My Hunt for the Elusive Pink Crocodile

In searching out current styles on my super-fashion source website, I came across this:

It's beautiful, it's fabulous, I love it... it's $269! That would be marked down from $570. This purse will never be mine, but the high cost of designer bags is truly a discussion for another day (and poor designer Carla Mancini likely has no idea that in my area of her last name is synonymous with mattress stores...). But this luscious purse led me down the line to this stunning number:

It should be noted that this card-keeper was originally sold for $137.50. Why so much? Well.. that's kind of what I wanted to know. I saw something similar for $20 at the mall and still couldn't justify the purchase, so let's check the description: Made from Italian Embossed Croco Leather.

Yes I write a fashion blog, but do I know what Italian Embossed Croco Leather is? No. Am I going to Google it for you? No. Maybe it's real, and maybe it's not and in this age of synthetics, we're just going to roll with that. But here's my true question - how do they make it pink? Perhaps the answer to this takes us back to the original question... and yes... I did google this.

Using the vast resource known as the Internet, I hunted the globe for the elusive pink crocodile from which this bag was born. Now that I see how difficult they are to find, I begin to understand the reasoning behind the high price. They have no known habitat, country of origin or decided food (think "bait" for trapping) preferences. Very little is recorded about the pink crocodile, or "Fifi" as I have affectionately named her for the purposes of my quest. And in fact, finding a photograph was nearly impossible!

Nearly:

It would seem that Fifi sometimes explores the French Quarter in New Orleans.

A very bad idea, I think, as very soon after this photo was taken, she was shot and made into this:

So how do we feel about this? I'm not sure. Is the wallet worth $137.50 when we consider the trouble involved and the unfortunate reptile that lost her (we'll assume she's a girl) life? Maybe.

All this humble blogger knows is that she would happily embark on such a safari if the result would be a pair of these in her closet:

But, seeing as how I don't yet know how to make my own shoes, Fifi is safe from MY rifle... for now...