Fashion Accessories

For some reason, Louis Vuitton hits it out of the park for Valentine’s Day better than any other brand this side of Cartier. (Not that Cartier does anything in particular for the holiday, but, you know, DIAMONDS.) Vuitton always has a few heart-shaped small leather goods on hand at this time of year for the occasion, and this year’s V-Day vernis is striped in red and pink (it also comes in a darker jewel-toned version). If you think the lady on your list has enough key holders, wallets and bag charms to last a lifetime, Vuitton also has a couple jewelry options. We’ve picked a few of the best after the jump, and many of the options are $500 or less. The entire range can be found at LouisVuitton.com, and remember, the big day is only a week away.

Python, brights, neon, trends, Spring 2012, etc. You guys know the drill. I’ve typed variations on that sentence a million times already and it’s only February, and based on my own personal contemplation of the purchase of an orange lace dress yesterday, I don’t think it’s going to abate anytime soon. That’s fine by me; summer is a time to enjoy a particular sort of fashion extreme, and that opportunity should be seized while it’s still available.

Emilio Pucci, it would seem, is all about seizing the opportunity. Or at least seizing the python – the new batch of Emilio Pucci Python Accessories that just hit Net-a-Porter will envelope everything from passports to iPad in bold snakeskin goodness. The stuff inside your bag wants to get in on the trend too, naturally. Lucky for all of us, these pieces come in multiple colors.

You’ve made your list, you’ve checked it twice and…you’ve found some gaps. Although everyone is covered, technically, there might be some people on your list who you feel deserve a little bit more, or maybe a few people who you’d like to give a token of your appreciation. Naturally, though, you don’t want to go overboard; not only do we all have budgets, but buying something too lavish for a casual friend or colleague can be a faux pas.

That’s where this last-minute installment of our Holiday Gift Guide 2011 comes in: Stocking Stuffers!. From $15 to $98, we have plenty of suggestions to soothe your gifting panic. Hurry up and order, though – shipping takes time, which is something you’re running out of quickly.

We all know that it’s the season of giving, and that the warm fuzzies that come from making someone else’s day with a thoughtful token of your appreciation are totally worth all of the effort that you’re putting in to selecting the perfect presents. But what about you? The most important relationship of your life is the one that you have with yourself, after all. The Twitter hashtag #treatyoself has been going around for a while, and we think that for the holidays, it’s particularly apt.

Dealing with family and travel and arranging time off from work and making sure everyone else is happy is often a burden that falls disproportionately on the women in any given family, so we’ve arranged a small group of treats, all under $200, to inspire a little bit of self-appreciation. After all, if you’re going to cook Christmas dinner, you probably deserve presents above and beyond everyone else’s. If you have more ideas, leave them in the comments.

Being a full-time accessories blogger means that, of all people, I’m usually pretty “up” on the trends. Not because I’m extra super cool (even though I am, trust), but merely because it’s a requirement of my continued employment, and like all of us, I’d very much like to continue to be employed. With that in mind, even I couldn’t have predicted that luxury leather coozies (FINE. They’re cup holders. But “coozie” is a much better word, and not all that wrong.) would become a thing that we all now have available to us.

I first covered the Hermes Coozie a couple of weeks ago, and now that the Internet at large has begun to discover its existence, people are pulling random leather cup holders out of all kinds of weird corners of the accessories business. As a result, we have the Jimmy Choo Rika Cup Holder in embossed croc to present to you today. Watch out, though – it’s only $25 less than the Hermes version. This is why they hate us, ladies. But wait, what? There’s now a CROCODILE version of the Hermes cup holder?

Megs and I: Incurable Proenza Schouler fangirls, as you all know. We both have PS1s (mine newly acquired via Net-a-Porter’s sale!), I have one of the duo’s simple wallets from their first-ever e-commerce venture, and it seems like we talk on nearly a weekly basis about what Proenza bag we’re thinking about buying or hopelessly stalking or dying to see in person. Even though our personal styles are different, they overlap when it comes to Proenza.

When the brand released several new wallet and pouch designs earlier this week, we were both smitten. As Megs posted earlier this week about the new PS1s, the bright colors make the new releases even better.

Hermes Cup Cozy, $190 via Hermes

File this under: Things I Never Expected to See.

Hermes makes a lot of unexpected products; the company has done a great job transitioning from a leather goods brand to a full-on, ultra-luxury lifestyle brand, and with that comes unexpected pieces (flask, anyone?) to help Hermes devotees spread the French leather love into all areas of their lives. Now, with the Hermes Cup Cozy, you can Hermes-ify your day from the very beginning with your morning cup of coffee. After all, who wants to wrap their $5 latte in cardboard? That’s so pedestrian.