‘Tis official, the holiday shopping season has arrived! We will be bringing you gift guides and holiday picks from some of our favorite designers and stores in the upcoming weeks. To kick it off we asked Monica Botkier what’s her favorite bag for the holiday season.

Monica chose the Botkier Bleecker Satchel in oro – which she is currently carrying herself.

While the main purpose of our trip to NYC a couple of weeks ago was to find an apartment, Vlad and I knew we had to make a trip to Saks Fifth Avenue NYC to see the Botkier + PurseBlog Limited Edition Bag. Not only did we find the bag on display on the front table of floor five among the contemporary designers, but also is it featured in one of the window displays right off of 5th Avenue!

The Botkier + PurseBlog Limited Edition Collaboration Bag has been a long time in the making. We started with an idea, which transformed into reality when we had over 10,000 votes from all of you, and now the bag has not only been produced but also is being sold exclusively at Saks. The entire process has been nothing short of thrilling for us and I know all of you.

We are extremely excited to be sharing this video with you not only because it has been eagerly awaited, but also because of the copious amount of work it took to turn this collaboration from idea to reality.

The Limited Edition Botkier+PurseBlog Sasha Duffle is now exclusively available at Saks.com for $635 and also at the Saks flagship store in New York City!

Now that Saks officially has announced their participation, we can break the silence and share the extremely exciting news that we’ve had to keep secret for a few weeks.

The Botkier + PurseBlog Limited Edition Handbag, which was democratically created by our readers in a two phase process, will be exclusively carried and sold both at the Saks 5th Avenue flagship in New York City and Saks.com, starting in July!

It has been a little while since we have updated you on the Botkier + PurseBlog Exclusive Sasha Bag. Finally we can preview this exciting collaboration, it was all of you who contributed after all. The exclusive bag is just about ready to be sold and we got to see a first prototype. We can say with confidence that it is far more amazing than we could have ever imagined.

What better way to unwind after a long day of final exams than to go shopping? I know. It’s hard to beat. I headed downtown to the Botkier Sample Sale to celebrate another year of college successfully finished. I had strict orders from my mother for what she wanted, and I also planned to get something for my grandmother, who’s currently visiting from Mexico.

It truly is Sample Sale time! Just for PurseBlog and PurseForum members, Botkier is inviting you to their special Friends and Family night. Meaning you are invited before everyone else is, that is how much Botkier loves you all! If you can make it, don’t miss it and make sure to tell them you are from PB and tPF. Click on the image for a larger version so you can read all of the details.

My current obsession is the hot pink Botkier Venice Hobo. Not only is it designed with supple lambskin, but it also rocks a pop of hot pink color. The Ad campaign photo is one of my favorites, simple yet striking.

Spring is around the corner and we have a sneak peak at the Botkier Spring 2010 collection! In October we sat down with Monica to see what was in store for us from Botkier. On top of that, we were finalizing our amazing PurseBlog + Botkier Limited Edition Handbag.

Monica shares her a couple of her favorite bags from her Spring 2010 line.