Forty years of bags that were boring or useless. This is a letter about the one that is neither
Forty years of bags that were boring or useless. This is a letter about the one that is neither
Six things the Dream bag gets right that bags get wrong, from a customer who has carried plenty.
Peggy Dalton · Customer · Austin, Texas · 5 min read
I am Peggy, I am 63, and I want to say at the start that I do not work for anybody and I have never sewn a bag in my life. What I have done is carry them, for forty years, and be let down by nearly every one.
The one I am writing about is called the Dream, from Iris & Nora, a small boutique here in Austin that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. I first saw it in the vet’s waiting room, on a woman whose bag was getting more attention than the animals, and when the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
Here is what forty years of bags taught me. They come in two piles. The practical pile, sturdy and sensible and so dull you forget you own it. And the pretty pile, lovely to look at, and it holds a lipstick and a grudge. I have carried from both piles for years and never once been asked about any of them.
Boring and practical, or pretty and useless. Those seemed to be the bag options, and I had settled for boring.
The Dream is the first bag I have owned that is neither, and having gone over it like a suspicious woman goes over a bargain, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. Eight cats, all asleep, all smiling. I was not.
The cats are stitched, not printed
Eight sleeping cats, eyes shut, whiskers embroidered in white, each one a little padded patch quilted onto the front like an art quilt somebody made at a kitchen table. It looks handmade because it is, and people ask about it in every line I stand in.
The cats, up close. Stitched, padded, whiskers and all.
People stop me in the grocery store. It looks like a craft-fair quilt and it makes strangers smile, which I did not expect from a bag.
Carol R., Round RockThe padding is kind to you and to your things
The whole bag is quilted and softly padded, so it sits gently on your shoulder instead of digging in, and it cushions whatever is inside. My reading glasses have never been so well looked after. Neither has my shoulder.
Soft on my shoulder and my tablet rides in it without a case. The padding is the surprise feature.
Diane M., GeorgetownIt stands up on its own
Boxy and structured, with a proper flat base, so it sits upright on the seat next to you, on the counter, on the floor of the car, without collapsing into a heap and spilling your life out. A bag that stands to attention is rarer than it should be.
Standing to attention in the hallway. It does this by itself.
It stands up on the passenger seat and nothing rolls out. Small thing, huge difference.
Patricia L., Cedar ParkSoft handles, nothing to snag or clank
Two plain fabric handles, long enough for the shoulder, soft enough for the hand, and not a buckle or ring or clasp anywhere to catch on a cardigan or clatter on a table. It is quiet, which I have come to appreciate in a bag.
The handles and the binding. Nothing metal, nothing to snag.
No hardware to snag my sweaters. Soft handles, sits on the shoulder all day, no complaints.
Linda K., San MarcosIt zips shut and it is lined
A proper zip across the top, so nothing falls out and nobody sees in, and a lining inside, so your keys are not chewing on the quilting. Pretty on the outside, sensible on the inside, which is the arrangement I have been after for forty years.
Zips closed, lined inside, and big enough for a library book and a cardigan. Pretty AND useful, finally.
Janet S., New BraunfelsNo two are exactly alike
Each one is made to order, so the patchwork and the placing of the cats shift a little from bag to bag. Yours will not be quite the same as mine, which for a handmade thing is exactly as it should be. It comes in two sizes, a neat one and a roomier one, and I went roomy.
On the kitchen chair between outings. Ready for the next line to stand in.
My daughter and I both have one and they are slightly different, which we love. Handmade in the true sense.
Maureen T., PflugervilleThe Dream, against the bags you have been buying
You can find a tote bag for a hundred dollars almost anywhere. I know, because I own a cupboard of them. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Boring and practical, or pretty and useless
Flat printed canvas that looks mass-made
Collapses in a heap the moment you set it down
Metal rings and buckles that snag and clank
Open top, and everybody can see in
Handmade, and it makes strangers smile
Stitched, padded appliqué cats, quilted all over
Structured base, stands up on its own
Soft fabric handles, no hardware at all
Zips shut, lined inside
About the price
The Dream is $47.95 at the moment. It was $116.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that this is their final summer sale as they close this chapter of the shop, and once this stock is gone, it is gone. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that a handmade quilted bag at that price is not something I expected to see twice, so I did not wait to find out.
I also did what I imagine you are doing now and read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars. Not the suspiciously perfect five you see on some websites, which if I am honest made me trust it rather more. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women’s words.
If you like cats, or you like being smiled at in waiting rooms, this is the bag I would put in your hands myself, while they are still making them.
Peggy
DREAM | Handcrafted Padded Cat Bag
- Eight stitched, padded sleeping cats, quilted by hand
- Soft on the shoulder, cushions what is inside
- Structured base, stands up on its own
- Soft fabric handles, no metal hardware
- Zips shut, lined inside
- Made to order in two sizes, no two alike
- FREE shipping & 100% happiness guarantee
Final summer sale on now. Made to order, while stock lasts.