I’m a huge fan of clutches and purses lately. Somehow I noticed that my large commuter bag causes unsightly wrinkles on my shirt shoulders, and I don’t like it. /nitpicks Which is why for quick errand runs and such, I opt to carry my envelope clutch instead.

Kate Spade Book Clutches

I was searching for nice clutch styles when I stumbled upon the book clutch again. I first encountered this trend about a year ago when Kate Spade and Chanel came up with a couple of books. I didn’t quite like the idea. And so I prayed to the fashion gods to please not make this catch on.

But it did. There is no (fashion) god.

Natalie Portman with a Book Clutch of Nabokov’s Lolita by Kate Spade

I think it’s part of the whole geeky hipster movement. People now want to appear smarter, people want to flaunt their geeky interests, which is why wearing official merchandise is not enough. It had to come to this.

Michelle Williams with a Catcher in the Rye Book Clutch (Left) and some book cover I don’t recognize (right). Both by Olympia Le-Tan

I don’t give a hoot if you have it on your iPad or if you’ve read it a million times before. It makes you look like a real wannabe when you carry something that looks like a book, only to open it and take out your powder compact. For the love of literature, you poseurs. Carry a real book! If you want to brag about the titles you’ve read, at least grab the real thing.

At least Chanel’s version is plain and classic enough to not pronounce any random title. Maybe I can live with this one. I actually kinda like this one., now that I think of it

For this particular trend though, I actually would rather that people go designer instead of DIY. Wanna know why? See the photos below:

 DIY Book Clutch instructions from runwaydiy.com. Yup, they’re the one to blame.

My heart breaks. Those are perfectly good books. And don’t give me the excuse that you have e-book copies anyway. Hardbound books are super expensive. I’d kill to have a collection. If you don’t want them anymore why don’t you just donate them? I’m sure  a lot of people would love to read those books.

Plus think of all the trees! All that paper gone to waste. I don’t want to sound like a goody-goody. But seriously, there is something wrong when people destroy their books to turn them into bags that barely hold anything. Destroying books != upcycling. Any fashion idiot who claims other wise is, well, an idiot. Upcycling means turning trash/waste products into something of higher value than the original. It’s not upcycle since those books aren’t exactly trash before you trashed them.

BRB Mourning for all the pretty hardbound books ruined for the sake of vanity. I really hope this doesn’t get any more popular. I’d take other ugly trends instead, at least those are unpretentious and don’t destroy things that still work.