OK, here's the bag on which I collaborated with Marco, Jackie (whoever else there may be who had a hand in the bucket bag). I think it's our best collaboration ever. We added a fringe "skirt" around the top, re-adjusted the drawstring so the tassels come down the middle (instead of the sides), made them HUGE instead of smaller, threaded the strings through grommets on the top, and last but not least, braided the handles (which come in three different lengths - tote, shoulder and messenger - since it's braided, you cannot have a sliding buckle to adjust the length so specifying length in inches is a must. I always had him remove the sliding shoulder pad anyway, although I did have the buckle). The length on these turned out perfect for my body habitus. The bottom (which unfortunately has specks the camera picked up - not visible to the naked eye) has large studs instead of "feet". The body is black suede, hardware is silver and the interior is the fleecy panda print (that I formerly used in the black ostrich London Tote Midi that now lives in the UK with another TPFer - the ostrich leather just wasn't "me").
I will use this one a lot because it matches boots I have - well, it will match any shoes that are black suede. I also am having Hold Me's made, standard buckets and another of these fringed models made before there no longer is a BEC service. If you love it as much as I do, you can tick the fringe, braided handles option on the bucket. It adds $250 to the price but it's a lot of extra work to braid that suede. You get two size handles (or straps) and can specify which lengths you want. If you want all three, you can choose the "tote" option as well.
The other colors I picked out in the suede are plaster (gray), birch (dark olive green), ebony (dark chocolate), cappuchino (beige) and cuoio (chestnut). The cappuchino matches Sand UGGS, cuoio matches chestnut UGGS. I'm sure Marco will have some left so if interested, just ask Aims or Janelle. I'm sure since the BEC service is ending, you will get a discount. My bags are done and being shipped to the warehouse. So, as I have time (getting ready to undergo knee joint replacement next month, after which I'll retire and do the things I really want to do), I'll take pix and post them here.
I'd really recommend this special style since you won't be able to BEC one like it much longer. It will work in any leather - I just chose suede because it gives it more of a "boho" look and matches boots I have. Fringe, according to all the fashion magazines, is really HOT for the 2012-2013 year. A couple of the magazines to which I subscribe did full page displays of items with fringe. I know this doesn't give you much time to order one. Sorry for the delay in posting pictures but you just wouldn't believe what's going on in my life right now - seems like I'm on the go from sun-up to midnight. I am SOOO looking forward to retirement.
