Robin sent me this eBay listing this morning (click on the image to visit the auction page) and … well, I don't even have to tell you, do I? You could go out loaded for BEAR in this dress. Cell phone, iPod, paper and pencil, wallet, business cards, breath mints, five lipsticks … and that's just the red pocket in the front!
And, yes, I realize it's a bit extreme, but sometimes you need to be extreme to make a point. Or to carry all your stuff. And is it any more extreme than this?
I could fit my SON in that bag. And he's EIGHT. (And he doesn't go anywhere without his Nintendo DS, so the bag would also play tinny Japanese videogame music.) In fact, I almost expect a bunch of clowns to start extricating themselves from that handbag. (The last one out toots a little horn, and looks suspiciously like Tom Cruise.) Also, that bag costs more than many people's houses, while the dress is at only $26 right now!
Now, I know I carry too much stuff around with me (the four issues of New Scientist is not negotiable, though maybe I could clean out some receipts and lollipops) but the alternative is being bored out of my mind when the inevitable delays occur. Maybe I should take up meditation?
A Dress A Day 
That dress is gorgeous… but I have to wonder about anyone who wants to carry a bag big enough to stash a body in!
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My diaper bag for: 3 kids plus extra shirts because you know little boys pollute themselves way too much plus crayons and coloring books plus a camera (35mm SLR) plus my wallet wasn’t as big as that red thing. Plus, it had cute little bears and duckies on it, so at least everyone knew I wasn’t toting spare body parts!
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It actually looks like she might, in fact, BE smuggling Erin’s son. Look at how fiercely she’s clutching the thing–her veins popping from the strain of something very heavy. Either that, or she’s so undernourished that the bag is completely empty and it’s just that hard to lift. Anyway, fantastic dress. Mental note to self: try buying unprinted fabrics so I can make things like this.
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That dress is the female version of this: http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/85388.aspx?feature=Product_3&kw=skillsA vest that has morphed from a toolbelt. Rather than carry hammer, nails, measuring tape et al. on the hips – you wear the entire rig. Actually, the dress is better. As for Katy Holmes and her luggage-cum-steamer trunk, all I can think of is that scene from “Marry Poppins” where Julie Andrews reaches her arm down up to the armpit into her Gladstone bag and hauls out a floor lamp.
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OMG, I thought that was Anna Wintour until I clicked on the picture! Scary gaunt. And scary big bag.
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meditation? heck no, go to chiropractic school. everyone who carried these bags will be lined up at your door, slumped to one side.
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I have problems finding my cell phone or keys in the smallest of bags…good thing she has assistants to do everything for her!
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That dress is awesome. Perfect secretarial dress. Pocket for pencils and pens; pocket for dictation tablet; pocket for small scissors; pocket for tissues, etc.But I’d keep those back pockets (if real) empty. Would not be comfortable for sitting. Also — great dress for teachers!The dresses in the 1950’s were so great.
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P.S.And I forgot to mention Rick Rack Rules!Those large bags contribute to all kinds of back problems, too. Cause we tend to fill them up! I’m so out of fashion — I still try to use small purses for my good stuff, and a rolling bag for all the other necessaries in day-to-day work/living. Much less stressful on these old bones.
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I like a big handbag – you never know when you need towhip out your divorce degree, birth certificate or complete change of clothes…but that is rediculous. The dress – fantastic!
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“Rainbows and Ric Rack”Great title for a book don’t you think?
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Haha! I love your commentary on Katie Holmes’ bag– that thing is out of control. This one made me laugh out loud. Great post!
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Crikey…give me the dress! That bag is just ridiculous. Who wouldn’t like to know what’s in there?
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Now THAT is an amazing dress! Is anyone going to make one????
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Anna Wintour scares me too, glad that is Katie….she is just not so fierce…I almost expect a bunch of clowns to start extricating themselves from that handbag. (The last one out toots a little horn, and looks suspiciously like Tom Cruise.)hahahahahahahaThanks for the morning giggle.I do have to say that until The Boy (16) was about 6 or 7 I too carried a bag you could hide a human in. There was just so crap I had to lug around. Now I go out of the house with just a few things in my pockets.
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Holy Hannah–my vintage Samsonite luggage is smaller than that bag.I think that might be the ultimate kindergarten-teacher first-day-of-school dress (I mean that in a good way). It has pockets. It could have pockets all the way around if you copied it and made it that way. You could keep lollipops and novelty erasers in those pockets to hand out to your students. It sort of looks like one of those things of watercolor paints. Little kids would love it.
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Erin, I beg of you not to stash so much stuff on your person. If you ever fall off a bridge or a boat, you will sink like a stone, and that would be TRAGIC! Cause of Death: Deep Pockets.
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Glory Lord Almighty, I think when I get a minute or thousand, I need to make a dress like that. I might even buy the fabric this weekend….
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Knitting, you should take up knitting. I believe knitting needles and several jumbo skeins of yarn will fit nicely in that adorable dress.
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http://revel217.blogspot.com/2008/02/from-famine-to-feast.htmlRead my blog post about today’s huge handbags. I like your photo better than the one I purloined off the net. LOLWhitestone
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I’ve been following your blog for the better part of a year and finally had to jump in ! That dress is outrageous! Thanks for always posting such fun and interesting stuff!
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I read your last sentence, “Maybe I should take up meditation?” as “Maybe I should take medication?” Anyway, I say both, ’cause these day one needs a whole bagful of tricks to survive, ya know?
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I agree with Julia…take up knitting, its mediative and you could end up with some cute socks or a killer cardigan!!OK you gotta help me out here, this dress reminded me of something. Last Sept. you purchased 200 yards of ric rack and taunted us with a secret project. Did I miss it??? What did you make with all that ric rack???
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‘Nother vote for the taking up of knitting. You like cardigans, you could knit cardigans. And working from an unseen ball of wool hidden in a pocket – great idea. Just be careful of the pins when you sit down, maybe consider learning to knit with circular instead of usual type.I tend to carry my life when I go out, so I have my ‘handbag’ type bag with things like keys, money, ID, medicines, water, emergency snack, tissues… and the overspill (!) in my large shopping bag. That would be umbrella, lunch, jumper and possibly actual shopping.I miss going out :-(She’s not very big KH-C is she? Maybe that thing isn’t as big as we imagine.
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Oh, My! That dress looks like the modern version of the multi-pocketed garb favored by the intrepid Victorian lady Egyptologist, Amelia Peabody, created by the intrepid contemporary Egyptologist and mystery author from Chicago, Elizabeth Peters. We, like Peabody, could always be ready for any exigency, from rampaging pseudo-mummies to tomb robbers with questionable hygiene habits. All it needs is an umbrella to complete the outfit.
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Dare we say it? Is not that bag merely an expression of . . . conspicuous consumption?
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Tracy,You can see one thing Erin did with rickrack here:http://www.craftzine-digital.com/craft/vol06/?pg=121&search=erin+mckean&u1=texterity&cookies=1
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That dress is really cute.I usually carry a book, some knitting and an mp3 player to keep me amused, or try to. One time I was on the way home from work on the bus, there was an accident on one of the 2 bridges and I was stuck there for an hour. My MP3 player died and I had nothing else to do, so I walked home. Good times. But yeah, that purse is insane.
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Very interesting dressHilarious postLesson learned:Carry at least a book or magazine at all times for the inevitable delays instead of torturing people with Jedi mind tricks.(My Insight and a Mini Cooper would fit into that purse)
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I’m thinking a dress like that is the perfect way to use those quilting fabrics that are too expensive to make a whole dress out of./Monika
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Public meditation–NOT a good idea. I once fell asleep on the train during meditation and woke up at the end of the line missing my bag and shoes.
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erin, you are a woman after my own heart–4 issues (at least) of new scientist! good thing the damn mag is so skinny. I unsubscribed b/c i got annoyed they kept using models swathed in tulle to illustrate every feature on astronomy, yet i have to visit the website a few times a week. even after i unsubscribed i think i still carried around multiple issues for months just to get caught up.
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What an amazingly ridiculous bag – do designers think everybody has an assistant standing by to hold onto it? If you need both hands, it’s too heavy to slip on your wrist – you’d have to put it on the floor? clamped between your legs? If you go somewhere to have a cuppa, it won’t even fit on the back of your chair. This must be that special breed of “walking” bags. It’s about the only thing you can look good at when you carry it.All my aunties say you should NEVER set your purse on the floor, it means your money will run away!!LOVE the dress!
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Sock knitting. You can fit it in a pocket, and waiting is no longer a chore…you HOPE you get to wait. As for the woman leaning on the “mantle”, there was a time in the 60’s when plastic everything was all the rage….furniture, clothes, you name it. Now I’m not saying it’s practical, but maybe she’s leaning against a clear plastic mantle/wall, and the other lady is in the other room. Or better yet, they are in a glass house!
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i thought it was vic beckham. free katie!jenn
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oh, love the dress! the colors are fabulous!
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