September 2010 - Page 2

Fashion Week Handbags: Marc Jacobs Spring 2011

Sep 27, 2010 by Amanda Mull

It took us a few days (my guess would be that lighting issues delayed the release of the show photographs), but we rustled up a few pictures of the handbags from Marc Jacobs Spring 2011 for your viewing pleasure. And a pleasure they are – those who prefer seriousness to fun in their accessories need not apply.

These bags only make up part of what is always an enormous accessories collection, but it seems as though Jacobs is right on board with the multicolor trend that has emerged quickly in Europe, as well as the continuing trend for smaller, more streamlined and structured bags. This is perhaps the most wearable collection of runway bags Jacobs has presented in a few seasons, and they’ll almost certainly do well at retail.

Fashion Week Handbags: Bottega Veneta Spring 2011

Sep 27, 2010 by Amanda Mull

While the entirety of Italian fashion is busy making itself over in technicolor, leave it to Tomas Maier and Bottega Veneta to step back for a moment to remind us all of the not-insignificant charms of a functional, neutral, well-made luxury bag. That description might seem like it would portend a collection of boredom, but quite the contrary – Bottega Veneta Spring 2011 speaks softly, but carries a big stick.

With these designs, Maier sends a clear message – a bag doesn’t have to have a gimmick to be great. Texture and ease abounds in this collection, and that translates into exotics, frayed edges and a host of variations on Bottega’s traditional intrecciato theme. The results are functional and beautiful, and there’s not a fad in sight.

Fashion Week Handbags: Marc by Marc Jacobs

May 9, 2011Sep 27, 2010 by Amanda Mull

If you had been hoping to get a piece of the much-ballyhooed “new minimalism” at a price point somewhat lower than that of the brands which started the look, Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring 2011 is the handbag collection for you. (We’ve also thrown in a few shoes for fun.) The brand maintains its youth while still co-opting recent trends, and the results are mostly quite good.

My personal favorite of the collection is the lemon yellow structured shoulder bag – the combination of smooth leather and woven straw is cheerful and summery, but the strong lines and small size ensure that the look doesn’t become overcomplicated or too twee. Which is your favorite?

Fashion Week Handbags: Prada Spring 2011

Sep 27, 2010 by Amanda Mull

It’s always disappointing when the handbags are the least impressive part of any collection, but with a line as inventive and exciting as Prada Spring 2011, I guess something had to get the short shrift. The collection’s shoes (which you can check out over at TalkShoes) were the best of the season thus far, but the handbags left a bit to be desired for luxury lovers.

In keeping with the trends we’ve seen in Milan so far, Prada went for bright colors and multihued designs. Most of the stripes came on a canvas background, and I’ll be interested to see if any of those bags are translated to leather for retail. In fact, if the bags had been made of leather from the outset instead of featuring so much canvas, my take on the collection would be lightyears more positive – I just can’t get excited for high-priced cotton, even though I think the aesthetic ideas are strong and interesting.

Look for Less: Mulberry Lily

Sep 26, 2010 by Megs Mahoney Dusil

After one week in NYC I have learned one major thing when it comes to my handbags: cross-body straps are majorly helpful. As much as it is easy to order everything to arrive at your apartment door, I am walking to and fro and picking up things to bring home. That means my two hands are important assets when carrying bags from Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond back to our place. Cross-body straps is where it is at. And on top of loving a cross-body strap, it is important that the bag I am carrying is not overly cumbersome and heavy. That is precisely why I love the Mulberry Lily. It is both compact and has a cross-body strap. It is also super cute.

If you love the look of the Mulberry Lily but don’t like the price tag, I found a look for less. In fact, this is very very very close to the Mulberry bag (as are many of the design aesthetics I have seen from the brand Ash). The Ash Camy Cross Body Bag and the Mulberry Lily are twins, more identical than fraternal at that.

Fashion Week Handbags: Fendi Spring 2011

Jan 25, 2011Sep 24, 2010 by Amanda Mull

Can I get a standing ovation for Fendi? It wasn’t all that many seasons ago that the brand’s accessories department seemed to be in a bit of a post-Spy Bag aesthetic flux. There were too many logos, too many underdeveloped ideas and too little editing. From the looks of it, the brand has come out of its slump in fine form with Fendi Spring 2011, the brand’s third brilliant major accessories collection in a row. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence but three times is a trend – get on the Fendi bus.

For spring, Fendi’s runway accessories are all about incorporating color in a classic way. No bag was graced with fewer than two different shades, and almost all of them incorporated the various colors on leathers of different textures. What would have been an unwieldy combination of elements in most designers’ hands was deftly developed by Fendi’s accessories team, and the shapes were kept clean and traditional in order to offset the bold materials. There is not a bag in this collection that I wouldn’t be proud to add to my closet, and multicolored accessories encourage an inventive, modern way of dressing that more and more women are embracing.

You need a Longchamp Le Pliage, if only to protect your other bags

May 9, 2011Sep 24, 2010 by Amanda Mull

Are you on Twitter? I am. So is PurseBlog as a whole. If not, you should really try it – it’s not nearly as navel-gazing as I thought it would be, and sometimes you learn things.

Also, sometimes you get ideas for posts (and when I say “you,” I clearly mean “me.”). Donna Karan’s anonymous PR girl is one of the fashion folks I follow on the microblogging site, and yesterday she posted about being caught in the rain in Manhattan. Lucky for her, she always stows an extra tote in the bottom of her handbag to cover her purse in the event of inclement weather, and that reminded me: I should be taking my Longchamp Le Pliage Large Tote everywhere I go.

New Choo: The Jimmy Choo Alina

Sep 23, 2010 by Megs Mahoney Dusil

I practically am having to drag myself away from the 80+ moving boxes to look at my computer. Oh, hello PurseBlog, I have missed you. And you know what else I have missed? Checking out every new bag hitting the online world. You would think after over five years of writing about bags I would be sick of it, but that is not the case.

There wasn’t much new showing up on my favorite website haunts (obviously aside from the fabulous bags going down the runway at Milan Fashion Week right now). But I did find a little gem from Jimmy Choo. And I am liking what I am seeing. The Jimmy Choo Alina is quite simple but somehow drawing me in.

Marc by Marc Jacobs updates the Classic Q with a new shape

May 9, 2011Sep 23, 2010 by Amanda Mull

As I suspect many of you are, I’m a little bored with the Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q line. Yes, it’s a great idea – classic bags in thick, high-quality leathers for a reasonable price. But even great ideas can wear out their welcome without a shot of newness every now and then.

With that in mind, the Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q High School Bag is one of my favorite Classic Q bags in several seasons. The shape, as with all the Classic Q bag, is traditional and refined, but it also fits in perfectly with fall’s ladylike handbag trends. This bag is exactly what I needed to get excited about this line again.

Fashion Week Handbags: Burberry Prorsum

Sep 23, 2010Sep 23, 2010 by Amanda Mull

The bags of Burbery Fall 2010 are kind of a shame when you consider the brilliant collection from whence they came. Not only are they plain and boring, but they weren’t even close to being the most interesting leather pieces in the show – that honor went to the many heavily-detailed leather jackets and vests that graced the runway.

For all the intricate leather work that clearly went into the jackets, the handbags were shown none of the same attention by Christopher Bailey & Co. In fact, they were arguably the lowest point of a line I really, truly loved in almost every way. I don’t mind purses being used as bright, poppy accents to a larger look, but designers should at least take the time to make the bags special as well. The latticed python seen on a few pieces was an interesting-enough technique, but the simplistic shapes don’t do anything to help the cause. Full pictures, after the jump.

Foley + Corinna has another asymmetrical winner on its hands

May 9, 2011Sep 23, 2010 by Amanda Mull

We’ve already covered the snake-print hobo version of the Foley + Corinna Leather Buckle Satchel, but this grey version in arm-carried form is compelling enough that I think it deserves a post and discussion of its own.

I’m a big advocate of grey accessories as a modern, year-round alternative to black and brown, and like the hobo iteration, the asymmetrical buckle placement makes this bag a little more interesting than your average leather satchel.

Fashion Week Handbags: Gucci Spring 2011

Sep 23, 2010Sep 23, 2010 by Amanda Mull

If Gucci‘s accessories designers have anything to say about it, the trend toward handbag minimalism is over, starting with Gucci Spring 2011.

Considering last season’s retro-leaning accessories collection and the current trend climate, I expected another line of referential, staid handbags from the Italian brand during its recent presentation in Milan; I was dead wrong. Not only were the clothes bright, bold and more than a tad tropical, but the bags were sexy statement-makers in exotics, metallics and intricate woven leather. Naturally, my favorites were the big carry-all satchels like the one at left.