There I was in Naples astonished I hadn’t been mugged 16 times

Marian Keyes on her Sudden Wild Enthusiasms: "My Frida Kahlo bag, which I’m mad about"

I’m prone to what Himself calls “Sudden Wild Enthusiasms”, where I fall passionately in love with a random something and need to tell the whole world about it immediately. It might be a nail varnish or a hat with a cat’s face on it or the most painful (therefore most effective) facial in the northern hemisphere.

I think it’s good to be positive about stuff. He says he’s learning to live with it.

So every week I’ll be sharing one of my latest SWEs (Sudden Wild Enthusiasms): skincare, beauty products, clothes, accessories. There might even be the occasional piece of homeware, if say it’s an apron or an oven glove which can be passed off as clothing. (A mixed bag, if you will.)

Sometimes the object of my passion will be live, meaning it’s new and exciting and available for purchase in a shop if you hurry. Other times it will be less “trendy” (that word is well overdue a comeback) but still lovely.

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This week's SWE is my Frida Kahlo bag which I'm mad about.

There I was in Naples, in July, lurching around in the heat, astonished that I hadn’t been mugged 16 times, like everyone warned me I would be, when I stumbled across this lovely, lovely shop, staffed by a lovely, lovely man, selling lovely, lovely bags. Made of “eco-leather” (being frank, I’m not sure it’s leather at all) which the lovely man says means it’s wipeable but not dear.

There are billions of shapes, from clutches to giant totes and if Frida isn’t your thing (or if Theresa May’s bracelet put you off), there are bow-coo de other artists: Bosch, Chagall, Monet, Van Gogh and – oh, very popular! – Munch.

I’ll tell you, the irony is that since my return, I’ve been almost mugged countless times, by people shrieking, “Oh my God, give me the Frida bag!”

This one cost €79.90 and shipping is free. Merinda.net