this bag originated in my general hatred for all things crocheted, macraméd or otherwise hippie-inspired (and that hatred is fierce!), but the longer I look at it, the more I think that it simply doesn’t work on any level. We all know what this bag looked like when the design was originally conceived, and changing the mood so drastically without changing the structure or dominant trim just makes it look like McCartney’s accessories people were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Instead of creating an interesting contrast, the tough chain and soft, vintage-looking cream knit look mismatched and ill-suited for the same outfit, let alone the same design. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $2165. Yes, I double-checked the price. It appears to be correct, insofar as charging more than two grand for this thing could ever be considered “correct.”
