Clutches (Page 4)

There’s nothing to dislike about the Yves Saint Laurent Printed Calf Hair Clutch and I won’t let you or anyone else tell me otherwise!

Anyone who watches Project Runway with any regularity knows that Michael Kors is all about classic American sportswear, and his handbags usually reflect that ethos. They’re rarely fashion-forward or challenging, but they’re almost always made in functional shapes and of beautiful leather.

The Michael Kors Hadley Python Clutch is about as edgy as Kors gets, but as the old saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. With this design, the brand has gained itself a place in fall’s military trend as well as my handbag-loving heart.

We usually feature bags from Lockheart over on PurseBlog Savvy because of the brand’s very reasonable price points, but sometimes a mid-range bag impresses us so much that it richly deserves to make the jump to and be considered alongside much more expensive bags. The Lockheart Priscilla Fanfare Shoulder Bag is clearly one such occasion.

Lockheart is a master of intricate texture at a reasonable price, and the Priscilla Fanfare bag fits perfectly into the brand’s aesthetic. The use of black allows the pleated, ribbon-accented leather to do all the aesthetic work for the design, and the finished product looks very much like something Valentino would think up. The only difference is that the Valentino version, were it to exist, wouldn’t cost $345.

If someone were to tell me that they were going to design a bag based on an oversized jewelry box, that might sound like kind of a bad idea. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly, depending on how much you follow the brand), Maison Martin Margiela was able to do so with a signature minimalist flair. The Maison Martin Margiela Jewelry Box Clutch might look like it’s supposed to hold a pair of very, very large diamond studs at first, but it’s really meant to hold your night-out necessities. Personally, I’d prefer the giant pair of earrings…

It’s so rare that Nancy Gonzalez makes a misstep. Her handbags may not be revolutionary, but it’s nearly impossible to go wrong with exotic materials, beautiful colors and simple shapes. It appears as though she has handbag design nearly down to a science.

The Nancy Gonzalez Hand-Held Croc Clutch is merely the most recent in a long line of sartorial successes from the brand, and as always, I’m drooling over it. Bicolor bag design is difficult to do well (as we’re also discussing over at PurseBlog Savvy currently), but I have absolutely no complaints about this clutch. Well, other than the fact that it isn’t in my closet, of course.

We first caught a glimpse of Prada’s knitted leather during the brand’s Fall/Winter 2010 runway show in March, and I’ve been hungrily awaiting their arrival at retail ever since. Well, they’re here! Almost. Prada has close-up pictures of a few styles and colors on its website, and these Prada Knitted Leather Clutches in particular do not disappoint.

Sadly, my favorite color combination isn’t pictured, but if you imagine the one on the right with red instead of tan, you get the idea. The main thing that I’m taking away from this first look, however, is that I’m surprised by how much I like the black version – you don’t lose as much of the sense of texture as I had assumed when the design is rendered in a single, dark color. The clutch will retail for $2600 once it arrives in store. Larger pictures of both, after the jump.

I can’t think of many brands with more disparate accessory aesthetics than Louis Vuitton and Lanvin, but that doesn’t mean that the two luxury giants won’t intersect from time to time. While flipping through looks from the recent Resort 2011 presentations in Paris, I was surprised to see that the two brands seem to be on the same page in at least one noticeable way. Larger pictures after the jump.