Vegan tote is both friend and faux

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One for you laydeeeees ( rich ones too!) Vegan tote is both friend and faux Sep. 20, 2006. 01:00 AM DAPHNE GORDON THE ITEM: Espe "Sis" bag THE COST: $48 WHERE TO BUY: http://www.sugardaddyshop.ca As regular readers know, this season I've decided to buy an "investment" bag, rather than rotate several affordable, trendy bags in and out of my look from one outfit to the next. The plan sounded good last week, but since then I've been finding amazing cheapie bags that put the whole idea of spending as much as $1,000 on The Perfect

Handbag That Will Last Forever And Go With Everything in serious question. Does the investment bag mean I'm not allowed to indulge is such cute little finds as this bag by the local label Espe? Made of faux leather in a cute and very current style, the Sis tote is part of the local label Espe's collection of vegan bags. It has a faux suede interior with lots of pockets, and compartments are must for a working girl like me. Not that I'm vegan, but I've noticed that fewer and fewer of my bags these days are leather. For me, leather is a major investment, while fabric or faux leather bags are a low-risk impulse buy. Priced under $50, these are the kind of bags a girl doesn't stress over when she gets caught in a downpour. Espe is one of the emerging designers available at Sugardaddyshop, an Ottawa-based shopping site that features independent Canadian designers. Many designers are past Constant Shopper finds,

including Echoes in the Attic bags, Faint jewellery, and Flyball Bags. In fact, Sugardaddyshop owner Karen McNaughton, admits she's sourced a couple of her lines by watching Constant Shopper for hot emerging designers! But there's lots to be discovered by Toronto shoppers, including mod rubber jewellery by the Montreal-based designer Toca, pretty pouches by the Vancouver-based brand Gaia, and chunky wooden jewellery by Ottawa's Wine On Sundays. Those lines are hard to find in shops here. McNaughton, a 34-year-old mom-preneur who quit her career in marketing to have some kids and start her own business, launched the site with eight designers in March. Since then, it's grown to include 18 labels, with a half-dozen more to come this fall. "Sugardaddy style is all about variety," says McNaughton. "With the ensemble of the designers, there's a whole range of styles that are represented, from very conservative up to hip and edgy. The Constant Shopper gives the site a thumbs up for affordability alone. There's almost nothing over $100. TO BE CONTINUED: So my handbag fever is raging. I checked out some to-die-for medium-priced bags by Andrea Brueckner ($595, Augustina) last week, and then the cheapie end of the shopping spectrum with today's Espe handbag ($48). Now it's time to go uptown. Next stop: Holt Renfrew's Bloor St. flagship, where the luxury retailer's new handbag gallery has recently expanded into the 6,000-square-foot space that was once Eddie Bauer. I'll try to find something for $1,000 or less. Place your bets now. Daphne Gordon's Constant Shopper column appears every Saturday in the Shopping section and Monday to Friday online at Peter H

 

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