ZEBRA STRIPED...

In honor of Fall Fashion Week, I wanted to write about fashion today. I'm an animal print aficionado (devotee), both in decor and fashion. Every room needs a touch of animal print, according to a famous decorator, and I agree. Just a touch is very nice, and as I look about my home, I see touches in different rooms.

Not only do I like it in my home, I like to wear it occasionally. I have a zebra striped jacket and a couple of leopard print items.

This summer, I started craving a zebra striped purse. Don't know why. It just jumped on me. In early August, I was in Dillards and spotted one--a Liz Claiborne. But the price tag made me gulp. $138!! I'd never paid that much for a purse in my entire life and don't intend to, so of course I resisted the urge.

A couple of days later, I was in the thrift store and spotted a zebra striped purse on the huge purse wall. It looked brand new, but it didn't have a shoulder strap like the Claiborne version. Rats. Still, I bought it. For three bucks, I couldn't lose, I reasoned. Still, I pined for that Claiborne with the shoulder strap.

Well, this week I was in Dillards again and spotted the Claiborne on the sale table. Yippee. I ran to it. Half price, it was $69.99, and that birthday money I'd saved since August was burning a hole in my wallet. I picked it up, put it on my shoulder, told the clerk I'd wanted it since August. But then I thought of all I could do with $69.99 (I could buy a lot of toys for the nursery shower we're having at church), and then my thoughts grew fonder of my thrift store version, so fond, I couldn't wait to get home and put my stuff in it and carry it out in public.

So I handed the Claiborne back to the clerk and said I'd decided against buying it. As I walked toward the exit, I spotted a huge glass case with lots of zebra striped purses. I leaned down, saw the tag, Dooney & Bourke, and knew not to even find the clerk and ask how much. Two, three, and four hundred dollars, and upwards.

So now I'm carrying my zebra striped purse with pride. It's pictured here, on my leopard print slipper chair in the master bathroom.

***

How do I end this? Let's see. Reminds me of marriage. Sometimes single women want the Claiborne version in a man. The looks. The charm. The looks. The fit body. The looks. The big moneymaker. The looks. Did I say looks?

But sometimes (most times?) those men aren't all they're cracked up to be. On close examination, I noticed the zebra striped Claiborne was...molting? Was it really zebra skin? If so, it was molting. If not, it was pilling. Looked a little shoddy, anyway. What would it look like in a few months?

But my thrift store version? I just love it. The fabric will never show any wear. It's thick and lush. And it holds all of my stuff (important to a woman since we have so much stuff), and it has an inside zippered compartment, and it's so classy looking.

Why, it's the darlingest purse I've ever seen.

You draw your own conclusions.