Twilight star Ashley Greene was recently snapped carrying an oxblood Chanel Cerf Tote while leaving the gym in LA. (What ever happened to ye olde gym bag?) Interestingly enough, this is the same bag we spotted Joan Rivers with earlier this month, proving that Chanel works with either luxe furs or tie dye tees. (Though some of you might find the latter debatable.) Chanel bags, as you know, are only available from Chanel boutiques and high end department stores.

There’s no accurate word to describe the folks in the Chanel accessories department except for “busy.” Not only does Chanel do four big collections per year like most brands of a similar stature, but each spring and fall has its own small pre-collection, which are separate from the traditional pre-fall and cruise lines. That’s a ton of bags, much to the delight of Chanel cabal of ultra-loyal customers.

We already took you on a crazy tour of Chanel’s incredible Scotland-inspired Pre-Fall 2013 collection, but there’s one bag in the line that we wanted to call out in particular. The Chanel Sporran Flask Bag will sound familiar to those with Scottish heritage – a sporran is a small bag that’s a big part of traditional Scottish Highland dress and is generally worn with a kilt.

When people ask me my favorite handbag designer, I have a hard time answering the question. My favorites change often depending on the season, collection, and quality of the products. But unequivocally I can always say that Chanel is one of my favorite brands and each time I go to their showroom I am reminded why their name pops to the top of my mind when people ask.

Tomorrow we will publish a full gallery for you with beautiful photos from the Chanel Métiers d’Art Collection 2012/2013 Paris-Edinbourg collection, but for now we wanted to present you with a teaser of the beauty to come.

Stay tuned!

Yesterday, Joan Rivers had to thwart throngs of adoring fans (or at least one very adoring fan) to make it to the set of Extra at The Grove in Los Angeles to promote her new live stand-up comedy DVD, Joan Rivers: Don’t Start With Me. You’ll see she’s packing her requisite fur coat (mink or sable, we suspect), and a stylish, black Chanel Cerf Tote.

What do you do during the winter months if you are luxury house Chanel? You set up your winter headquarters in a picturesque Alpine ski village, of course. For the third consecutive year, Chanel set up its winter headquarters in Courchevel, nestled in the French Alps. The boutique is stunning (more on that to come next week), but what caught my attention first is the absolutely extraordinary limited edition Boy Chanel Bag, exclusive to the winter shop.

Courtney Cox is a pro at keeping it cool and casual while paparazzi are doing their thing a mere three feet away (see the photo after the jump. No zoom lenses in use here.) Here she is exiting Maxfield’s boutique in LA with her black Chanel Classic Flap Bag. This Chanel bag is a tried and true celeb fave – so much so that it makes an appearance in the majority of editions of our ever-popular series “The Many Bags of…” (See: Alexa Chung, Jessica Biel, and Anne Hathaway, for starters.)

It’s easy to see what makes this particular bag such a popular choice – it’s a timeless, versatile bag that goes with everything from sweaters and jeans to red carpet apparel.

First and foremost, we like to show you new handbag collections as soon as they see the light of day (so that you can budget accordingly, of course), but it’s also important to have a little reminder when coveted pieces actually, you know…become available. And not just for pre-order, but for actual, real-life, I’d-like-the-receipt-in-the-bag-please purchasing. Today, it’s our great pleasure to tell you that Chanel Cruise 2013 is now at your fingertips (and remind you of all the beautiful goodies that are out there).

We were lucky enough to be able to view the Chanel Spring 2013 collection when it made its rounds in the brand’s NYC offices late last month. Chanel is always a treat, and this season really spoke to me. The bags are fun and modern, with an athletic and geometric touch. We’ve talked quite a bit about the Chanel Hula Hoop Bag but another standout from the collection is the Chanel Plexiglas Clutch.