My Guilty Pleasure!. Review on Hidesign Bags

I'm an animal lover and a vegetarian, but when I look through my bag collection, I feel like a major hypocrite. Why? Because I haven't managed to stop using leather yet. It's like a smoker's relapse, I go leather-free for a couple of months, and then I go back. And Hidesign is the leather brand that I blame for my indiscretions.This love affair started a long, long time ago.

A shopaholic was standing in front of the elevator at Inorbit Mall, Malad. She happened to look over her shoulder and saw this stand-alone Hidesign store. As she looked in to the display, she fell in love with a large red satchel. It was as though the bag was put there to tempt her. She told herself not to do it, she proceeded tospend hours shoppingin different stores in the mall, even stopping at the food court to recharge,however that bag just kept popping into her head. Finally, she gave in, she walked into the store shame-faced, took the bag home, and they've been living happily ever after, interspersed with bouts of guilt. Unfortunately, that shopaholic was me!

Since that day, I've added more to my Hidesign collection. For a while, Hidesign had a Salsa collection. I managed to get two beautiful Salsa bags at Shoppers Stop on discount. One is blue with a yellow flower stitched in. The other is black and cream with lots of strategically placed zippers. Strangely I haven't seen Salsa by Hidesign for a few years now. I must write to them and ask whether that line has been discontinued. Anyway, later I got a small black purse that goes with everything and is just big enough to hold my wallet, sunglasses, and cellphone. I saw this beautiful military green Hidesign bag at Westside a few weeks ago, but I resisted buying it. When my resistance crumbled and I went back last week, the bag was nowhere to be seen - I still have dreams about it... the one that got away :)

Just months ago, a friend gave me a beautiful pinkish-red wallet from Hidesign on my birthday. I've been using it ever since. It has enough space to hold all my cards (credit and store loyalty), my bills, my keys, and all the other weird stuff I seem to stuff into my wallet. And even when it's bursting at the seams, my trusty Hidesign wallet doesn't give away. I've had some really bad experiences with Baggit and Blue & Blue wallets, where within weeks cards have caused the wallets to tear away, coins have caused the zipper compartment to give way, and my license has shredded the wallets' inner lining. Not the case with this Hidesign wallet, it remains sturdy no matter how much I stuff it.

But most of my Hidesign collection comes from a trip to Pondicherry a few years ago. I was sent to Chennai for a United Nations project,and from Chennai we went to Pondicherry for a weekend. I loved how clean the little town is, I loved its beaches, but I have to admit, most of all I loved the shopping I managed to do there. Besides the cute local knick-knacks I picked up, I found a Hidesign factory outlet. There I found a beautiful three-tone bag with pink, blue, and green accents there, I got a few wallets, and another beautiful brownish-red satchel that's large enough to carry to work. All these on discount!

That trip is when I discovered that Hidesign originates in Pondicherry. The owner, Dilip Kapur started Hidesign in 1977 in Auroville, Pondicherry. Yes, it's been around that long! It grew from a two-person artisan workshop to an international brand that's won several awards and that has women (and men) swooning over its innovative designs.

What makes Hidesign so irresistible? The stitching, the attention to detail,the different designs. And strangely this is one leather company whose products don't have thatsickening leathery smell. Also, Hidesign isn't just about women, it's great for men too. Women will be spoiled for choice with all the bags, laptop bags, wallets, coin purses, belts, key chains, and if you live someplace cold, jackets. Men have their pick of beautifully crafted wallets, laptop bags, briefcases, belts, and jackets. Hidesign even has beautiful luggage, elegant overnight bags and lightweight suitcases. The company gives a six-month to one-year warranty on every product for stitching and zippers. They also provide leather care information to help youlook after your Hidesign product and make sure it gives you years of usage.

Hidesign can be expensive, with a bag costing on average between 2000 and 4000, and wallets about 1000. But the designs and the quality and how long each piece lasts makes it worth the money spent. And all of you who are judging me for using leather, believe me, I feel guilty too! I'm going to get help and when I go leather-free for over an year, I'll leave an update here. But until then, I'm going to enjoy my Hidesign bags, and so should you!