Book Clutch: Booked for Murder

Kate Spade

Kate Spade has a new Book Clutch Collection. Check out the first three Book of the Month offerings.  They're advertised as a modern spin on the vintage book clutch and inspired by Classic Penguin Covers.  They are not REAL books. Other titles include The Importance of Being Earnest, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities. You see where this is going? These 'books' retail for $325!!

Olympia Le-Tan: The Big Clock 

But there is a bit of a brouhaha about these bags. Handbag designer Olympia Le-Tan introduced similar "book bags" last fall with embroidered covers made to look like famous books including The Catcher in the Rye, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Moby Dick.


This really isn't a new thing, and people have been doing this for years, so I don't think there's a copycat thing going on. I found an adorable clutch with a Gladys Mitchell cover blown up and covered in plastic. That was several years ago in a boutique in Healdsburg. I'm a big Gladys Mitchell Fan, so I was quite taken with it, particularly since 'no books were harmed in the making of this clutch". However, the price was beyond my 'pocketbook.'

In a similar vein:

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME! (I'LL SEND THE BOOK POLICE!!)
CountryLiving has a crafts project on their website on how to make a Book Bag with a slide show of steps. Here's the text:

All you'll need, in addition to the book itself, is half a yard of fabric, a $4.99 handle kit, some ribbon, a button--and a free afternoon.

Instead of cutting the book from its binding (horrors!!!), read the book in that free afternoon.