Exotic Bags (Page 6)

Over four season of careful study of the fashion on Gossip Girl, a few things become apparent: Lily loves Hermes. Rufus loves plaid. Nate loves his manbangs. What may not be quite so obvious, though, is Serena’s appreciation of Carlos Falchi.

Falchi’s bags often don’t stand out as obviously his because they don’t feature any sort of obvious logos, markings or hardware, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of people were noticing the Carlos Falchi Shiny Moroccan Croc Bag being toted around the Upper East Side set very soon. It just has “Serena Van Der Woodsen’ written all over it.

Back in September, Amanda covered the Abaco Jamily Metallic Python Crossbody bag. The only thing she said could lead her to loving this bag more was if it were finished in gunmetal. LOOK AMANDA! They did it. Just for you. Amanda asks, and Abaco answers.

Right now I am finding myself in a bag lull. The ladylike minimalistic bags are great, but it is a little dull to continuously cover. In all reality, this bag stopped me quickly when doing my usual perusing of online shops. I am on the biggest crossbody kick right now, finding it so entirely helpful when walking around the City to have both hands free. And the design of the Abaco Jamily Metallic Python Crossbody Bag is something both Amanda and I love. It is a mixture of practical and hip.

This is a tad embarrassing to admit, considering what I do for a living, but my luggage? It’s kind of busted.

I don’t travel all that frequently, maybe a couple of times a year at the most, and I generally prefer to use my money on things that I’ll enjoy on a regular basis – bags, shoes, clothes, gadgets. Every time I go on a trip, though, I swear that I’ll invest in some great luggage for the next one, but then the thought totally leaves my mind as I adjust back to my regular routine.

Now that I’m faced with the prospect of packing for a trip to New York City at the end of the week, I wish that I had remembered to buy some decent luggage. I also wish that I had the extra cash to go out and scoop up the Santiago Gonzalez Crocodile Duffel Bag – but would I choose grey or brown? (Ok, I’d choose grey, that wasn’t even difficult.)

When we discussed Reed Krakoff’s Fall 2010 handbag line last week, many of you mentioned that your favorite was one we had omitted: the Reed Krakoff Alligator and Felt Boxer II Tote. The bag’s omission was intentional: I think it’s beautiful enough to deserve its own post.

When it first appeared on Net-a-Porter two weeks ago, it managed to sell out before I even woke up (which, admittedly, was later than a real adult should be waking up for work), but a second shipment has come in. So, you know, gather up that extra seven grand you have laying around, because this thing doesn’t come cheap.

At this point, if you’ve been a bag lover for more than the past fifteen minutes, you’re used to a sizable markup for python. Some types of snakeskin, most notably watersnake, can be had at prices not far above those of regular leather, but python generally commands big bucks. For instance, the difference between a Chloé Paraty in leather and the same size in python is a solid $2000.

Don’t tell that to the designers of the Abaco Jamily Python Crossbody, though. This bag might not be from a big-name designer, but the materials used are a nice reminder that it’s not just the name-y labels who can make a fine exotic bag. The kicker? It costs barely over $1000.

Any regular reader of this blog knows that I’m drooling over a whole lot of bags for winter – Celine, YSL, Mulberry, Alexander Wang…my list is long and expensive, just as it always is. We can go ahead and add the Carlos Falchi Gathered Crocodile Tote to it, although I’d need a bit of a windfall to make it a practical option.

Since this blog is clearly not about practicality, however, let’s pretend for a moment that we can all afford to spend over five grand on this beautiful bit of grey crocodile loveliness. This satchel is certainly more affordable than, say, a crocodile Hermes Birkin, and in my mind, that gives me a little bit of hope. Or perhaps it merely strengthens my delusion…

After five years of running PurseBlog, it is rare that I run into a brand new designer that I feel absolutely amazed, excited, and captivated by. That is precisely what I feel when I look at Peter Nitz Zurich designs. His designs captured my attention from the very first glance and have yet to let me go. Peter’s dream was to own an atelier where he would shape and stitch the finest available skins entirely by hand and accent them with beautiful jewelry to create unique and precious handbags. And this dream has come true in his namesake company. Most of the designs from the masterpieces collection are custom made to order. The prices vary depending on the combination of the type and size of the skins used along with which piece of jewelry is used.

On using brooches in his designs Peter told me,

“I am a collector and lover of all things vintage and antique. I was always drawn to these amazing antique brooches that just do not get the attention they deserve because brooches are not really that fashionable these days. Bags on the other hand are! So I thought it would be a great way to bring these incredible pieces of jewelry back to life again.”