Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would’ve done a column on who we’re dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week Alex Frank writes about Jack Spade's Canvas Dipped Coal Bag.
Yo, I am not a prep. I like being on boats, I had a good time once on a trip to Shelter Island, and martinis are fly, but I am not a prep. Not that there's anything wrong with it, salmon-colored pants are fine and those belts with the crabs on them are weird, but whatever. I simply just prefer the dirt.
My interest in this Jack Spade bag, though, has me questioning a few things. Even though it fits perfectly into my look, something tells me dudes might be rocking this out on Sag Harbor too. Am I, in fact, a prep for loving it so? It is even preppy at all? Am I getting old and soft? Somewhere down the line, any attempt at classic good taste got infused (or confused?) with the prep ideal. Jack's sister-brand, Kate, has the market cornered on certain kind of clean chicness that borders on prep, but that shit is not Lilly Pullitzer. Can we even make the distinction anymore, though, between snooty style and classic looks when so much disposable clothing makes anything traditional look hedged and riche?
This big bag, dipped in an amazing olive-tapenade green, is so great that I don't even care what it conveys. It's huge, first of all, fits everything I need. But it's also simple, no bells and whistles, and the colors are plain in the best way. And so what if it's a bit on the Hamptons side of things. I'll still wear it in the mud.