Sweet March 2011

Sweet March 2011 issue comes with a red plaid Kitson tote and matching pouch set.

Sweet December 2010

Finally caved and grabbed this Sweet December 2010 issue before they are cleared out for the January issue going on sale in the next couple of days. I like that Kitson leopard print tote and matching wristlet, but I hesitated for weeks thanks to that cover photo featuring Rinka.

Now, now, before fans of Rinka flame me, I must clarify that I don't dislike her. She's very pretty and probably moves tons of magazines, hence appearing on many covers. But that's precisely the problem. There must be only a handful of working models in Japan or something, but I keep seeing the same faces over and over! I swear some magazines shoot the same models every month! Exclusive contracts or not, I'm getting frustrated and I demand fresh faces!

That's just one complaint I have with Japanese magazines. The other is not something the magazines themselves can help with per se. I'm talking about those bloated fish faces. Seriously, do these models think they're toddlers or something? No, it's not cute. At all. They ought to keep that face to themselves (and perhaps their special ones at home who they can make those faces to) because it's not something I want to see on a magazine cover. And Rinka, seriously? She's obviously capable of pulling off smokin' hot covers (see below, or even better, google!), why resort to such vomit-inducing cutesy?

***Pictures from Amazon JP.

But I digress. Back to the Kitson tote and wristlet ^.^

Both the tote and the wristlet are made of thicker canvas - note I didn't say thick but thicker, as in thicker than the usual thin canvas.

The tote measures 23 (height) x 26.5 (length) x 10 (width) cm and has no outside or inside pockets.

However, the inner seams are covered with polyester piping.

The bottom of the tote also have double reinforced stitching, so this bag might be able to withstand some weight, though I'm still not sure I would recommend carrying college textbooks with them...

The wristlet measures 10 (height) x 15.5 (length).

To my pleasant surprise, the inner seams of the wristlet are also covered with the same polyester piping. Why the surprise? Because the smaller wristlet is usually the neglected one out of the set, though in this case it looks like both received equal attention, which is nice.

Unfortunately this Kitson tote is not faultless as the finishing stitches on the piping up towards the tote's opening look a bit jumbled as though was done in a hurry.

Also, even though the bottom of the tote has reinforced stitching, the stitching is actually quite...loose. So loose I can actually see through their loops. Oh well, this tote and wristlet are freebies after all.

Good thing this rather thick issue will more than make up for the hasty craftsmanship of the tote. I'll have lots of pictures to ogle.

Oh, and look who I found among those pictures! Soyjoy, huh? Man, that terrible economic downturn must have hit Hollywood pretty hard!