It’s been exactly a week since Dior’s International Women’s Day event that was held in all their boutiques globally. International Women’s Day serves as a reminder of how far we, as women, have come, and the strife and challenges that our fellow women had to go through. If it weren’t for women like Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, and more recently, Naomi Wolf, who dealt with issues like women’s suffrage, workplace equality, cultural diversity, and identity politics, amongst a myriad of other issues, that made the personal, political. I was really looking forward to that event, because it’s in celebration of a cause that I support, and hold close to my heart.

But guess what? I didn’t actually get to go to the event because I had developed a strained back that, progressively, led to shoulder and neck aches, as well as pain at the back of my ear, and the entire back of my head that made it feel as though my entire skull was hurting. Because this condition was diagnosed as something that was due to PhD-related stress, the doctor told me that I needed bed rest, and to take at least a week off from PhD work, which scared me because it was time I didn’t have! So, considering that I didn’t get to go to the event, I had to experience it vicariously through Instagram and Instagram stories. Boo. I was SO bummed, because, apart from showing my support for Women’s Day, I also wanted to check out the Spring/Summer 17 collection, especially the J’ADIOR bags and accessories, up close. Since I couldn’t attend, I wouldn’t be able to share my experience with you (which was the initial intention of this blogpost), what I CAN do, is show you the J’ADIOR collection right here. But, with all the press the collection has been getting, I’m sure that you’ve already seen those J’adior flap bags and the shoes.

Okay let’s address the elephant in the room right now: I know most of you are either thinking, or at some point, have thought, that the J’ADIOR flap bags remind you of Moschino bags of the 1980s or early 1990s. I have to admit,  that I, too, thought the same at first. Notice how I’m using the past tense in my previous sentence? That’s because I find that the more I look at it, the less it resembles the Moschino bags. Yes, though the bold gold lettering might be similar, the bag exudes a  totally different vibe. For Moschino, it gave off a feeling of street red, whereas for the J’ADIOR, there is this this edgy yet sophisticated, and boyish yet refined quality to it; all of which are essentially what Maria Grazia Chiuri’s direction for Dior is all about. The design element that I love most about this bag? Now, that would definitely have to be the “CD” imprints on the brushed matte gold chain shoulder strap.

And then there are these J’ADIOR ribbon shoes, which, I’m told, are sold out in some stores across the globe! I’m loving the unusual shape of the kitten heel, but since I hardly wear heels, and more so now since I’m having issues with my back, I’ve got my eye on those flat slingbacks, as well as the casual leather sandals!! Now here’s the amazing video of the J’ADIOR collection in action:

Images and video courtesy of Dior