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I Don’t Hate Vera Bradley Any More

by pixie on September 1, 2010

I’ll admit it, I’ve hated on Vera Bradley for a long time. Where I live, Vera’s patterned bags are on every mom, old lady, and tweenage girl. Large Vera Bradley bags still all look like diaper bags to me, but I’m beginning to warm up to some of the smaller bags and other accessories. I have no idea what that says about me. On one hand I fear giving the impression of a redneck babymama, and on the other hand I’m decidedly more frugal these days than I used to be. And maybe, just maybe, the Vera Bradley designers are getting a little better at what they do.

Anywho, the Vera Bradley Julia bag pictured above caught my eye recently. This is a new style this fall, and I think the Kelly-bag shape is really cute. This bag is on the small side at 9″ x 8″ x 3″, but it’s a good size for carrying necessities, it’s super-lightweight, and it has a long strap you can clip on if you want to wear it messenger style. I got this in the Symphony in Hue pattern, which according to my teenage son (ever the fashion critic), “looks like Vera Bradley on acid.” The purple-and-brown pattern above is Purple Punch (with pink!), which would also be a nice combination for fall.

The other Vera Bradley accessories that don’t completely suck include the reading glasses. I am a voracious reader, and I’m at the age where my close vision isn’t as good as it used to be, but I don’t want to look like a grandma in rhinestone-encrusted reading glasses on a chain. I happened upon these readers in the Vera Bradley shop (I was drawn into what looked like a quilter’s insane asylum by inexplicable curiosity) and tried them on, and they are actually quite flattering. I selected the Sittin’ In A Tree pattern because the colors make my eyes look greener, but if I need a second pair I might be tempted by Purple Punch.

You can find the Vera Bradley Julia bag and Vera Bradley Jennifer readers at Zappos. They are a few bucks more than the Vera Bradley site, but you get free overnight shipping for almost-instant gratification.

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