80's Hip, 90s Square Now Hip Again

I was in Urban Outfitters (momentary lapse in judgment on my part) searching for something fun for a care package I was putting together. I didn't end up buying anything, but I was shocked and dismayed to find Lesportsac handbags. Lesportsac sounds "French," but is proudly made in the "U.S.A." I loosely interpret "Lesportsac" to be "the sporty sack." Taking a trip down memory lane, Lesportsac was hugely popular in the 80s. I remember my aunt owning copious amounts of Lesportsac. Given that she was in her twenties and a swinging hipster of her time, I take that as indication that Lesportsac was COOL. By the early 90s, Lesportsac was nowhere to be found. Somehow Lesportsac never lost quite lost it's luster in Asia, so one could find cool bags in stores catering to Japanese tourists. Other than that, department stores usually carried the bags in a few "square" styles and in some very unexciting colors (black, beige, white, red, navy blue). The brand with its dull shapes and dull colors became associated with "moms," practical, versatile, and BORING! Flash forward to 2001, I was in Singapore when I came across a stunning display of kelly green paisley print Lesportsac bags. WOW! Back home, I logged onto their website and purchased some green paisley for myself. Their website is really cool and has vastly improved technologically over the past year. Now you can visualize what each pattern looks like on each bag. So slowly, Lesportsac has reentered hipness with guest designers like Gwen Stefani, but now that Urban Outfitters is carrying the bags I'm not sure how I feel...is it way to "hip" that it's mainstream or does it still retain it's "square-ish" qualities. I don't know, but these are the deep profound questions worthy of pondering on a Wednesday afternoon.