gaia's got a brand new bag: stylish, earth-friendly purses

Whether you're a career woman, soccer mom, student or nomad, few females can deny the power of the purse, backpack, tote, clutch or saddle bag to help them navigate successfully through the world. This home truth is reaffirmed by handbag ads in hundreds of fashion magazines around the world, along with everyday experience.

Take my son's first grade classroom photograph, for example. While the children look spruced in their favorite clothes, one of the girls exudes a deeply personal and arresting style. Clad in a t shirt, skirt and pants, this girl wears a turquoise purse slung over her shoulder and smiles at the camera with complete self-assurance. She may be only six years old, but her outfit looks completely, gorgeously put together, and she knows it, thanks to the power of the purse!

Two new Los Angeles companies, Girls Living It Up and Bird in Hand, literally have it in the bag, as well, for they manage to create chic yet ecologically sustainable; well-made, fairly priced and sweatshop-free purses. These are notable achievements in themselves, but then again, their designers are both remarkable women. Here are their style stories.

Girls Living It Up bags (www.girlslivingitup.com) are designed by Tova Fagan, a blonde Los Angeles native with an infectious laugh and relaxed California cool. A Malibu-based stylist who formerly worked for Banana Republic in merchandising and at the Gap, Fagan is the mother of two young sons.

Girls Living It Up (G.L.U.) bags propel the power of the purse to an earthy yet edgy fashion expression. Made out of glimmering silk and recycled aluminum soda can pop tops, the bags are hip and sexy yet elegant enough to wear for an evening out.

The idea for G.L.U. creations crystallized when Fagan's friend showed her a tote made out of soda can pop tops that she'd brought back from Rio de Janeiro. "The bag was formless; utilitarian," Fagan recalls. "But I got goose bumps because I knew I could make fantastic bags with this recycled material."

Lined in sumptuous silk, G.L.U.'s intricately woven back packs, messenger and evening bags are a significant new take on chain mail. Like the protective metal fabric of yore, Girls Living It Up bags are sinuous yet durable. Double stitching on straps and other quality control features are characteristic of the line, which also includes funky but chic coin purses.

Unlike the majority of goods produced in Third World countries for U.S. consumption, Girls Living It Up bags are made under Fair Trade terms. "My head employee is under a one year contract," Fagan explains, "and the pay scale for her and her team is periodically readjusted to accommodate fluctuations in U.S. and Brazilian currencies."

Accordingly, this also means that the retail cost of Fagan's bags can rise. (As of November 2005, the Girls Living It Up backpack costs $250.00.) Some customers have griped about the price fluctuations, but Fagan shrugs it all off philosophically. "With this arrangement, my employees are happy and I can sleep at night. It is such a great feeling to be running a fashion business that involves recycled goods, and on such humane terms."

It's also fun for Fagan that celebrity beauties including Pamela Anderson and Jennifer Garner carry her bags. "They are showing that recycled goods can make glamorous fashions," says Fagan. "I consider myself very fortunate to be running this kind of business," she continues. "I am blissed out by the beauty of nature, by my children, by the women who work for me and by the women who wear my bags."

While Fagan is pioneering the path of recycled chic bags, one could say that Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, designer and founder of Bird in Hand, heads up the healing zone of fashionable hand bags. "Unlike traditional shoulder bags, which experts have determined can cause neck, back shoulder and other pains, Bird in Hand bags are designed to be clutched or carried in the crook of the arm," Sarnoff explains. "But the bamboo handle is large enough so that you can put them over your shoulder in a pinch."

Sarnoff had her big breakthrough when she forgot her shoulder bag on a business trip and was forced to carry a clutch for seven days. By the time she'd returned to Los Angeles, her chronic nagging shoulder and neck pains had disappeared-- and the idea of Bird in Hand was born.. Hundreds of "research" bags later, Sarnoff had conceptualized her winning design; the bags are made in China under sweatshop-free conditions.

www.getbirdinhand.com puts the potentially perilous power of the purse in perspective with quotes from physicians and chiropractors who are not affiliated with the company.

"Carrying a shoulder purse, especially a heavy one, can affect your body's alignment," says Dr. Michael LeRoux of Ocean State Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation in Providence, Rhode Island. "The weight of the purse on one shoulder places one-sided pressure on the neck, undue pressure on the lower back, and forces one shoulder to be lower than the other-- causing misalignment. On the other hand, carrying a hand or wrist-held bag can actually be beneficial, because they are held in the hand [they] will move with the arms and follow a woman's natural gait."

Enter Bird in Hand: wide enough to fit a laptop, yet shallow enough so your keys don't get lost in the bottom, with a classic exterior and a vibrantly patterned lining, these bags look equally fine for work or out on the town. Most important, they are kind to your body in motion. As a career woman and the mother of a young girl and boy, Sarnoff knows plenty about motion.

Key design elements of Sarnoff's bags include: side pockets placed high on the narrow sides of the bag so cell phone and sunglasses are easily accessed; large zippered pocket on one side; large snap pocket on the other, and a flat bottom, symmetrical design and "feet." While her bags made of vinyl, it must be noted that it's highly durable vinyl that looks remarkably like leather. Bags come in basic black, white and camel and retail for $90.00.

While the bags launched in October, 2005, Bird in Hand styles are already gracing the wrists and arms of celebrities such as Jessica Alba and Eva Mendes. "I am more accustomed to doing public relations for lifestyle products rather than designing them," says Sarnoff. "In the process, I am having a whole new creative adventure."

Whether they are made out of recycled materials under Fair Trade contracts or designed to be both beautiful and kind to the back, neck and shoulders, here's to the healing power of handbags.

Note to readers: Just in time for the holidays, designer Tova Fagan of Girls Living It Up is offering a 25 per cent discount to findbliss readers who shop at her Web site, (www.girlslivingitup.com) Simply enter the code number 18 at checkout to enjoy your discount and Tova's eco-chic, powerful purses!