As consumers, finding the right wardrobe balance of classic pieces and trendy accents can be tough. So many trends will look obviously outdated after a season or two that even if you love them, it can be hard to justify spending the big bucks on something that will look old almost immediately. That’s why Fall 2012 is so major – so many of the big runway trends are things that a well-stocked wardrobe should have anyway, all the way from knee-high boots to a good black bag.

One of our favorite parts of being members of the PurseBlog team is working with designers and companies I both love and respect. We partnered up with with Beth Kanfer from SaksPOV to go behind the scenes and work on a fun interview and photoshoot surrounding the new Loeffler Randall bags. Chatting with both the Saks team and Jessie Randall of Loeffler Randall about the new line of bags was quite the treat, the bags are simply gorgeous.

As consumers, we see just one side of the design process: the finished product. Even in the democratized world of the Internet, the creativity and hard work that go into making fashion inspiration come alive are still relatively shrouded in secrecy. Where do ideas come from? How do designers decide if a trend is right for their work? Which pieces does a designer look back on most fondly?

First released in 1975, it’s been decades since the Hermes Passe-Guide Bag graced the shelves of an Hermes retail store, but the heavily hardwared bag made a comeback for Spring 2012 and will be produced again for fall. In very limited quantities, that is; the design starts at $11,700 for regular leather, and good luck finding one to purchase. What, you thought that Hermes would launch a new bag by making it widely available to all interested parties?