Before I embark on this e-mook review for a relatively obscure brand that does have much mainstream recall, here’s a little history lesson.

Roberta di Camerino is a fashion house established by Giuliana Camerino, who designed bags after WWII. Guiliana counted Chanel’s famed Coco Chanel as a friend and compatriot. As a line, Roberta di Camerino was so successful that many of its innovations were later copied by other luxury brands such as Gucci and Prada.

After closure in the 1980’s, the luxury handbag line was revived in 2008 by a fashion consortium that brought in talents from Dior, Versace, and Ferre to the fold. The brand is slowly making its way back to mainstream popularity, and to introduce itself to the Japanese market, released two Roberta di Camerino e-mooks for SS2010 and AW2011.

Not knowing a whole lot about the brand itself — save what I discovered (and quoted wholesale from) on wiki, let’s focus on just the basics. The tote features solid construction from coated canvas material similar to the Anna Sui Kids e-mook from SS2009. That in itself has its own pros and cons: the pros are that bag is waterproof and easy to care for, however the cons are the plastic is porous and will attract and retain ink and marker stains.

The bag features a nice and chunky metal charm stamped with the brand’s logo, which can double as a particularly hefty key ring if you are so inclined. However, my favorite thing about the tote — and you can tell just from glancing at the photos, is the design: a “pen-and-ink” drawing of one of Guiliana’s original bag designs printed directly on to the canvas. It is reminiscent of the “not-a-Birkin” bags from Banana Taipei, only done with a bit more panache.

The RDC e-mook is a steal at just SGD 23 (or about PHP 800), and because of its relative obscurity it is less recognizable as an e-mook tote, and therefore more fun to bring around to those stuffy chi-chi social gatherings.