Clutches

I have always had an affinity for Judith Leiber pieces. While her box clutches are stunning, it is always the animals and other objects that catches my undivided attention. To be honest, I have no event in the near future to wear one of these clutches too. But I so badly want to find a reason to splurge on a Leiber piece. I still love the cupcake, which was featured on SATC movie with Charlotte’s little girl Lily, and there are so many animals that they do magnificently.

Care to flash your eye for style? The Judith Leiber Owl Crystal Embellished Clutch is a wise piece. I look at Leiber pieces as art pieces, true collector items that can be put on display. The Owl is totally cute, hand-crafted with multicolored Swarovski crystals. There is a chain shoulder strap and an inside mirror. I would be a bit worried about this clutch banging anything, for fear of losing a crystal or two. But this is a conversation piece, that would look nothing but amazing with a little black dress for a night on the town or at a swanky event. Buy through Net A Porter for $4050.

The week is beginning to wind down. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t look forward to the weekend? I will be the first to say, I always look forward to the weekend! When I think of the weekend, I can’t help but think about which fabulous clutch I will carry out. For day four of our amazing giveaway with Luxaholics, there is a fabulous exotic clutch up for grabs. This Adriana Castro Crocodile Modish Clutch is a head turner. Retailing at $1530, what better way make this yours than by winning it!

As you have probably noticed, I adore structured bags. They have such an inherent sophistication in them, like someone plucked them out of some ancient photograph and spiced them up a bit, of course. This Alexander McQueen Izzie Clutch is the latest bag in this shape that I have found. I love the hardware, even if the gold is a little too gold-y for me, a tad too garish. It’s the shape I’m obsessed with. The clutch itself, on the other hand, is a different story.

The iridescent patent leather reminds me of one of those glow-in-the-dark frogs, but I obviously don’t want this on a purse. It’s the same color as McQueen’s Skull Clutch, which Shannon reviewed, but the color is considerably cuter on that clutch than on this one. And while I love the retro turn lock closure, it’s what is on the back of the bag that I’m not a fan of. Why is there a wrist strap on the back? I can understand having a thin wrist strap on the side, but why make it flush with the back? Oh McQueen, if only this clutch came in another (normal) color- without that strap. Buy through Zappos for $1527.

Not a lot of news to report on this subject, but I thought you ladies might enjoy seeing a picture of what’s to come from my personal favorite clutch designer – the Celestina Cruise 2010 Collection.

One of Celestina’s strong suits is making clutches out of unexpected, non-traditional materials. Most handbag designers limit themselves to animal skins and maybe some straw or canvas, but beyond that, there’s little creativity. Well, not these folks. They specialize in using materials like wood, shell, and metals to craft incredibly inventive, stylish little bags for every occasion that you could imagine.

Here we have two excellent examples – first, their famous woven box clutch in what appears in be a new bronze iteration (they’ve done sterling silver in the past). The clutch is simultaneously subtle and complicated, a combination that is incredibly hard to achieve. The second clutch appears to be a completely new design, probably made out of sterling silver, which appears to have beautiful, glowing mother of pearl on the bottom. These clutches are typical of the Celestina aesthetic and I can’t wait to see what else they have in store in future collections.

Photo via WWD.com

The Jalda Gold Mirror Audrey Convertible Clutch is no wallflower. The shiny mirrored gold clutch would make even Midas blush. In the style of Jalda clutch handbags, this sleek clutch is the classic Audrey convertible. Pair this mirrored leather clutch with a white and navy ensemble for a classic polished summer look. The dual use bag converts from a compact clutch into a tall tote with cut out handles for added carrying room. The interior turquoise grosgrain lining adds a delightful splash of color.

Jalda Gold Mirror Leather ‘Audrey’ Convertible Clutch, $282.00 at Bluefly
Save on the Jalda with an exclusive Bluefly.com Coupon Code – THEFIND30 $30 off your first order at Bluefly.com Good through 6/30/09

via The Find

Monday, sigh. It is always a little bit harder for me to get out of bed on Monday morning. I don’t know if I think hitting the snooze button a few extra times helps draw out the weekend just for a few minutes longer or what. No matter what, getting out of bed this morning was no exception. Are any of you feeling the same way today? Well, I hope to help jump start your day with two of my favorite things, handbags and voting on them!

The Stella McCartney Patent Rivet-Detail Clutch is a handbag worthy of a “Love it/Hate it” vote. I saw this clutch last week and couldn’t decide how I felt about it, so I thought about it a bit over the weekend. And guess what, I still don’t know if I would give it a thumbs up or thumbs down. This black patent fold-over clutch is adorned with gold-tone rivet detail. The size of the rivets varies a bit but don’t seem too big or too small. Open up the clutch and you’ll find two internal compartments. This is a feature I love. Although clutches are small, it helps to find what you may have put in the bag. For whatever reason there are times when I swear to you, I search longer for my keys in a clutch than in a large hobo. Ok, I digress. Help me out here, what do you think about this bag? Buy through Net-a-Porter for $725.

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So, I’m not really posting this to review the Michael Teperson Feathered Flute Bag – I think you’d really have to see it in person to give it a fair shake, since it’s so odd (I mean…rooster feathers?). I’m posting because sometimes, us handbag people associate certain bags (or types of bags) with certain things or events. At least I do. So when I was paging through Vivre today, I came across this bag and immediately thought of Sex and the City. Circa season 5 (well, maybe 6), while Carrie is dating Burger (well, about to be sticky-noted by him) and they’re going to go to Smith’s play in Brooklyn.

He wants to go on his motorcycle, because he’s an insecure dude trying to be masculine, and she’s in her new Prada dress and has her hair fixed and DOESN’T want to go on the motorcycle. To make the idea that much more ridiculous, the wardrobe department gave here a clutch with several feet of, uh, stuff hanging from it. I think it was beading in that particular case. At any rate, this bag is that type of bag – the one you carry when you’re wearing shoes so high you can’t really walk in them and you expect to be doing nothing but sitting and being awesome for the entire night. And for that, I think it is fabulous. Buy through Vivre for $950.

My hands are sweating just looking at the Stella McCartney Zebra-Print Wool Clutch. Wool, really? Whenever I have to hold a wool coat or sweater in my hand for more than a few minutes, my palms get so warm and moist that I have to put it down. I know Stella doesn’t use animal materials, and I know wool is a material appropriate for the Fall/Winter collection from which this comes, but it just doesn’t seem like that inspired of a choice to me.

And then there’s the size issue. A lot of designers make these wallet-sized clutches, and I’m not really sure who they’re selling them too – people without cell phones, maybe? Certainly people without Blackberries. I could never wedge mine into it. Whoever they are, it seems like an extremely niche market. What I do like, however, is how subtle the zebra print is. It doesn’t yell zebra, it merely whispers it, and subtlety and animal print are two hard concepts to combine. She does it rather well here, but it’s not enough to rescue the bag as a whole. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $515.

Wait a second, this isn’t a Christian Louboutin design? I have become so accustom to seeing small, silk, chiffon CL handbags that I was a bit surprised this wasn’t another one. When I say I was surprised, I don’t mean it in a negative way. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that this was a Mary Norton clutch. Just as I had become accustom to seeing Christian Louboutin bags look one way, I was becoming accustom to seeing Mary Norton clutches adorned with several precious gems and stones. It is as if this bag steps outside of the box, at least a bit for this designer.

The Mary Norton Chiffon Rose Clutch is an elegant clutch that can add a girlie feel to just about any outfit. This small clutch is adorned with silk chiffon and comes with a shoulder chain strap. Sometimes I feel as though designers really need to be careful when it comes to the “girlie” factor of any handbag. Mary Norton has nailed this aspect. The way the silk chiffon comes together is beautiful and not over the top. Buy through Saks for $995.

I’ve always had the vague feeling that a lot of exotics were a bit of a scam. Price is a measure of perceived value, particularly in fashion, and if all designers drive their prices for exotics sky-high, then over time, consumers will come to expect that exotics will cost those prices and convince themselves that they’re so high because they have to be. I’m not claiming that exotics don’t cost more to farm and are often more delicate and difficult to work with; I believe all of that. But I do think that prices have been artificially high for some time now, and bags like the Ted Rossi Pleated Eel Clutch make me think I’m right

This bag does appear on a discount website, and it is made out of one of the less-expensive exotics to begin with, but it IS exotic and fairly intricate in its construction. The pleating is gorgeous and the shine of the eel skin is subtle and glamorous. Sale prices often indicate what the price of a bag SHOULD be (since, theoretically, if a bag has to be put on sale then it was priced too high for the market anyway), and when you take the mark-down into account, this sleek little clutch is a steal for an exotic skin in a shape and size that you’ll use on nights out for years to come. Buy through Bluefly for $402.