As drawstring bucket bags come back into style and take their place on plenty of magazine editorial spreads for fall, I see it as a perfect opportunity to talk about women who carry a different kind of bucket everyday—a bucket full of water.

Just in South Africa alone, it is estimated that 16 million people have no operating water supply and it is the women who primarily trek the average one kilometer each way to fetch water for their villages twice a day.

So as you gaze at the admittedly beautiful selection of drawstring bucket bags in the August edition of Harper’s Bazaar, for instance, all priced from $825 to a whopping $3200, keep in mind that it’s just as easy to pick up a beautiful vintage version like today’s VPOD.

This vintage 1980s Coach bag is in great condition with plenty of fashionable days left to live. And, with a price tag of only $79, it leaves plenty of opportunity to indulge your desire for a fashion fix with your desire to show solidarity with the women of Africa. Just write out a check to CharityWater with your purchase, send it in and think of the African women carrying water buckets every time you carry your bag.

It’s a lovely little fashion reminder for a vintage fashionista.

Available at Oiseau Vintage.

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