The Only Bag You Need This Summer Is The Maddalena Mini From Armadio
With the Royal wedding taking place one week ago today (OMG-did you get up early and watch? We sure did!! ) there has been so much press with Lady Diana and I stumbled on this photo of her on Pinterest. I had been looking for a summer bag and knew I wanted something with a bamboo handle but with a crossbody option as I looove the crossbody and I wanted to pay a reasonable price.
So from an early age I was obsessed with handbags.....
I remember once counting my collection of designer bags and having enough for a different one each day. Living in Dallas will do that to you as you are always trying to keep up with the Joneses so-to-speak. Looking back, some of the bags I chose were questionable- but at the time, they were the must have and the I-need-right-now bags of the moment. From Juicy Couture (oh yeah, remember when that was all the rage?) to Louis Vuitton and Gucci to Mulberry, for young Sam it had to be designer - and seemingly, as it turns out, be completely non-timeless and not worth much resale value what-so-ever.
Then I moved to Oklahoma and the love for designer faded somewhat. Perhaps it was because I couldn't possibly justify spending more than a month's rent on essentially pieces of leather. I sold most my handbags on Poshmark and Ebay and made a tiny bit of money along the way, only really keeping a handful of bags that I use from time to time.
So now I needed to find my new Summer bag and that's when I began researching and came across Armadio. They are a New York based online store offering certified, unique Italian products. In an era of mass production they believe in people and their ideas. Their mission is to find the excellence of contemporary Italian manufacturing and share it with the world. They travel to Italy to search the best it has to offer. They look for talented people who are still undiscovered. They meet them and connect with them and bring their products directly to their customers by cutting all necessary costs. Lucky me, lucky you!
Founded by three entrepreneurs from Tuscany, Matteo Mattia Gemignani, Matteo Gamberale and Pierluca Martella, Armadio partners with local manufacturers cutting out the middlemen and retail mark-up to bring their products to the international market at up to 70% less than their actual retail price.
I reached out to Armadio for a partnership with Go French Yourself and was so delighted when they chose me to be one of the faces of Armadio for their Spring Summer campaign. I was invited to pick a bag from their recent collection!
I went back on their website and was amazed by what I saw - I'm telling you, check out their website NOW. I picked out at least ten bags I wanted but managed finally, to narrow it down to this beautiful Plinio Visoná beauty.
(Along the banks of Riviera del Brenta, famous for its leather sought by Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta, master artisan Plinio Visonà has crafted his interpretations of the woman's bag since 1959. With master craftsmen overseeing the entire production cycle, each Plinio Visonà piece is handcrafted on-site in the company’s artisan workshop in Vicenza. Every detail—every button, stitch, fold, and fabric—is measured against the highest quality standards. The handbags are living testaments to the creativity and expertise of the traditions of the Italian artisan. Now, sons Mara and Davide carry on the family tradition by sharing the identity and core values of Italian craftsmanship.)
The bamboo handles, of corse sold me instantly! And I love the size. It's a fabulous purse that be a cross-body bag or a shoulder bag and it has plenty of space. But I also love that you can slip it on your arm making a high fashion statement so the versatility is a huge bonus. The leather is so luxe and it features a silk-cotton lining. I was drooling over all the gorgeous colors this bag comes in- don't believe me?
Take a peak for yourself! (I might need the yellow one too AND the white
It was a tough choice but I narrowed it down to the blush pink. It reminds me of a salmon and I can visualize myself wearing this with anything in my closet all year round actually. It will be stunning with my winter whites and grays and it's the perfect pop of color for Summer!
As soon as this bag arrived I was in complete awe of it! I was so ready to show it off to the world. . This I did of course almost immediately and the number of compliments the bag has received to date has far outreached any that any well known designer ever has.
I am in love with it! It's practical, smart, spacious and just beautiful. And as a busy young professional, I wear many hats! But my Maddalena Mini can go from the office, to the gym, to dinner with friends, home to my loves and back again.
And at $329, it's the perfect price point and I am so happy I did not have to spend thousands.
The gorgeous Maddalena Mini is available to pre-order now and will start shipping June 28th so get your orders in! The artisan has even agreed to a 20% off discount for pre-orders right now!
You will be seeing mine attached to my hip all year long!
Cheers to pretty things and unnecessary markups!
I cannot wait to see how you style your #MyArmadio. Tag me in your pics.
Thank you Armadio and thank you my loyal readers! Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep me creating and allowing you to show off these fabulous brands.
