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Dec. 9, 2005
Bag lady of New York
Buy a present for – and from – a nice Jewish girl.
DAVE GORDON
If your image of a "bag lady" is someone you'd see on
the street shlepping a shopping cart full of cans, let me acquaint
you with another kind of bag lady.
Think fashion meets funky; celebrity meets style. Meet Jessica Alpert-Goldman,
the young proprietor of World According to Jess – she is the
bag lady, whom many consider New York's handbag guru to the masses
– and the stars.
In the four years since its inception, World According to Jess has
gained quick recognition by stars and media alike: Sarah Jessica
Parker, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce Knowles, Kristin Davis and Janet
Jackson all have her bags. The media has been covering her bags,
too: magazines are tripping over themselves to fête this unique
designer. In fact, in late 2004, CNN marked her as one of the top
10 "ones to watch" for "young entrepreneurs in America."
Far from fleeting fads or conformist junk, Alpert-Goldman's designs
call for attention, blending function with fashion. Her line of
handbags, cosmetic bags, travel bags, diaper bags and dog carriers
reflect her product versatility and has garnered her attention all
over the globe. Modern mod, cowgirl chic, pink and preppy, and cool
and kitschy are just a few of the looks World According to Jess
incorporates among 45 different bags.
"I like to make fun of fashion, while emphasizing quality construction
and functional design," said the designer, who throws fun extras
into all of her creations. From secret pockets to clever compartments
for cellphones and baby bottles to linings that are as cute as the
exterior design, the bags are anything but ordinary.
Alpert-Goldman's inspiration stems from her run-ins with bags that
could not fit into the overhead compartment of a plane, go through
the X-ray machines in airports or hold the daily necessities for
work.
"During my morning commute, I could not believe the amount
of bags women would carry," she observed. "They'd shlep
a work tote, a gym bag and a bag for their lunch. I figured, why
not simplify things and make one bag that could do it all, while
never forgetting the importance of making it fashionably unique."
Alpert-Goldman sells her bags in more than 500 stores in the United
States, Japan, England, Australia and Canada. World According to
Jess has gifted celebrity events such as the Oscars and the MTV
Video Music Awards. But it didn't start out that way.
The company and the product line were unveiled in September 2001,
when many had thought there would be an economic tailspin from the
terrorist attacks.
"Everyone was freaked out. I'm selling travel bags and no one's
travelling," she recalled thinking. Instead, Alpert-Goldman
and her husband hopped on a flight to Los Angeles to promote the
bags – even garnering cheap tickets as a result of the airlines'
desperation to find customers.
Eventually, through sheer perseverance and knocking door-to-door
and store to store, she built a reputation in the fashion industry.
Often, it was as easy as walking into a boutique store with her
custom bag slung over her shoulder, watching as it inevitably drew
notice from the store managers or other customers. "That was
my in," she said, explaining how in the beginning she sold
the bags out of a rental car parked outside the store.
Her entrepreneurial spark started at 10 – painting Disney characters
on jeans and designing Barbie clothes for classmates. "I grew
up in kind of like a conservative suburb of Massachusetts,"
she remembered, "and I used to love color and putting on 12
barrettes when I was very young.
"My mom used to say, 'Your bubbe wants to get some pictures
of you in the mail, so you have to look normal so she can show these
off to people at temple. The world isn't according to you.' When
I started my business, I wanted it to be a tongue-in-cheek thing.
So I called it World According to Jess."
It was only after graduating from Syracuse University and rotating
through 14 jobs in the fashion industry in a matter of five years,
that Alpert-Goldman could finally create a "world" of
her own. "It's not a stubborn, obnoxious, 'do it my way' kind
of thing," she said of the company's name.
"It's more of an 'embrace your inner you.' Everyone's trying
to be a celebrity – who's to say what you're doing is right
or wrong? Just embrace your inner voice."
Check out Alpert-Goldman's bag collection and Canadian stores that
carry it at www.worldaccordingtojess.com.
Dave Gordon is a freelance writer living in New York.
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