Object Lesson
Tina Craig’s Suitcase
Photographs by Ryann Ford
Since co-founding the blog Bag Snob, in 2005, McKinney resident Tina Craig has become one of the fashion industry’s most influential style arbiters. Each month more than 300,000 visitors flock to the site—which the 42-year-old launched with her best friend, Kelly Cook—to read honest musings on the latest handbags: Craig likens a pink teardrop-shaped pony-hair bag to an “illustration out of a stomach medicine commercial,” while a favored Miu Miu shearling satchel “reminds me of my puppy, and I have a strong urge to cuddle it.” The Snob empire now includes five additional blogs (on beauty, couture, jewelry, shoes, and children’s products), and top designers like Oscar de la Renta, Derek Lam, and Donna Karan regularly invite Craig to preview their wares. This month, she heads to New York Fashion Week to check out next season’s it bags before they’re sent down the runway.
About the Items in Tina Craig’s Suitcase
• My orange Hermès Birkin bag is a 25. When people say “It’s a 25” or “It’s a 35,” they’re talking about the width, which is measured in centimeters. Mine is small, but it fits all my stuff and it’s perfect for me.
• Cindy Chao is one of a few living jewelry artists to have work in the Smithsonian’s permanent collection. She created this custom ring, which has the diamond from my engagement ring and an emerald from another ring my husband, David, gave me for Christmas.
• I got these for $400 at the Louboutin private editors’ preview, which is held a few days before the actual sample sales begin. I get an adrenaline rush when I know the value of something and I get it for a great price.
• Those are eyedrops from Japan that instantly take out the red. It actually burns when you use it. You’re blinded for, like, five seconds.
• These are fun little double-sided leather Hermès bracelets. I don’t want to be decked out in diamonds all day, so I like to wear these more casual pieces.
• I sometimes attend up to thirteen shows a day during Fashion Week, but I love wearing these Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte boots. They are my favorite shoes even though I developed Morton’s neuroma from walking around in my heels.
• Bobbi Brown is a friend. I’ve been using her makeup since college. I don’t go anywhere without her highlighter.
• Pink is my favorite color. This is an Hermès Haut à Courroies. I spend money on three things: shoes, diamonds, and handbags. So many of my clothes come from sample sales and vintage shops.
• DL1961 makes the best butt-lifting, body-shaping jeans. They have a special four-way stretch, and they just suck you in.
• I saw this in the children’s department at Target. People always think it’s this $1,000 fur coat, and I’m like, “It was $39.99!”
• This is one of Thakoon’s spring 2012 bags. It’s a sample; no one has it yet. He knows I love bright colors, so he sent it to me as a gift.
• Bag Snob collaborated with DKNY this year to create five basic bags. This is the Trendy Bag. It has a cross-body shoulder strap and also turns into a fanny pack.
• Interior designer Kelly Wearstler has translated her aesthetic to clothing and accessories. This is a pyrite-and-python clutch. I should actually put it on my coffee table.
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