No 496: Splurge or Save?

I'll admit that usually, those "Splurge or Save" features in magazines confound me; the splurge is always so much more stylish and better constructed than the save, and who wants a knock-off anyway? But when I found myself in a "Splurge or Save" situation of my own, I was suddenly deeply grateful that, for once, I preferred the spendthrift's clutch.

Net-a-Porter has a fabulous wedding boutique that I regularly troll for high-end goodies from Lanvin, Vivienne Westwood, Fendi, Christian Louboutin and the like. This satin Valentino clutch, the first bag, caught my eye, but the $795 price tag was a touch steep for a white satin evening bag I probably couldn't use more than a dozen times for the duration of my natural life.

A few days later, I was enjoying another source for wedding goodies, Etsy. Imagine my delight when, as I was browsing through bridal clutches, I spotted the second bag, made by eclu! A sweeter, more whimsical version of the high-style bag I had drooled over days before, for only $50; it was like the bow-clad bag was just begging me to take him home.