The thing about make-your-own websites is that, like a box of chocolates, you never know if you're going to get a dribble-y liqueur cherry or a product that actually resembles the masterpiece you spent hours nipping and tucking to your exact specifications. Often, "close enough" is the best you can hope for, but that's not the case with Mon Purse.
Lana Hopkins, founder and CEO of the brand, which launched Friday at Bloomingdale's, involves gaming technology in the design process, so what you see—Italian or Turkish craftsmanship, crackly or smooth leather, emoji-stamped luggage tags—is what you get. You start with the shape first, choosing from buckets and pouches and totes. (They do phone cases too.) Then you fuss with the materials and the hardware and the lining and monogram on the intuitive interface until you arrive at a receptacle that's uniquely yours *and* rings in at a shockingly reasonable price point. (Approximately $400 for the bowler.)
With Mon Purse, Hopkins says, buying a beautifully made handbag is no longer about communicating status with a hunk of leather and metal nestled in the crook of your wounded-pterodactyl arm—a hunk of leather and metal you played no part in making. It's about removing the layers of speculation around the needs of "the [Insert Household Name] woman" and returning power to the customer. Because, in the end, nobody knows her better than herself.
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