It has been almost a year since I last posted about Balenciaga. I actually sold all my Bals over the past year or so, but when they came out with a new pink this past spring, I started pining for it all over again. That soft, silky Balenciaga leather, the iconic Motorcycle bag style…it started to feel really compelling.
Part of the reason I gave up my previous Bals, though, is that they are so often copied. The first time I carried my black City, I got a compliment from a woman who said she’d gotten one “exactly like it” from a street vendor in NYC. I hate to be a snob, but I strongly dislike fakes of any kind, whether we’re talking about people or technology or jewelry or bags. So I started looking at other Bal styles. I won’t go into the Balenciaga designs I don’t like and why — that’s a whole post of its own. But when I found the Step, a.k.a. Stepping Out, I suspected I’d hit on something good…and when I tried one on in real life, I knew I’d found my style.
Back in March I was looking for a new bag to take on a trip, and while browsing at Neiman Marcus I found the Step in Petal Pink. I tried it on, and it was love at first sight. Fits as much stuff as the City, but the slightly more vertical style and triangular shape make it a little classier and more elegant. It’s like a Kelly with an edge. Unfortunately it was not at all what I needed for my trip, and I wasn’t in a good financial position to buy two bags at one time, so I had to leave it behind. I try not to shop at Neiman’s anyway, because of their pain-in-the-ass policy dictating that I can’t use my Visa debit card like I do at every other store…but I digress. I was in Neiman’s a couple of weeks ago and happened to notice that “my” pink Step was still there. I thought about it for a while, and looked for other places to find one, but the Step is apparently not a big seller and many retailers (including the fabulous Aloha Rag) are not carrying them any more. So yesterday, I finally went back to NM and got her. This bag was not only the only pink Step they had left, but the only Step they had in any color…so it was a combination of good timing and fate. That’s my story, anyway, and I’m sticking to it.
2008 Petal Pink is often referred to as Bubblegum, but that makes it easy to confuse with the 2005 Bubblegum, which was very different IMO. My Petal Pink Step is agneau (lambskin) instead of the ultra-soft chevre (goatskin) used before this year, and the color is a little deeper and the finish a little shinier. Tiny girls can wear the Step as a shoulder bag, but I dislike armpit bags so it will be a strictly hand- or arm-carried bag for me. Part of the reason I sold my Bubblegum City was that the color was so light I was afraid to carry it and get it dirty, and I’m not so concerned about that with this bag. I have a lot of pink clothing and this color is neutral enough to go with almost all of it, but if I want to wear it with black or brown or grey it will really pop. I can carry it in the spring and summer, and in the dearth of winter when I’m craving anything that reminds me that spring is on the way.
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