Don’t Worry, Your New Outfit Is in the Bag

It’s called the Tee-Bag. But not because it rescues fashion-stressed ladies from social hot water (although it can do that too). No, the new Tee-Bag from Los Angeles clothes maker Mica is just that--a T-shirt in a bag.

The fact that both the V-necked, short-sleeved shirt and its matching drawstring pouch come in six shimmering shades of soft velvet has helped boost this seasonal late starter to the top of many most-wanted gift lists.

“We’ve already produced 30,000 Tee-Bags, and we could sell more if we had them,” says Judy Robineaux, Mica vice president and designer. “First, it was little specialty shops buying them, and then along came Macy’s West with an order for 10,000. Now we’re making them as fast as we can.”

At the Main Beach store in Laguna Beach, the bags are tossed like so many pieces of fruit in a basket near the cash register. One shopper bought one unaware that for about $30, she was going home with more than just an evening bag. When the stretchy black velvet top popped out, she asked, “Can I keep it?”

At home, where Robineaux wears all six colors (black, brown, blue, burgundy, purple and pistachio) under everything from silk suits to denim overalls, the designer has stuffed the bags with sachets to perfume her closets. But most of her customers prefer to carry the bag slung over a shoulder when they’re out in one of the tops.

At Bloomingdale’s Century City last week, the designer debuted Mica’s Dress ‘n Bag and Pant ‘n Bag. Like the T-shirts, they come in one-size-fits-all dimensions and in jeweled tones of shape-hugging velvet nylon. The pants retail for $60 to $70, and the dresses for less than $100.

Coming for the new year: pointelle lace Tee-Bags.