Exotics

One word for you: GORGEOUS. VBH handbags and clutches have captured my attention since day one and I’ve never looked back. I can’t remember the last time I came across a VBH handbag where I was disappointed. Can you? I didn’t think so. I was perusing Browns today and almost fell off my chair when I saw the VBH Python Clutch with Crystal Detail. This bag is beyond breathtaking.

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I’ve had a particular proclivity for Gucci python for quite a while now; the skins that they use always seem to look more plump and luxurious than most other brands. I’m not sure if it’s because the skins themselves or better or because the way they treat them results in a better final product, but their snakeskin bags are almost always highly textured and soft-looking.

Which is why I’m kind of disappointed in the Gucci Jungle Large Tote. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an attractive bag, but I hold Gucci python to such a high standard that I’m having trouble getting excited.

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Oh, it’s so pretty. And so functional. And so every-day usable. And so luxurious. In short, the Chloe Python Marlow Bag? It had me at “hello.”

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I want to scream out all sorts of Rachel Zoe-isms at this stunning handbag. I DIE! Bananas! Shutting it down! It is not that the design is new to us, as we have looked at the Proenza Schouler PS1 many times before. It is this version, with the most luscious, vivacious deep purple python skin, that is killer.

This is my favorite of all Proenza Schouler Bags, mixing downtown edgy with uptown sophistication. I would love to see the Proenza Schouler Purple Python PS1 in person.

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I look through a lot of fashion shows and various accessories presentations. It’s an occupational hazard, particularly at this time of year, and it can be a little hypnotizing after a white. Click. Belted shift. Click. High-waisted trousers. Click. Oh, a cropped jacket. Click.

If the show isn’t wow-worthy, it can be easy to flip through Style.com without really absorbing what I’m looking at, much like I did with my textbooks in high school (and, let’s face it, college). But I looked through Gucci Handbags Spring 2010 twice, with rapt attention – not only is this Frida Giannini’s best collection of clothing since her era at the brand began, but it’s also the strongest lineup of accessories that I’ve seen from the brand in years.

The collection’s clothes have a way of being minimal and ornate simultaneously, and that’s the only way to describe the bags as well. Even the lean, angular clutches are fashioned out of candy-colored crocodile skin that makes me want to say “I’ll take one in every color,” hand over my credit card, and not look at the total on the receipt.

And that’s just the beginning. There’s texture galore by way of exotics like crocodile and python and Gucci’s signature logo embossing, and a few of the company’s classic details, like bamboo handles and horse bit hardware. The collection was varied and nuanced, containing a little bit of something for everyone; it was perhaps the most wearable, beautiful bag collection I’ve seen grace the runway in several seasons.

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Posts on Sex and the City will begin to take over every fashion website’s screen. Luckily almost every single one of us is giddy like a kid on her birthday waiting to hear and see more about the fabulous foursome.

The latest exotic bag to be seen in the hands of Sarah Jessica Parker’s character, Carrie Bradshaw, is the Adriana Castro Python Eva Clutch. This clutch is from the Resort 2010 line and is a tri-colored mix of purple, azalea, and royal blue.

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We first brought you news of Bird Handbags over two years ago. The ritzy hippie vibe appealed to many and we were digging the designs. The Lady was a favorite (I still wear my Lady often) and the One Night Stand Clutch followed closely behind.

Net A Porter is carrying another version of the Bird Handbags One Night Stand with a natural colored snakeskin body and brown ostrich double handles.

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Every brand uses exotics in a different way. Nancy Gonzalez crocodile looks different than Balenciaga crocodile. Chloe python looks different than Carlos Falchi python. And Gucci python is my favorite of all. Somehow, they manage to find skins that look somehow fuller and more touchable than some of their peers, and it’s always clear that their bags did indeed come from a living reptile. And I feel like it’s at least a bit more respectful to the animal to make a bag that really highlights the natural beauty of the skins that are used.

And Gucci has maintained their history of beautiful python bags with the Gucci Galazy Python Hobo. Sometimes natural patterns can be hidden when they’re done in black, but the finish here has a bit of a shine to it, so it reflects enough light that the scale differentiation is easy to see. Some brands treat their bags in such a way that the python scales lay perfectly flat, which has clearly not been done here. I’m sure that that sort of treatment makes bags for durable, but it also makes it feel less luxurious to me, so I’d rather that part was left out, even if it means the bag won’t last quite as long. I’d rather have it be as beautiful as possible for as long as that look will hold up. Buy through Saks for $3500.

Despite the beauty of the last Nancy Gonzalez bag that we reviewed, the combination of exotics and non-exotics didn’t exactly inspire all of our commenters. Using multiple materials is difficult to pull off, for sure, but what about using two exotics? Is the whole more than the sum of its parts? I think it is for the Nancy Gonzalez Python/Crocodile Tote. And just look at the end result…

This may be one of my favorite Nancy Gonzalez bags of all time, which says a lot, given my penchant for exotics. This particular shade of blue-undertoned grey is fantastic for highlighting scale and texture differences on exotic skins and bringing out their natural patterns and variations, which is exactly what a well-designed exotic bag should do. Python is the main event here, making up the front and back of the bag, while the sturdier crocodile skin forms the bag’s gussets. I’d be interested to see what the bag would look like if the material usage was flipped, but either way, it’s still beyond gorgeous. The neat rows of studs that run on either side of the bag’s front panel are the perfect finishing touch and something slightly out of character for the designer – I hope we see more of it in the future. Buy through Saks for $3100.

I both love and hate the Nancy Gonzalez Crocodile Striped Tote. I love it because it is, without a doubt, pretty much gorgeous. The color is listed as tan, which would normally be boring, but the subtle olive green undertones that run through it are enough to make the color something that you don’t see everyday while still maintaining its neutrality. The pale, unobtrusive color does wonders to highlight what’s really important about this bag – the structure. This is the second bag we’ve seen today that has juxtaposed exotic leathers and suede, and the effect here is simultaneously just as successful and totally different. The crocodile mixed with the softer, tactile suede gives the sewn-together strips a depth of visual interest and texture that is absolutely brilliant; I really can’t say enough about it.

What bothers me, though, is that the beauty of the crocodile skin is somewhat lost in the strips of leather and suede. My feeling, as I have explained before, is always that a bag made out of an exotic leather should use that leather’s natural texture to its greatest advantage. In tiny strips, it’s basically impossibly to do that. Stamped croc would have probably been a more cost-effective and appropriate material to use here, even though I’m not generally a proponent of stamping anything on high-end handbags. The price is somewhat reasonable for a bag that does use a great deal of exotic leather, though, so when that’s combined with the bag’s sleek beauty, I can’t hate it too much. Buy through Saks for $2750.