Monica Tarca could never have guessed her high-quality Italian leather bags designed for Aussies on the go would take off the way they have when she first launched her brand, Vestirsi, in 2019.
The mother of two young children came up with the idea for her luxury label at an affordable price tag while working in beauty public relations for makeup conglomerate MECCA.
It’s a role that required her to work alongside the founders of the world’s largest and most successful makeup brands: NARS, Hourglass, Bare Minerals, Smashbox and By Terry.
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While Monica wanted to dress to impress for her prestigious role, she found it difficult to do so on a small PR assistant salary, and couldn’t understand why a simple black handbag could set her back thousands of dollars.
“I wanted real Italian leather – not PU – and didn’t want the same non-leather bag as everyone else,” she said. “I didn’t want in your face logos. I just wanted something simple but well made and it was impossible to find.
“So I forced my husband to spend our honeymoon visiting manufacturers and factories in Italy. Very unromantic.”
But her mission was a success and Monica returned from that trip with a manufacturing partner, a small run of samples and a vision that now sees her sell thousands of handbags every day.
The Bella bag is Vestirsi’s best-seller, with the classic convertible backpack tote ($329) Monica says sells every three minutes.
For those who need even more space in their everyday bag the Bella XL ($379) in tan and black was designed and inspired by Monica’s first pregnancy.
The Bella XL can house a 16 inch laptop, gym clothes, A4-sized papers, a cosmetic bag and more, while also converting into a backpack with a zipper across the top when you need to be hands-free.
The demand for Monica’s incredible bags – including the Margot which she says sells every 20 minutes – is showing no signs of slowing down with the brand selling 60 per cent of its SS23 collection stock since launching.
Customers can get free shipping on all orders over $99 and there is even a “slightly imperfect” portion of the website where Monica sells stock that didn’t pass the rigorous quality control measures Vestirsi has in place.
Much of the “damage” is purely cosmetic in nature, so you can nab an absolute bargain.