Now that both the inland and coastal schools are back at school I thought I’d start sharing a few of my back to school ideas and favourites. I love bags! I’m a certified bag lady, who, surprisingly, doesn’t have a grown up bag. I love my canvas totes and Proudly South African slogan bags – though I will never turn down a vintage Chanel clutch.I believe that ones school bag is about the only place we can have individuality because we aren’t expected (by the school code of conduct) to conform and be uniform with everyone else. This is nearly the only chance you get to bring your aesthetic and taste into your school personality.

I’ve never been one who was excited by the idea of fitting in, which is why by the time I reached grade nine all my backpacks were dressed in quotes and other doodles.

If of course you aren’t into the idea of (beautiful) graffiti, then maybe one of these individualistic bags will be to your liking.

Visit flea markets, thrift stores and markets to see if you can’t find any unique bags that fit your current aesthetic. What’s great about thrift stores and markets is that most of the items are once-offs from by-gone eras or custom-made, which means the one you have will be the only one of its kind.

UM backpacks by the lovely Tiisetso aka Urban Mosadi (link urbanmosadi.blogpost.com) are individualistic and custom made, though I wouldn’t carry textbooks in mine, maybe save it for exam time when all you have to carry is your writing equipment.

Just keep your capacity needs in mind when shopping for your funky backpack, function is everything. I hope 2013 is a good one for you!

Mr P backpacks http://wolfandwood.blogspot.com/2012/09/mr-price-backpack-love.html

UM backpack: http://urbanmosadi.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-um-leatherkente-limited-edition.html
Collage http://www.polyvore.com/bag_lady/set?id=59219721
South Africa bag is mine but can be credited to http://nomali-from-soweto.blogspot.com