Newel Kena Rags2Riches Bag

Throughout the month of March, I've been itching to buy a new bag. After searching online all over, I ended up obsessing for 3 days of the Holy Week holiday over the bags from Rags2Riches (http://www.rags2riches.ph).

[It's been a month since I made my last entry. I haven't done much except work and watch tv series... and go out and eat with friends... not much time to write before.

I've asked my friends and family for their opinions... I've gone through online shopping sites Zalora, Ava, and the R2R site itself! I ended up buying from the Aranaz store in Powerplant Mall because I didn't want to pay for the shipping fees and I wanted the blue one.

So here it is! Isn't it pretty?

I use it now as my main bag for work and weekends. It goes well with jeans!

At the first day, I thought it was kind of heavy. The blue weave fabric is quite thick. After that, it's not so heavy anymore.

For the t'nalak weaves at the sides, it will tend to fray so be careful with it.

The bags are made by artisans from not so well-off communities in the Philippines and they get paid fairly for it (not get exploited by middle-men). Normally, they would be forced to work for 70php a week (that's already a meal for the average Makati person). With Rags2Riches, they have the opportunity to get 1000php a week.

The materials they use are also upcycled. The fabric used in making the weaves are scraps.

Read more about their story here.

Moving forward, I'll be more conscious about the things I buy... if there is an eco-ethical and fair trade alternative, I'll veer towards that instead, though not necessarily cheaper. Normally, I would go for low-cost... but you never really know if it's cheap because someone got poorly-paid for it along the way.

My New Purple Bag

I bought this bag 2 weeks ago and I started using it last Saturday. It's nice, comfortable, and sturdy. You'd think i paid a lot higher, but it's actually just roughly 500 PhP! I got it in a tiangge somewhere.

In the Philippine malls these days, you cant get a nice bag anymore for around 500 and below! :( Almost all the nice bags I've seen are 1000+! (What's happening to the world?!)

I wish there were more places to buy cute inexpensive good quality bags like this one. I see too many people walking around with their branded bags.

 

Update  [Nov 18]: I spoke too soon. One of the gold buckles fell off because one of the screws got loose. :( I'd probably have to use superglue to get it back together. Oh well. It still looks alright.

My Gray Leather Boots from Payless

I have a new favorite store in Powerplant Rockwell... which is Payless! :)

My most recent purchases have been my niece's red shoes, my new wallet, and my new gray leather boots! So far, I've been happy with all of the things I've bought from Payless. I'm waiting for them to release a membership card or a discount card or something. :D

My cool new gray boots (1650 Php)

My niece's glittery red shoes (700-something?)