Miracle of miracles -- I was able to walk right into the Loewe boutique! No velvet rope! And the store was busy, too! In fact, they had servers passing around tiny desserts and champagne. (Yes, I took some champagne, and it wasn't half-bad.) All that good feeling got me in the mood to inquire about that beautiful Military Messenger Bag I passed up a couple of years ago; sadly, it seems Loewe is only making it in the "XS" (read: tiny "murse") size, and anything like a real messenger bag would really be a large ladies' tote. Sorry, Loewe, but I'm a troglodyte Gen Xer, and this non-binary, gender-fluid stuff doesn't fly with us: I'm not walking around with a purse. Oh, well. That was around $3000 I saved. The staff at the store is friendly, and I do love that Spanish leather. The clothes are... not my thing. But I see why Loewe is the coolest brand right now. And thankfully, I wasn't asked to wait in line like it was Studio 54 this time. read more