This is the best thing I’ve seen for ages. Top brand, Balenciaga, have made a blue tote bag with more than a little inspiration from our favourite Swedish retailer.

The bag is made of lambskin but it even looks crinkly, just like the Ikea one!

It was a fabulous article in Vogue, saying that apparently Ikea are delighted, that made me want to explore this further. How funny that a top designer label is taking inspiration from low price brand Ikea. Usually it’s the other way around and it’s generally called copying!

Real v Fake

Ikea are having the last laugh here with their latest advert, put together when the marketing team discovered the similarity.

To Follow or Not to Follow?

Apparently a big blue tote bag is the thing to have this season, so you can spend £1365 on the Balenciaga one or $0.99 on the Ikea one.

Or, is there something in the middle? Perhaps you don’t want to follow the crowd?

My blue Queen B tote is a large blue tote (OK, it’s a little smaller than the Ikea bag but it’s much more beautiful). Like Balenciaga, my design is also made of lambskin (in a nubuck finish leather) and at £295 it’s a snip in comparison!

Maybe you don’t need to shop at all. Why not just rummage in your cupboard – if you’re anything like me, you probably already have several blue Ikea bags!