Not only do we love a scrappy upstart in the handbag world, but we also love a bold jewelry line, which means that Mawi Fall 2013 Handbags are right up our alley. The London-based brand was originally launched a decade ago as a jewelry upstart, and based on the clutch above, we’re betting you can guess what kind of jewelry Indian-born designer Mawi makes – big, statement-making, incredibly shiny.

To me, the Saint Laurent Cassandre Small Tassel Crossbody Bag felt pretty aggressive at first – considering all the branding kerfuffle that the company has gone through since the advent of Hedi Slimane, emblazoning the company’s old (but still used, sometimes, in particular instances, especially for cosmetics) logo in bright gold metal on the front of a rather small bag seems like a direct call-out to critics of the switch.

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2013 Costume Institute Gala, which will take place next week in the very un-punk location of New York City’s Upper East Side, is set to celebrate punk fashion, where it came from and how the aesthetic influences designers of all types to this day. On the one hand, punk and high fashion are somewhat unlikely bedfellows; punk, by its very nature, is rough-hewn, grimy and hard-edged.

Until I stumbled upon this picture of a Celine Woven Luggage Tote in Style.com’s Fall 2013 accessories listing, it hadn’t occurred to me that Celine, for all the different iterations of the famous Luggage Tote that its produced over the bag’s short life, has never gotten particularly adventurous. One season brought us a couple of neon shades, produced in small numbers that sold out immediately, and another brought us a Nano with a shearling panel.

Proenza Schouler is a brand that’s followed a very lucrative handbag pattern, road-tested by innumerable other handbag brands in the past: fine a few basic bags that people love and then capitalize on their success for seasons to come by remaking them in different sizes, proportions and structures. Proenza’s primary example of this strategy is the PS1, of course – it comes in every version imaginable, from a billfold to a weekender.

Considering how many of the pre-season preview fight clips came from the fight that we witnes last week and last night on Real Housewives of Orange County, my hopes are not high for this season’s entertainment value. Even after a full week of contemplation and the additional scenes from last night, I still don’t understand exactly why the fight happened or why I should care.

If my Facebook and Instagram feeds from this past weekend are any indication, wedding season has officially arrived. If you’re ill-prepared for the festivities you’ll face over the next few months, you’re probably not alone – figuring out what to wear to a wedding can be a little tricky for anyone who lacks a closet full of perfect spring dresses and coordinating clutches.

When it comes to the finest things in life, access is always an issue. Reservations at the best restaurants fill up weeks in advance, the best real estate flies off the market before a speck of dust can settle and the world’s best handbags are often sold out before they can even hit store shelves to be viewed by the public at large.

We’re all about radical truth-telling in these parts (ok, maybe it could be more accurately termed as radical opinion-sharing), and honestly, I don’t really like the Fendi Baguette, as a bag concept. I like that the size proportion of the bag’s body makes it ripe for embellishment, and I like all the creative things that Fendi’s done with it over its decade-plus lifespan, but I really wish that the Baguette would get re-imagine as a crossbody.

By now, most of you are probably well familiar with the types of things we usually like around here. Hermes, Celine, Givenchy, Chanel – we like our handbags modern, expensive and made out of really nice leather. Sometimes, though, we like something a little bit silly, and for high-end silly, we have Charlotte Olympia. Sometimes, though, affordable silly is the only type that will do, and for that, we have the MOYNA Taxi Cab Pouch.