I am intrigued by blends of old and new. Any outfit of mine will be sure to seem modern in the most part but with a splash of vintage. And I’m the same with home furnishings – I like combining old things like teapots and candle snuffers with minimalist white crockery, for example. Modern on its own is entirely dull and narrow-minded to me, but old on its own isn’t enough either – it’s sort of irritatingly quirky and rather unworkable. I don’t wish I lived in the 1930s, but I like to show my affection for the time while also accepting, with open jazz hands, what’s happening now.
Electro swing music provides the perfect soundtrack to my old-new mash-up. In case you’re not familiar, this is a joyful, witty, toe-tapping remix of classic swing samples with house and hip-hop beats. Jitterbug with glow-sticks. Slightly Euro-trashy in nature, it has a knowing silliness about it, mixing gritty modern club culture with the innocence of classic dances like the Lindy Hop.
So, fond as I am of things that splice old into new and vice-versa, I couldn’t be more charmed by the launch of the fluoro range of the classic Cambridge Satchel. You might well have a black or brown Cambridge already – it’s become quite the staple for any lover of satchels. The sturdy leather, beautifully simple shape and traditional double buckle all bring to my mind school desks, shiny red apples, sharp HB pencils and bicycles.
But now you can have one in orange, green, yellow, purple or pink! They are very, very bright indeed. I’m afraid to report that Stirling isn’t impressed by this idea. He’s not happy at all. When the orange 11” satchel arrived for me at the office, he flinched, wrinkled his nose, and retreated to his office, looking actually rather emotionally and physically wounded by the eye-wateringly bright orange. “Young lady, please remove this from my sight as soon as possible,” he said. “Gladly!” I replied, hugging the fabulously bonkers satchel to my bosom, planning what to wear with it to show it off.
My top tip if you’re going to be brave and add one of these to your bag collection is to let it be the outfit, and wear dark, classic fabrics with it. I’m planning to debut my orange Cambridge this winter with a black coat and dark brown leather boots – a bright orange firework against a dark night sky.
Available in all the same sizes as the classic satchel – 11”, 13”, 14” or 15”, depending on how many red apples, books and glow-sticks you need to carry – the new fluoro Cambridge is, for me, a super example of how something old can meet something new, to witty and stylish effect.
The Fluoro range of The Cambridge Satchel is available from MyBag.com, with prices from £98 for 11” satchels to £117 for 15” satchels and batchels.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaFZgilMk2Q
