Hey Barneys, it's 2008!

I've wanted a Mike & Chris jacket ever since I read a story about the designers in Vogue a couple years ago. They are a husband & wife team (and a very cute couple). While I'm totally hypocritical when it comes to owning leather shoes and bags, I cannot handle leather anywhere else: furniture, car interiors, clothing--including leather jackets. If you aren't familiar with Mike & Chris, well, that's kind of their thing. I was delighted to learn last year that they are more than leather; they've basically taken the sweatshirt to a whole new level. I've been on the lookout for cheap jackets now that it's summer and found fleece biker jacket at Barneys for half-price. Score! They only have black (M) and navy (L) left, but the one I bought is white. Hopefully I won't spill coffee on it when I start wearing it this fall.


Because I've had my eye on this bag, I bought it to get free shipping. I love the Marc by Marc Jacobs airliner series! The Airliner Jacquard Pilot Bag is my favorite:

(I also bought the wallet in green a few months ago--finally got a big girl wallet after carrying around a credit card holder I got at from my law school after graduation):


Unfortunately, the bag was not what I expected. I should have returned it. It's a shoulder bag & I really wanted it to be a mini-messenger bag. I'm trying to figure out if I can do that. The strap is great, so I don't want to just replace the strap. It's blue with a white strip just like the part that connects to the front clasp. Maybe I can get a link or two to put in between the bag & the strap? Any suggestions are welcomed. I really want to be able to use this as a messenger bag!!

So the title of the thread suggests that Barneys is behind the times. Yes, apparently they don't see any reason to have an accurate inventory count. I ordered my bag & jacket online and both items were listed as "in stock." Shortly after receiving my confirmation email, I got a notification from Barneys stating that the MJ bag was not in stock. Because I love to go back to websites to look at what I bought, I was browsing barneys.com the next day. The MJ bag was still listed as in stock. I emailed customer service, who quickly responded telling me to call the New York store. After a bit of confusion (the wrong department just hung up on me instead of transferring me), I spoke to a very friendly salesclerk who informed me that there was ONE airliner pilot bag left in midnight. He took my credit card information and I got the bag one day after the jacket. Friendly service, but seriously Barneys, why can't you keep track of the items you have in stock?