The wait is over! Here is the winning entry of this season’s Bag of the Season. We had some amazing entries but I am sure that you will all agree that the winner made an outstanding effort.

Congratulations to Elizabeth. who will receive a Black Crash Take Me Everywhere.

Jackie

BE QUIZ by Elizabeth Dunkel July 4, 2008

I write this on a sultry Friday evening in the tropics, sitting in my bathing suit. I am far away from the chic, European world of Belen Echandia, but am creating my own Belen Echandia world here, alone, in the Yucatan. On my desk as I write are my ultra chic Antique Gold Stroke Me, and my Black Crash Clutch Me.

BE has changed my life with the Clutch Me. I have never liked clutch bags – they were always too small, too precious or too…something. Clutch Me is friendly but ultra chic, it is big enough, small enough, and perfect to have on my desk so that I can throw in my wallet and keys and go. It is perfect for the transition from office to evening… I don’t like going out to dinner or the movies with a huge bag. Nowadays I always pack a clutch when I travel, to smarten up any outfit.

Where are BE bags made?

BE bags begin in the heart, soul and mind of Jackie Cawthra. The ideas are born in the London breeze, on her morning run, at her desk, as she sits in a café, as she flips through magazines or watches movies, reads books, talks to her friends, listens to clients or just zeros in on what she really likes. BE bags are physically produced in an Italian atelier.

From which country does the name Belen Echandia originate?

Belen Echandia is a Spanish girl’s name.

Which magazine recently said Middle Eastern women were queuing for a BE purple python Clutch Me?

Enigma magazine.

How do we name our bags?

BE bags are named after customer comments. It is refreshing because they aren’t named after models or actresses. BE bags’ names are a call to action: Love me. Hold me. Stroke me. Take me away. And they are lovable, strokeable, huggable, clutchable, holdable and more.

To which country did Jackie take her TMA?

To Portugal on a R&R retreat.

Name Two BE stockists

Harvey Nics in Dubai and Fred Segal in L.A. Wow, there are two different worlds for you! Movie stars and Arab princesses!

Name of the recent covert Italian investigation into Chinese handbag producers

Luxury Slaves.

What surprised me is that these third world sweatshops are going on in Italy! I thought, okay, BV et al are making their bags in third world destinations….but to learn that slavery is going on in a European country…was a real eye opener. For me, Belen Echandia is on par with Hermes: handbags made by high trained people who have a true level and history of craftsmanship, who don’t have to hide, who are proud and are paid well for their skills. BE is made in the tradition of fine Italian leather handcraft.

Why choose BE?

BE is a real luxury… You know, when I first looked at the website…I thought: this is not me. This is not my world. But for some reason, I kept going back and looking at it. I was struck by the picture of Jackie on bended knee, in a mercado in Equador with a gorgeous chocolate bag which I learned was Stroke Me, which was my first purchase. Then what drew me in was BE’s definition of luxury. Anyone can buy an expensive handbag in a store. Luxury today is about service. When you choose a hotel, you are not buying the room, but rather, the experience. Personal service requires thoughtfulness and caring. Service is expensive.

The unique bespoke aspect…BE was the first to offer bespoke luxury handbags. The idea of “bespoke” was interesting, because bespoke is a very upscale British concept. Only very wealthy people have bespoke clothing made. Suddenly, bespoke was accessible…to me.

BE makes web shopping easy and stress-free …Jackie has created a very feminine, chic world, where the ladies ooh and aah over the pink linings and the interior organization of the bags. You have to be confident to buy and wear a BE – you have to be independent enough to recognize chic for yourself, without a million/dollar advertising campaign obscuring the view. You take a plunge not knowing what you’ll get and whether you’ll like it. Handbag buying is a tactile experience – you touch leather, you look at shape, ease of accessibility, the weight of the bag, you try the bag on and see how it works for your body type. You can’t do this with BE. It was the personal phone call that made me take the plunge and the no quibble exchange policy is the safety net for the plunge.

It is more than a bag… I feel that I’m wearing a personal and unique product. I feel tied into BE’s ethos and style. I feel part of a select group of women. When I first opened my Stroke Me in London, where I picked up my first bag, my friend, Sally Bradshaw held it and looked it over and said, “This is seriously posh.”

BE polishes my look… It really excites me to wear BE. My clothing is very simple – white linen, black slacks, blue jeans…and my BE becomes the defining accessory.

Because I’m Worth It… My BE bags are my office, my boudoir, my friend, my strength, my “better half,” my calling card, my security blanket, my travel buddy and my fun. They remind me, “I’m worth it.” Since I started buying and wearing BE, I have, for the most part, stopped looking at other handbags. It frees my mind, not looking for the perfect handbag, or any other handbag.

I like the fact that Jackie and Ashley know exactly which BE’s I have. It is delightful to have a conversation and discuss a color or a style for an event or a lifestyle with the designer herself. Movie stars have their personal stylists; I have my own personal handbag designer.

Elizabeth Dunkel was anonymously selected as the winner of the AW08 Bag of the Season competition. Elizabeth was one of Belen Echandia’s first-ever customers and remains the only woman in Mexico - that we know of - to wear BE bags. She is mother to Pablo and Nina and the author of The Portable Mother, www.theportablemother.blogspot.com.