Issue 19: Long Time Coming
HANDBAGS AT DAWN // Teen dreams, a Chloë Sevigny mirage, and my boyfriend's distinct ability to pop a fashion bubble – it's a classic tale of a Proenza Schouler bag.
Handbags at Dawn (@h4ndbagsatdawn) is (meant to be) a fortnightly newsletter that lands into your inbox every other Thursday. However, time is a construct and I’m busy atm so you’re getting it when you’re getting it. :)
Just like a blockbuster film or a 9+ Pitchfork-rated album, not every great bag is destined to become a classic. There’s something much more than quality that plays into the equation of a certain objet d'art becoming forever relevant à la Chanel 2.55 or Hermès Birkin. For every Mean Girls, you’ve got a whole bunch of highly quotable teenage dramas that just can’t compare in popularity. However, this doesn’t mean that Never Been Kissed or Welcome to the Dollhouse aren’t worthy of attention. In fact, they’ve still got a pretty hardcore group of cult followers that will throw themed pub quizzes and costume parties in their honour.
But what about fashion? What about those momentary hits that end up being phased out, their lives continuing almost exclusively on resale and outlet sites, as the industry moves onto newer and better? Well, if anything, fashion loves a good comeback, and so I imagine these forgotten bestsellers waiting in a dark dungeon somewhere far away (I bet it’s Vogue House) until an editor/designer/stylist/celeb decides to give them another chance and proclaims them as “BACK AGAIN”.
One purse that’s surely tapping its foot in said dungeon as it eagerly awaits its return is Proenza Schouler PS11. And honestly, as someone who rolls their eyes at the relentless stream of revivals, I’m quite ready for this one.
The first time I became aware of the PS11, I was as a teenager who just got paid after working as a kids’ entertainer for the whole summer. It was 2012 and I had “passion for fashion” written in the bio on my Facebook page. I was spending days on end on Style.com, collating what I considered niche fashion knowledge I could later proudly implement into my part-time gig as a fashion assistant at Elle Croatia. LOL. Honestly, I don’t wish to change much in my past, but I do wonder if it would be helpful to go back in time and tell myself not to take this whole thing so seriously? Maybe it was my detachment from the actual fashion world, but I was thoroughly obsessed with the idea of becoming the most knowledgeable about the topic of clothes and style in my immediate circle. Totally insufferable, I know. In social terms, this fixation materialised in me bringing up specific collections or topics to people I thought would be impressed with me, a straight (LOOOOOL) 19 YO, knowing about.
One of those I remember very clearly is the Proenza Schouler PS11 bag. A pretty classic silhouette without much branding, except for the recognisable piece of hardware on the clasp. To me, back then, this handbag was symbolic of someone who knew about fashion and was cool/chic/a fashion blogger. Though I didn’t have much of a (conscious) affinity for owning women’s bags at the time, I did think having one of these was totally acceptable, as the shape nodded to a masculine messenger bag. And so I went online, to Proenza’s website, confident in the fact that I could use that hard-earned check from teaching little Germans the Head Shoulders Knees & Toes choreo on rewarding myself with a bag I saw Mary Kate (or was it Ashley?) with. A rude awakening of a $1500-ish price tag brought me back to my reality. I was a teenager earning money in an Eastern European country, not an Olsen twin. I can’t guarantee it, but I do feel like this disappointment delayed my obsession with purses for at least a few extra years. Ever since, I would oooh and ahhh whenever I saw someone wearing the PS11, even when its popularity declined.
Originally shown as part of Proenza Schouler’s AW10 collections, the PS11 was a more structured version of their much-adored PS1 satchel. Both were pretty popular with NYC starlets and helped affirm Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough as IT boys of the design scene with a booming business. But this was a time when New York Fashion Week was leading the game alongside Paris, filled with strong creativity and emerging brands à la Rodarte, Thakoon, Jason Wu and Altuzarra. Though I can’t seem to find an actual photo of her wearing it, I have this really clear image in my head of the perennial IT girl Chloë Sevigny trotting around New York (or was it L.A.?) with a PS11. Perhaps it’s just my imagination, a glitch on Google Images, or a case of the Mandela Effect as the world collectively remembers Proenza Schouler’s days as the coolest brand out there.
PS11’s shape went through a few different iterations throughout its decidedly short stint as an icon, and it came in a range of sizes across the season, including a sleek clutch with a hand strap (remember those) for Resort 2012 and a whole rainbow of colours for Pre-Fall 2011. In that usual late noughties/early teens style, it was mostly the simpler versions that went on to be produced and worn beyond the catwalk. And though over a decade has passed, I feel like there should be some justice paid for the PS11. Its versatile character is poetically narrated by one Vestiaire seller:
I’m guessing a big part of why the popularity of the PS11 – along with its makers Proenza Schouler – ended up fading over the years is its steep price. Going above that 1.5k category, they positioned themselves up there with luxury brands like Gucci, Prada or Louis Vuitton. And if we can take anything away from the last few financial crashes – this just doesn’t work. Look at the current hits: 1dr by Diesel, Telfar Shopper, Coperni Swipe, JW Anderson Bumper… All considerably under this £1000 threshold. Interestingly, the bag is still available to buy from the brand’s own retail outlets – in a decidedly modest selection of shades and styles. But you know what a lack of popularity means for a bag? That its price on the resale market varies wildly – versions go on sale from anything as low as £130 to over a grand. This is also the perfect time to buy into a bag, especially if you’ve been dreaming of owning one since you were a teen. And so I took the leap a couple months ago, beginning my hunt for the optimal combo of great condition, low price and unexpected colourway. Quickly, I had alerts set to “proenza schouler ps11” search results across multiple resale sites. Unsurprisingly, it took less than a week to find the one.
Though I wanted a fun colour, I ended up going with a classic – a Mini in a black smooth leather. The price was pretty good, especially considering the fact that it was barely used. This exact style was also the one I remember ogling as a closet case, and it even came with a dust bag and an original receipt from Farfetch (bought in 2018) which was a plus. And yes, this is me justifying my own shopping habits. After it arrived, I initially kept it in a box for a week because it felt a bit unreal, owning this fashion relic of the past. And like clockwork, there came the boyfriend with that magical ability to pop the fashion bubble. “It looks like it’s from River Island,” Ryan blatantly said after I showed him the purse I dreamt of having in my hands since forever. I guess it’s the same thing as watching Diary of a Teenage Girl with my mum. Some people just don’t have the eye for recognising a future classic. xxx
*PEEK OF THE WEEK*
Though I’ve not known this human since I was a teen, it often feels like we spent those formative years together because of how similar we are when it comes to obsessing with fash-ohn. She’s a writer, editor, broadcaster, Taurus & all-round hun – and her name is Georgina Evans (@georginakevans). When it comes to her utterly fabulous bag collection, it’s full of Depop & eBay gems that somehow slipped my eagle eyes! And best of all, Georgie has this magic ability to always fit one of those squishy Uniqlo jackets in her bag, however small it might seem. On this occasion, she shared the interior of her brand new baby – a noughties, Phoebe Philo-era Chloé chainmail hobo in a perfect shade of metallic lavender. And yes, I might’ve gone and bought a blue one for myself after Georgie showed me…
What does the inside of your bag say about you?
Georgie: “That I'm organised chaos? I'm a serial over-thinker and bag-stuffer. There is a constant amalgam of ratty hair ties, pins, blister plasters, cables, lip products and Poo-Pourri (IYKYK.) A heinous amount of receipts aren't pictured. I will also crumple in whatever book or crossword puzzle I can. The sequins almost make up for my inability to fit my Uniqlo travel jacket.”