The Bite Magazine Issue 17

T here comes a time in every fashion-oriented person’s life when they wrap their hands around their first designer handbag and life as they know it, changes forever. They beam pride as they softly coo at it like a newborn babe, cradling it gently and whispering sweet words of devotion, promising to care for its every need. Cherished, loved, aggressively pro- tected from all possible negative physical encounters with the ‘outside world’, the bag becomes accustomed to being shel- tered. However, as time goes by, the owner and bag mature and age. They begin to relax their vice-like grip and take the bag on greater adventures. Forced journeys on the Tube because Uber is surging so high that they could literally buy another new bag, out to crowded restaurants where the only seating available for it is on the floor or the back of a grimy chair, rushed runs through sudden downpours and saun- ters in the sweltering heat all start to become common occurrences. But then, it happens. Some giant person bumps into them, causing an exasperated ‘gasp’ as it brushes against the rough and dirty wall of the Tube station stair- case or water from a handheld dripping umbrella dribbles, drip by soggily drip onto the luxurious fabric… and there it is, in magnified horror, baby’s first booboo. I can unashamedly admit to being one of these people. A person so obsessively protective of their handbag that it’s been known to cause travelling delays, annoy restaurant staff and even added serious wasted spans of time fretting over what to wear because who knows what could happen… yeah, it’s a com- pletely legitimate first world problem, but a justifiable one given the price tag of said bags. Ridiculous, yes, but sadly so true! However, what saves me from feeling truly insane is that I’m not alone. No, there are others out there who after realising you can’t protect your precious Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel or YSL from the outside dangers of the world - the accidental brushes with filthy car doors, the exploding pens that seep through the lining, spreading like a murder scene ruining the silky interior, from the guy who bumps into you in the line at Starbucks because he’s too busy to watch where he’s going, because he’s too busy playing that new idiotic Pokémon game causing him to spill a hot, foamy, milky latte all over the opened top of your beloved baby... ‘Sigh’, life happens, and there you’re left, feeling gutted by the fact that you didn’t pay close enough attention, letting your guard down, now facing the bitter truth that your expensive arm candy is now a sticky, scratched, scarred and stained hunk of metal and leather. What are you to do but try and clean it as best you can, then sadly admit it to the back of your closet where it will remain hidden in its entombed infirmary for the fore- seeable future. Or will it? After years of living with the reluctant back and forth notion of “Buy the great IT bag, it’ll be a fantastic investment! Oh wait; you actually used the great IT bag in real life? Ha, it’s now completely denigrated!” There is hope! Hope for our injured, our broken, beaten and battered bags to find total restorative treatments! Hope that our babies will live again! The Handbag Clinic is ready and waiting to administer any and all services required to heal your ill-fated bags and accessories, resurrecting them like Lazarus from the grave! Huzza! The Handbag Clinic, whilst being praised as the only store fronted go-to company for all your handbag repair needs in the UK, was actually created by a team of expert furniture and car restorers. This team saw a gap in the retail market for a repair service geared at restoring and repairing designer items, and thus, the Handbag Clinic was created. Providing in-house handbag restoration services, care products and personal accessories with decades of shared experience, the Handbag Clinic excels in their quality of care, repair and restoration of designer handbags and leather goods. “We work Your BagWill LIVE AGAIN! Dawn Hunt finds she can smile again after she entrusted The Handbag Clinic with restoring her beloved Saint Laurent Sac de Jour designer bag to its former glory. Images courtesy of MLPR bite bags CLINIC