I'm Not A Plastic Bag

So this morning I did something I've never done before - I was a crazy New York shopper. I’ve done sample sales before, but this, this didn’t even come close.

A few months ago I heard about the “it” bag in Britain. Keira Knightley had one. Reese Witherspoon and Petra Nemcova were seen grocery shopping with it. It was on ebay for hundreds of dollars. So what is it? A medium-size canvas tote with “I’m not a plastic bag” on the side created by British designer Anya Hindmarch as part of a nonprofit collaboration with We Are What We Do, a group that encourages individuals to take everyday actions to change the world. It launched in her London store in March – more than 80,000 people lined up to buy one of 25,000 bags!

Well today it launched in the US. One thousand bags were available in her SoHo and Madison Ave stores as well as a few stores in LA. I showed up at the Madison Ave boutique about an hour before opening. There were probably 75 people in front of me! I'll admit I was a little embarrassed I was there, but I thought the bag was cute and let’s be honest – at the end of the day, we are all still in High School and want what the cool kids have. But people kept coming and coming and coming. And it was raining! By the time the store opened, the line was all the way down the street and wrapped up Park Ave another block and a half!



This picture seriously does not do the craziness justice. Us New Yorkers are a breed of our own. There was a two bag per person maximum. They passed out ribbon tags to everyone in line so people couldn't cut or join friends in line. There were probably six or seven employees in the tiny little boutique - it was seriously such a small store, maybe smaller than my bedroom. They let three or four people in at a time. Crazy!

While the aim is to encourage fashionistas to replace plastic grocery store bag with not-so-plastic alternative, I know I just fell victim (granted a willing and happy one) to a fashion craze. It was a crazy experience talking to the women around me in line for about two hours (yes, I really waited that long!). It’s quite the story – I wouldn’t do it again, but I don’t regret doing it :)