Christian Dior Handbags and Purses (Page 3)

If you don’t think that John Galliano is a mad genius and we’re just all lucky to be living in the same world with him, then you haven’t been paying attention.

For Spring 2010, his collection for Christian Dior connected beautifully to the retro-and-structured-underthings look that he had showed earlier this year during Haute Couture week, and the 40s film noir looks were exactly what you would expect a dizzy dame to wear when walking into a smoky private eye’s office.

Galliano knows his audience for Dior, and I could see them buying up these ultra-glam cocktail dresses and floating evening gowns hand over fist. And not only are they beautiful, but they so thoroughly inhabit the brand’s history and mythology while still incorporating modern touches like tough leather bombers. The past and present meld gorgeously into looks that are not only art objects, but are also impressively wearable, for the most part. You know, if you go to those types of events.

If you are a fan of Dior handbags, we may be continuously letting you down. Personally, I do not think Dior does a horrid job with their handbag line, but I also am not moved often enough about their handbags and purses to write about them. On the flip side, I am not moved so horridly that I must discuss what a major flop their bags are either. That means my feeling about Dior bags looms somewhere in the middle ground.

There are few more joyous occasions in fashion than Paris Couture Week, although this year’s flamboyant celebration of clothing and artistry has been somewhat hampered by the depressed economy and the impending departure of one of the genre’s greatest voices, Christian Lacroix. The fact that he was able to put on a show at all is the big story of the week; suppliers and industry friends helped the designer piece together a last-minute collection and presentation for what could be his last couture show if his brand doesn’t find a backer quickly. It demonstrates an odd sort of collegiality among fashion industry workers that many on the outside looking in might overlook in the midst of so much glitz and fabulousness – it takes an army of people to make this happen for us a few times a year, and they work extremely long hours for really modest pay. That so many of them donated their time, skills and goods to Lacroix to put together what may be his final show is kind of touching, particularly in an industry known for ego and elitism. He’s not the only one to put on a show for fashion editors and couture customers this week, though – we’ve got a rundown of the best looks from the best shows, after the jump.

Here at PurseBlog, we have a favorite game that we play from time to time. Everyone gets in on it and sometimes it goes on for days. What’s the name of this game, you ask? Why, it’s “Guess who’s ripping off Chanel now!” I’m usually on the side of the non-Chanel designer because I don’t want elements like quilting and chain handles to be off limits from everyone else until the end of time, but when I saw the Dior Quilted Cannage Bag, I knew I’d never be able to muster any sympathy when the Chanel comparisons began.

This is a clear case of one designer ripping off another one if ever I’ve seen it, and in my mind, that’s way worse than a cheap chain store making ‘inspired’ bags. Dior is a brand with innumerable design and financial resources (they’re owned by LVMH, one of the companies that’s weathering the recession the best), yet for some reason, they’ve chosen to make something that’s little more than derivative of an iconic style. It’s a flap bag, it’s made of quilted black lambskin, and it has a handle that’s mostly chain. It even has a closure in the exact same place as a Chanel would. The quilting pattern is slightly different, as is the handle construction, but that’s not enough difference for me, particularly considering the close-to-Chanel price point. Buy through Saks for $1750.

I’ve never been an overwhelming fan of Dior handbags, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because a lot of them are structured and I like slouch, maybe it’s just because I can’t afford them and therefore convince myself I don’t like them. Who knows? But I do know that Dior almost, ALMOST has me on board with the Dior Le Trente Drawstring Tote.

It’s slouchy. It’s ruffly. It has chain handles. The leather looks super soft and touchable. But something is bothering me just a bit…too many ruffles? It might be the handles…do they seem a tad too close together to anyone else? I think that is the problem I’m having – when handles are set that close, it’s really hard swing a bag over your shoulder. Also, they don’t seem to coordinate with the proportion of the bag – it’s an east/west style, yet the handles are constructed like they’re for a north/south tote. If each side was just set an inch and a half closer to the outer edges of the bag, this one might be perfect. As it stands, it’s still pretty cool. Anyone seen us it in person that can comment? Buy through Saks for $1950.

I don’t particularly like the end-result look of the Dior Diorita Contrast Twist Medium Hobo, but I love the bag on principle. The more I look at handbags, the more clear it becomes that some designers are getting a little lazy with their products – a simple leather bag with a designers name on it does not a fabulous bag make. I’m not a huge Dior fan, but I can certainly appreciate the intricate work that went in to making this bag in particular. At first, at a distance, I thought the bag was made of woven straw, and I was ready to come here and declare my irritation at being charged upwards of two grand for a straw bag. But it’s not straw, and the way they worked the leather is pretty interesting to look at. I’m thinking that at least a good portion of that work had to be done by hand, and that’s no small feat for a mass-produced bag (which, let’s face it, this is). So thank you to the folks at Dior who are still paying attention to the details when charging us out the nose for their bags. At least I feel like I’m getting something in return. Buy through eLuxury for $2500.

We here at Purse Blog encounter a lot of bags every day – expensive ones, cheap ones, pretty ones, ugly ones. And then, sometimes, we encounter those that look just like ones that we’ve already encountered elsewhere. And, to a certain extent, you have to let it go. There are only so many ways to design a strap or attach a buckle, and when designer bags set so many of the overall bag trends, you’re going to see similar bags all over the place, and that’s not necessarily the cheaper brands’ fault. They have to follow the trends that their customers want to buy, which leaves them with few choices. They CAN choose, however, to not copy a brand’s design detail for detail, which is apparently not the choice that Forever 21‘s “designers” made when they copied their Stone Quilted Tote inch for inch from the beautiful Dior 61 Croc-Stamped Tote. We normally ignore the copies, but I think this instance is a good reminder of why exactly it is we love designer bags – the Dior tote shows such an obvious precision and attention to detail, even in these small photos, when compared to the cheap copy that the craftsmanship is clear. No one would ever mistake one for the other, despite Forever 21′s best efforts.