Neely Mack Handbag and the End of the No-Buy

Aside from running shoes, 3 pairs of pajama pants, a pair of men’s pants from Ebay that I never got to wear before decluttering them, and a failed attempt to acquire an Everlane T-shirt, my “No-Buy” has extended from 90 days to a full year. I’ve officially broken it now with 3 recent additions to my wardrobe.

The first is the much-deliberated handbag from Thredup. It was a bit of a surprise what was actually going to arrive in the mail since the measurements listed on the website were clearly wrong. It said the bag was 10”x10” when it was obviously a rectangle. The photo with the mannequin made it look even bigger than 10” x anything, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

Come to find out, the measurements were actually pretty close. It’s 10 3/4” across and 12 inches high. I anxiously slid my laptop into it (inside my laptop case) and realized that quite a bit of it did poke out the top. I could still fit my arm through the straps, but with a coat it would be tight. That said, I love it. It’s remarkably similar in size and shape to the coveted Celine hobo bag I was admiring on my favorite bloggers, is lightweight enough for travel, and the laptop does fit.

But then I realized a seam had started to unravel and the leather felt kind of old and crunchy. It also has a weird fold in the leather that makes it kind of asymmetrical on one side. Matt eagerly volunteered to stitch up the seam, having many fond childhood memories of doing leatherwork at Camp Mohawk. He was successful at that, and then cleaned it with saddle soap and applied this “Renovateur” conditioner that I used to use on old handbags I was selling on Ebay. All in all, a great improvement, plus I think I can get the fold out by putting something heavy on it so it’ll lie flat.

The vinyl inner lining is a little stinky and could do with a clean, but that’s to be expected with anything secondhand. And this bag is clearly vintage 90s, since Neely Mack stopped making handbags around 2005, when she started making shoes. I read about her in a San Francisco Gate article from that year, where I learned she was previously known for her leather jackets: “Her fitted, soft, thin lambskin jackets that double as tops became her signature item 15 years ago.” Yep, you read that right: a leather jacket that doubles as a top.

I immediately started googling and found such gems as this (on Ebay) going for $26

and this (also on Ebay) listed for $129.

I also found a few handbags that, much like mine, look like they’ve seen the back of a closet for 20 or 30 years. Here’s a couple from Poshmark:

This orange one is optimistically listed for $325, so I’d say I scored a deal on mine at $37.69.

Falling even further down the rabbit hole, I discovered that Ms. Neely Mack is now the author of a wellness book called “Project You” and sells something called “Bushfoods” in a Gwyneth Paltrow-esque turn.

*actually Neely Mack

She was also apparently involved in the development of these waterproof leather shoes which are available at a deep discount on Italeu’s website.

Anyhoo, I’m happy with the handbag and its minimalist design, and look forward to the day when I need a handbag to actually go anywhere.

My other Thredup purchase was a pair of black leggings from Danskin which are nearly identical to the other two pairs I already own, purchased at Marshalls way back when. I have a navy pair in XL and a black pair in L and both are getting a little saggy, so I went with a M this time and they fit much better. I think I’m going to set up an email alert through Thredup for any more size M Danskin leggings that come up, so I can nab some more.

They’re not exactly the same as the originals, but they work. They’ve had two trials on the treadmill (and two washes in the machine) and still seem good. A long vinegar soak in hot water got the thrift-store smell out of them, so we’re good to go.

The third and final item I was on the lookout for was a winter scarf. I have several scarves— two decorative, two lightweight, and two meant for cold weather. My blush Calvin Klein logo scarf is OK, but not really warm enough for full-blown winter.

And my giant, cable-knit, grey, cashmere scarf is warm, but somewhat impractical.

By the time you wrap it around enough to cover your neck, it’s so bulky that it doesn’t fit under your coat. You have to just wear it on top like some kind of medical neck brace and try to get by.

Ok, this is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

I bought this particular scarf on Thredup, and while they’re always a great source for cheap cashmere, they don’t list the measurements of their scarves. Clothes, handbags, yes. Scarves, no. You’re left just guessing what the scale of the picture is: Is that a big scarf that they zoomed out on to fit in the frame, or is it a tiny scarf they zoomed in on to fill out the frame? Nobody knows. So no matter how many cashmere scarves I scroll through looking for a deal, I really don’t know what I’m looking at.

After my experience with my ginormous cable-knit number, I decided that a flat blanket scarf would be my ideal. Long and wide, but flat felted wool so it could be bunched up or spread out into a shawl. I looked on Ebay first. Measurements abound on Ebay, often showcasing a tape measure right in the photos, so I felt sure I’d fare better than on Thredup. I became enamored with this Theory scarf that was 100% cashmere and something like 86” x 32”—huge.

But the bidding started at $129 and I definitely couldn’t afford that, so I looked further. The cheapest cashmere scarves to come up were those sketchy generic listings for genuine brand-new cashmere for $11.99. These types of listings often ship from China, and what you get in no way resembles the photos online. I didn’t even bother with them.

I’d seen a number of bloggers wearing the Acne Studios Canada Scarf, which comes in a cashmere version for $420 and a wool version for $180. The dimensions were similar to the Theory scarf, and I did find some secondhand Canada scarves on Ebay. But not being able to touch the wool, I had no idea how scratchy it might be.

Matt has a very nice dark green felted-wool scarf that I got at TJs for $20, changed my mind about due to itchiness, and gave to him. I went looking for it for reference.

He found it, and while I was measuring it, he came across another winter scarf in his closet. It was an acrylic blanket scarf with a herringbone/checked pattern that I’d bought for him a couple years ago.

I tried it on. I was sold. For $0, I had a soft, warm, blanket scarf in a neutral color and pattern that I could see and touch in person. It was the ultimate minimalist purchase— decluttering an item from Matt’s wardrobe and taking it into mine. I’ve already worn it on our nightly neighborhood walks and I’m quite happy with it. Shopping done.