Psst. You guys. It’s safe to come look at these pictures from Chloe Spring 2012 because finally, at long last, Chloe has turned the handbag corner! The company had to give Hannah MacGibbon the heave-ho after last season’s disaster and bring in Clare Waight Keller from Pringle of Scotland to fix things up, but based on Chloe’s Paris Fashion Week show, it was an incredibly shrewd decision on the part of the brand’s parent company, Richemont.

Waight Keller did well to focus on doing a single shape (a shoulder bag with modern finishes) in a variety of colors and sizes; MacGibbon’s downfall was her seeming inability to edit her vision down into a cohesive finished product that made as all want to be the Chloe girl. Alternately, I know I want to be the girl who carries these handbags (not to mention, be the girl who wears the pretty-but-modern pleated dresses that populated the collection), and making that feeling happen is the obvious first step in what looks like it’s going to be a Chloe comeback.

Chloe missed the mark with its Gabby Bucket Bag and its sister bag, the Chloe Gabby Mixed-Snakeskin Duffel is just as bad, if not worse.

Chloe Gabby Mixed-Snakeskin Duffel, $4335 via Neiman Marcus

I know that python is huge for fall, but mixing viper, ayers, and python snakeskin in one design makes me dizzy. I want so badly for this bag to somehow work, I want it to be one of those quirky accessories that looks ridiculous but has the right amount of pizazz to lure me in. But it doesn’t. The bag falls far from it’s mark, offering a confusing amount of broken-up colors and patterns on a bag that is supposed to be classic in its shape.

I loved the direction Chloe took when they released the Marcie, but their recent designs leave me confused. Who is the Chloe girl? Does Chloe even know who the Chloe girl is? All that I feel is lost at a hefty price tag of $4,335 via Neiman Marcus.

It should be noted, before we continue, that this Chloe collection got at least one designer fired. Hannah MacGibbon, who had been creative director for the brand for several years, was shown the door after Chloe Fall 2011 was roundly panned. Other shuffling in the brand’s ranks weren’t announced, of course, but based on how much better Resort 2012′s accessories are then those of Fall 2011, one can only imagine that a significant shakeup did occur.

The problem, though, is that we still have to wait a few months for the new stuff to come out while bags like the Chloe Gabby Bucket Bag populate the brand’s shelf space at department stores. Ladies, this is a runway bag. Someone put this on the runway. I’ve known that for almost half a year now, but the mind, it still boggles. Try and remember that better Chloe bags are around the corner, ladies. They’ll be here soon.

I don’t want to go too hard on this bag because I’ve already given the collection an unkind review and we know that the person or people responsible for it are out the door, but this bag is a clear example of what happens when a brand chases a trend without any sense of editing. The color combinations, shape and patchwork feel are all so overwhelmingly 70s that there’s nothing modern or relevant about the design. And they’re not 70s in a good way, like so many collections have been over the last two seasons. They’re 70s like my grandmother’s harvest gold refrigerator is 70s – dated, harsh and relegated to the past for a reason. I wish this bag had never made it off the runway, but I know that Chloe has to stock something until Resort 2012 comes out. Buy through Saks for $2395.

It would be easy for a brand in flux to get a little bit lazy with its accessories for a resort collection while new creative talent got comfortable and plotted a new course for upcoming collections, but Chloe Resort 2012 doesn’t strike me as lazy at all. When creative director Hannah MacGibbon was shown the door after a disappointing collection for Fall 2011, I assumed that the earliest improvements would probably be seen on the Spring 2012 runway. Perhaps that’s not the case.

Chloe’s resort bags aren’t revolutionary, but the have a cleanness and confidence that the brand’s previous several accessories collections have lacked. And while there’s a Paddington reboot in the mix, a habit of the brand that tends to irk me, the bright pink and minimal Paddington markings mean that, at the very least, it actually feels like a genuine reboot instead of a cynical cash grab. I’m suddenly feeling a lot more excited about Chloe’s upcoming spring show. More photos after the jump.

I’ve written before about Chloe’s tendency to stripmine every halfway successful accessory the brand has ever had into oblivion. “Oh, what’s this? We’ve made a satchel that people sort of like? Redesign it into a tote, a shoulder bag, a clutch and three different types of hobos immediately. And make it into a second satchel, just for good measure.” Those tactics are used to a certain extent by most designers, but Chloe’s insistence on beating a good design into the ground is almost singular in its ferocity.

Every now and then, though, the practice works out, as with the Chloe Madeleine Lambskin Tote, based on last season’s beautiful minimalist runway satchel. What can I say? Even a stopped clock is right twice per day. This handbag is one of those times for Chloe.

Perhaps obviously, it’s the leather and color combination that really make the bag in this case. And when minimalism is the order of the day, smart choices in material are so important, because it’s one of the only distinguishing characteristics that the bag has. Chloe did well to pick a supple material in an on-trend shade, and this is the sort of bag that could be carried for years to come. If only Chloe made more of these types of accessories. Buy through Luisa Via Roma for $2681.

While this bag is not exactly a design revelation for Chloe, it does accent the brand’s aesthetic strong point rather nicely. The accessories crew does a great job mixing neutrals and the company’s best bags are often among its most petite, and while this bag is still large enough for daytime wear, it definitely puts a check in both the neutral and diminutive categories.

Although the stock image of this bag makes me wonder if it will scratch easily, I’m willing to believe that might be a mere biproduct of the rough handling of sample pieces; after all, we’ve seen damaged bags on major retail websites before. This bag is a slightly larger and more sleek version of on of my other recent Chloe favorites, and although I wish it were convertible to a crossbody as well as a traditional shoulder bag, the chic neutrals have won me over anyway. Although, come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind seeing this bag in a bright colorblock combination either. Buy through Saks for $1995.

We are not accustomed to Chloe having a cursive C emblem on the front of their bags. Actually, so not accustomed to this that I had to not only do a double take but also a triple take to make sure this was the Chloe brand we know so well.

The rest of this bag is entirely simplistic, as an alligator shoulder bag should be. The Chloe Emma Alligator Shoulder Bag shows sleek and sophisticated dark brown alligator skin and golden hardware. It is the golden hardware that caught my eye which is where we see this new emblem Chloe is using. I must say, the accessories from Chloe the past few seasons have not been as strong as others. Available via NAP for £5,805.

What do you think of this bag?

Even considering all that, I’m still totally smitten with the Chloe Madeline Runway Satchel. Graphic white and minimalism go together like peanut butter and jelly, although perhaps I shouldn’t use a food metaphor with such a pristine bag; I can almost see the grape Smuckers fingerprints now…

In fact, I can see fingerprints of all kinds. I seem to perpetually have some kind of mascara or eyeliner smudges on my fingers, if not a little leftover foundation from applying the morning’s makeup (Yes, I almost always wash my hands afterward. But the important word in that sentence is “almost!”), and any hint of either would stick out on this bag like a sore thumb. Or a sore thumbprint, as it were. (Not all the jokes are winners, people.)

With that in mind, I’m afraid that I’m destined to appreciate the stark, minimal charms of this bag from afar. If you’re the kind of person who always manages to get ever errent speck off of your hands after a meal or makeup application, then by all means, allow me to live vicariously through your clean hands. I’ll have to settle for the taupe version for my own enjoyment. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $2130.

The more I look through the handbags from Chloe Fall 2011, the more I wonder who the Chloe girl is. I also wonder if Chloe’s accessories designers know the answer to that question, or if they’ve chosen instead to hope that they can make everyone feel like a Chloe girl by creating a collection that eschews a unifying aesthetic in favor of encompassing a group of ideas that are seemingly not related.

If you like hard-lined, ladylike handbags in exotic materials (or bags with actual animal heads), Chloe has a bag for you. If you spent all of your childhood lusting after your mom’s Coach bucket bags, well, there are plenty of designs that look like those as well. Are you a hippie who likes colorblocking and whipstitching? You’re not left out, either. Of course, bags aren’t sold as a collection; they’re sold as individual pieces to individual women who probably don’t care what the rest of the bags in the collection look like as long as they love the pieces that they’re buying. Still, though, I can’t shake the impression that this is a collection without an identity, and I’m not sure how you go about marketing that.

Photos via Vogue.com.

I actually love when a brand knows a good design and keeps it in their repertoire for seasons to come. Chloe knows they have a hit on their hands with the Marcie, so now we see it come back time and time again in different renditions. And actually, while I am typically drawn to the simple versions, the Chloe Embroidered Marcie has just enough added oomph to make me consider it as an addition.

The shape of this satchel is reminiscent of a horseshoe and has a feminine touch with the bow-shaped buckles on the sides. As with most Chloe bags I am sure the lambskin leather is both supple and sturdy, leaving the bag with the shape we know and a texture we love touching.

There is a caramel and black option available. While the caramel hued leather shows off the perforations and self embroidery best, the black version gives a more subtle look at the additions. Since the bag is modeled after a horseshoe, the embroidery finish actually leaves us with more of a Western vibe to the purse. Overall dimensions are 10 1/2″H x 15″W x 6″D. Buy via Neiman Marcus for $2,195.