Little Abigail Breslin is almost a lady now at 17 years old, and I think it’s safe to say she’s quickly developing her own ideas about fashion. Here she’s paired a classic tartan Burberry Canterbury Shoulder Bag with a flowing white full-length dress, a fitted black blazer, and what we believe to be Jeffrey Campbell studded wedges. You can pick up Abigail’s Canterbury for $995 at Bloomingdales.
Burberry Handbags and Purses
Even after a few years working in the almost-anything-goes fashion industry, there are a couple of old-fashioned color and texture rules that are so ingrained in my consciousness that I have a genuinely difficult time breaking them, even though I know they’re silly. I never wear white when it’s cold out, I can’t understand why anyone would buy a pair of suede shoes for spring and I cannot, cannot fathom carrying a satin bag before evening.
Here’s Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery, about to thrust herself into a waiting crowd of British paparazzos after exiting the Burberry Fall 2013 runway show. On her arm is a Burberry Prorsum Handbag from Pre-Fall 2013, and as is perhaps to be expected, her trench and pumps both look suspiciously Burberry. If you love everything Lady Mary touches, you can pick up a Burberry bag with a similar look – the Burberry Brinkley Satchel – for $1,795 at Bloomingdales.
No one puts together a runway livestream like the Europeans, and Burberry has set an extremely high bar this season. I kicked off my work week by watching the show yesterday morning, and from the setting to the attendees to the apparel, the entire presentation, from start to finish, gave the fashion world something to talk about. The coats and jackets in particular, for which Burberry is known, shone (literally) as they walked down the runway.
During New York Fashion Week, I found myself chatting with the designer of a burgeoning men’s accessories collection about the landscape of men’s business worldwide. He had a lot of interesting things to say, most notably that men in America prefer satchels, men in Japan prefer totes and men in Europe are somewhere in between, but that Americans are becoming slowly more open to other shapes and structures.
Images via Vogue.com
In two ways, I always dread the Burberry show at London Fashion Week. First, because I know that Christopher Bailey’s beautiful ready-to-wear, and his outerwear in particular (THOSE COATS.), will threaten to drain my bank account all over again with one swift poke the the pleasure center in my brain, which apparently really likes wool. Second, because I know I’m probably going to have to write something unkind about the handbags.
Burberry Leather Wristlet, $1195 via Net-a-Porter
In my mind, calling a bag a “wristlet” is a precarious thing to do for a manufacturer or retailer. The word “wristlet” brings about a very specific type of simple, relatively inexpensive small accessory; personally, I use a wristlet to hold the small pharmacy that I carry around inside of my real bag. I wouldn’t ever pay a thousand dollars for something like that.
Do you hear the crickets? Our Burberry category has been quiet for quite some time simply because many of the designs I’ve seen don’t wow me. Sure, Burberry is known for its nova check pattern, but after you grow tired of checkered bags, there isn’t much to lure you in. And then there’s another problem: some designs that we see from Burberry are just… weird.
Do you hear the crickets? Our 
Images via Vogue.com
Burberry and I have an odd relationship. I find myself lusting after the brand’s ready-to-wear and outerwear every season without fail, and often its boots as well, but my feelings about the British brand’s bags are often a tad…fraught. I can honestly say, though, that there’s not a single bag from Burberry Spring 2012 that I wouldn’t carry.
Burberry Buffalo Tote, $1095 via Neiman Marcus.
Like any brand, Burberry has created bags that I’ve both wildly loved and totally hated over the past few seasons. There have been moments of both happiness and confusion at the brand’s accessories, but based on the success of the bags in the Fall 2011 runway show and the beautiful Burberry Buffalo Tote from Pre-Fall 2011, I’m feeling nothing but optimism about Burberry handbags.
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