Who is Gina?
Since the beginning of O My Bag, our founder Paulien has named the bags in our collection after people dear to her heart, both in her personal and professional life. This time, we decided to ask for your help to name a new handbag style in the making. We wanted to make sure the handbag – which has been our team’s favorite ever since the first stages of the design – was named after an inspirational personality with a unique story.
We reached out to our incredible O My Bag community via Instagram, and after reading through hundreds of inspiring stories, we selected one.
The Winning Entry:
“Gina, my fierce and loving grandmother. She recently told me about the first leather handbag she got, just after the Second World War had ended. A friend of hers designed and produced it. She brought it with her at all times: it was her dream design and a real luxury at the time. She literally used it until it came apart. I think she defines style at 92(!) years old and she taught me what quality and sustainability mean, not only with regards to fashion, but also with regards to family and friendship.” – Irene on Instagram
We’ve reached out to Irene, and she was more than happy to elaborate. This is her story!
Gina's Story
Irene’s grandmother, Gina, had just turned 18 when the Second World War ended – she is 92 years old now. She got by on very little during the war. Food was sparse, and she certainly didn’t own any beautiful handbags.Her father thought of a way to keep up his daughter’s spirits. One of his friends worked at a leather factory nearby. To surprise Gina and her sister one day, Irene’s great-grandfather contacted this friend and paid a visit to the factory. After some time, he returned from the factory with two stunning leather handbags for his daughters!
Irene explains how happy Gina was with her handbag, she took it with her every time she would go out, year after year. “In or out of fashion – it didn’t matter to me,” she told Irene. She was very proud of it.It was as if the fit and size were designed especially for her. Irene: “For me personally, her story puts sustainability in a different perspective. Why don’t we cherish that what we have more and purchase less, while making items we truly love last longer by taking extra care of them? Nowadays, it’s rare that we take care of our items for years on end.” Irene takes inspiration from her grandmother, trying only to buy items she’ll love and care for for a long time.
Gina: A Handbag to Last
We are proud to name our new bag after ‘Gina’ and we hope she loves the sleek, timeless design as well.Gina has the perfect balance of ease and elegance, a classic option for every single day. As timeless as she is practical, Gina’s strap is adjustable with an easy knob button system: Featuring gold brass studs on each side, you can simply choose your ideal fit and neatly tuck the rest of the strap underneath. As if she were specially made for you!
Handmade in India, Gina was made with the care and attention to detail. We believe that making high quality products that can be worn and used for years is one of the most responsible things we can do for our planet. Therefore, we prototyped a number of strap designs for Gina, with the idea in mind that the handbag should look beautiful worn short or long for many different occasions – while still having that classic and timeless feel.
Which color of the Gina handbag is your go-to, and would you wear her short or long?
Love,
Elise
