Accessories for the Accessories

A few months ago a friend loaned me a cool cow print bag.  When I looked inside there was a small pillow in it still in a sealed plastic bag.  I emailed her and told her she must have left one of her kids' pillows in her bag.  As it turned out she had just come up with an ingenous way to keep the shape of her bags.  Instead of keeping all that annoying paper stuffing inside of bags she had purchased small pillows from Pottery Barn Teen and was using them in all her bags.  They come in a variety of sizes and start at about $10 each.  Totally worth it to keep an expensive bag worth hundreds or even thousands in perfect shape.  I orderd a bunch and stuffed all my bags.  Now I don't have to pull out wads of paper stuffing every time I use a bag. Tip:  leave the plastic wrap on them.

Pottery Barn Teen mini pillow



Also important in keeping bags and shoes in good condition are the pouches (usually felt, sometimes other soft fabric) that most quality ones come with, especially if you store them where dust can reach them.  I keep my shoes in shoes cabinets, but I still leave them in the pouches because somehow in NYC dust and soot seem to be able to reach everywhere.  The pouches are also great for protecting shoes and bags when traveling.   A while back my mother ordered me a few personalized pouches for my bags and shoes.  They are so cute and I use them for the shoes & bags that didn't come with pouches of their own.  They are extra roomy and made of a soft canvas.

Personalized shoe bag

My mother thinks she ordered them from a company called American Stationery.  I think they make nice gifts and would be great for kids going off to camp or college!