Samantha Thavasa handbags for the grown-up girly girl

Sorry, I've been a bit behind on blogging. I've had a busy last few weeks. First there was a tiring work trip that involved me standing for 3 days straight and giving up my weekend. Let me just applaud any of you who work in retail or are on your feet all day. It's so unbelievably tiring! Then straight back to work, and decided to take a day off to relax... and pow! Had some killer back pain, like you wouldn't believe! I've been through resting and now trying to build up my back muscles again, sigh. Hopefully in time to go on a *much* needed holiday in the Canaries next week.

Phew, that was a lot to get through! So I hope you will forgive me for being a bit quiet. I'm sure you understand, that just sometimes, life gets in the way. It's unavoidable.

Anyway, on to today's blog, I wanted to share another Japanese brand with you all: Samantha Thavasa.

Miranda Kerr for Samantha Thavasa

Samantha Thavasa is a Japanese handbag brand that capitalizes on its foreign sounding name, appealing to young working women, school girls, and maybe even hip housewives (if I may!). The handbag ranges are usually modeled by foreign celebrities such as Nikki and Paris Hilton, Miranda Kerr, Beyonce, and Victoria Beckham.

Beyonce for Samantha Thavasa

They are rather expensive, but I fell in love with some big boxy beauties last time I was in Japan (oh dear, that was 2008, I believe!). I still keep an eye on the range, and thought I'd share some with you today. I suspect, unless you've spent some time in Japan, you probably won't have heard of Samantha Thavasa before (altho, they apparently have an outlet in the US now! Anyone been?)

Jennifer Lopez for Samantha Thavasa

Here are some of Samantha Thavasa's current offerings. What do you think? (Hint: click on the prices to be taking the Samantha Thavasa website for more colours and sizes!)

24,150 Yen

29,400 Yen

24,900 Yen

27,300 Yen

31,500 Yen

27,300 Yen

17,325 Yen

Personally, I really love the little girly attention to detail such as the ribbions, the hearts, and sparkles that feature in the designs. It's something that's still considered acceptable in Japan for business women to still maintain those little elements of cute or kawaii while still being grown-up at the same time.