It's a Cinch Handbag by Beijo, $89
When Susan Handley first started designing handbags, she was ten and her designs were childhood ideas fueled by dreams and imagination. When she started designing handbags for a living, she was a struggling single mom and her designs were fueled by a desire to make a better life for herself and her son Kyle.
With no prior business experience, Susan founded a company she named Beijo through the encouragement of her friends and a loan from her father. Beijo means kiss in Portuguese. It was Kyle’s second spoken word and one that he often repeated to his mom. This term of endearment became the inspiration for Susan to begin selling her designs.
What started as armloads of bags sold, are now sold in the tens of thousands at home parties in the U.S. and in Canada – a mere five years after Susan founded the company in August 2002. Having declined department store offers to carry her bags nationwide, Susan is more than ever committed to her vision of home parties being at the core of her company.
As the founder and sole designer of Beijo, Susan is not only watching her own dream come true, but also those of others who host Beijo parties. She is the creative force behind a growing success story for women who are in the process of gaining their first measure of financial independence. These women are, as Susan says, “Exactly like myself, who can do something to make money and feel good and still be there at the bus stop at 2:00 when their children get home.” Another reason they feel good is that a portion of the Beijo donation program is committed to organizations and projects which support the health, education and development of mothers and their children.
We received the It’s A Cinch Handbag from Beijo’s Home Party Fall Collection. It has Beijo’s signature pearlescent finish in brown. It measures 11.5” x 10.5” x 4.5” and it retails for $89.
The structure of the bag is classic but the finish is very trendy. This timeless yet up-to-the-minute design comes from the creation of a traditional structure using a polyvinyl material blend that produces a very cool metallic sheen.
Functionally, the bag is incredibly roomy and hard-wearing. The inside has black lining, a zip pocket, a large open pocket, and a small cell phone pocket. Most of the roomy bags I’ve seen are oversized. Spaciousness is nice but who wants to carry a bag the size of New England? This Beijo bag pulls off capaciousness with a tall and sturdy, rather than a wide and loose construction. The hardness of the polyvinyl provides a solid frame that doesn’t loose its shape no matter what you stuff inside it. The bag has a hard bottom with feet, which contributes to the overall structure that is durable and long-lasting.
I just don’t see how this bag can wear down. The finish will get scratched eventually I’m sure, but the bag itself will wear me down long before I wear it down. I've tossed it around, dropped it, I've even accidentally stepped on it. It just springs right back into shape, it’s that tough. If you need a bag that can take a lot of abuse and look good doing it, I without doubt endorse this one.
This season, metallics and patents are all the rage again. Patent leather can be pricey so this bag gives you the same look with a much more affordable price tag. Save the money and use it to get a luxe coat that matches fabulously with the bag like this Burberry Prorsum Cotton Sateen Trench or this Michael Kors Pony Print Double Breasted Trench.
Remember that the bag is available through home parties only. If you want to find one near you, check out Beijo’s site for more information or host one yourself. Then you can earn the money to buy not only the bag, but the matching coat too! Now if that's not an incentive, I don't know what is.
Reviewed by: Chic Techie
