Fendi Handbags and Purses

Just like we predicted, the iconic Fendi Baguette is suddenly everywhere. From Sarah Jessica Parker extolling its virtues in the Financial Times to a retrospective coffee table book slated for release July 3rd, the world’s first It Bag is having a bonafide renaissance. If you were too young or too financially strapped at the time to get in on the first wave of Baguette popularity (or, on the other hand, if you’d just like to revel in a little nostalgia), you’re in luck.

Over at Moda Operandi, the site’s Fendi Resort 2013 presale is your first chance to pre-order several of the collection’s new embellished Baguettes, as well as a nice selection of the line’s other bags (and shoes, too). We’ve included pictures of our favorites after the jump, but if you’d like to skip straight to shopping, you can score these pieces through May 22 via Moda Operandi. → Read More

Anyone who’s opened a high-end fashion magazine in the recent past knows, those types of publications are focused on aesthetics to the near-complete exclusion of practical concerns. Style.com may be known as a website first and a magazine second (check out the print edition, though, it’s pretty fun), but it still follows that same fashion mag edict – form first, function second, if at all. Depending on the application, that ethos can either be fantastical or head-scratchingly odd.

The site recently released its top 10 lists for the season’s accessories, and its choice for The Best Bag of Fall 2012 struck me as the latter. This Fendi Crocodile Clutch maybe be a beautiful evening bag, but a great piece of functional design it is not. Box clutches never are, no matter how pretty they may be. Not only that, but this little evening bag isn’t even indicative of the season’s overall accessories trends. So what gives? → Read More

Lions and tigers and stripes, oh my! I can’t help but think of the circus when I look at the Fendi Studded One + One Drawstring-Top Satchel. The pairing of a lot of color and additional texture makes this bag an attention grabber.

Fendi handbags have lost a bit of traction over the years since the heyday of the Fendi Spy, but the brand continues to make a real go at it, and I’m sure that they’ll find that perfect, magic bag again. (The Peekaboo was almost there, but not quite.) This tote in particular is playful in so many ways and practical in very few. With all the multicolor pyramid studs and rainbow stripes on the drawstring-closure canvas top, it is easy to miss the double top handles, thin shoulder stap, and removable crossbody strap. But what works for some doesn’t for others, which is precisely why I am leaving the judgement of this bag in your hands.

Fill in the blank: The Fendi Studded One + One Drawstring-Top Satchel is _________.

Images via Vogue.com

After a lineup last season that left something to be desired, Fendi Fall 2012 extends the brand’s recent history of stellar accessories collections. Just look at that bag up there, you guys. Just look at it. I don’t have to explain why that’s an awesome bag. If you love accessories, then you already know it instinctively.

With a few exceptions (white crocodile trimmed in black and white fur, for one), what struck me the most about this collection is how wearable and versatile it is, despite its modernity. The line consists mostly of medium-sized totes with a thin bar of metal at the front closure to hold a small FENDI stamp, and the final product can be produced for seasons to come in a nearly endless combination of colors and textures to hit a variety of price points. Very nicely done, Fendi. → Read More

Back in October, we discussed whether or not the legendary Fendi Baguette, the first real It Bag and practically the fifth cast member of Sex and the City, might be poised for a return to prominence. Based on the Baguettes that are starting to surface for Spring 2012, I’d say that we might all be carrying Fendi in a year’s time. Can I request a crossbody version, please? → Read More

Fendi Cracked Suede Baguette, $990 in blue or silver via Bergdorf Goodman

For an entire generation of women (of which I’m a part), the Fendi Baguette was the first It Bag to penetrate our collective consciousness. Indeed, many fashion people count its popularity as the dawn of the entire It Bag concept, and I probably have its existence to credit, at least in small part, to my current employment. In handbag history, the role of this little Fendi bag can’t be overstated.

Like anything, though, the heady days of Sex and the City passed and the Baguette fell out of favor to make way for the Chloe Paddington, the Fendi Spy and all the other must-have, “ungettable get” bags that followed. The fashion industry is endlessly cyclical, though, and eventually everything old is new again. Nearly 15 years after its launch, is it time for the Fendi Baguette’s second act? → Read More

I’m not one to turn to single-handle structured handbags much, but sometimes an unexpected bag wows me enough to get my attention. Fendi has accomplished this with their Silvana Croc & Stingray Bag. Seriously, everything about this bag is absolutely stunning from the beige smooth leather to the dark brown crocodile to the beige stingray top handle. Each piece of the whole flows together beautifully, leaving a stunning fall accessory staple.

But does this bag evoke enough emotion to draw a price tag over $8,000? → Read More

Images via Vogue.com

Forgive me for a moment while I indulge in a bit of Internet vernacular: I am disappoint, PurseBloggers. For the past few seasons, I’ve thought that Fendi was on something of a roll when it came to runway bags; Spring 2011 was of particular note, and I had high hopes for what Fendi Spring 2012 handbags would look like. Well. Let’s just say that those hopes were summarily dashed by what happened at the actual show.

I’m not here to critique the ready-to-wear, but I think it’s relevant to say that the entire thing made me think that Fendi really, really wants to be Prada when it grows up. Karl Lagerfeld made a lot of overtures to the wearable, intellectual, modernist quirk that has become Miuccia’s signature, but the final products felt like the designs were reaching for something they didn’t quite accomplish. That’s doubly true for the multicolored studded bags and all the totes that look like they’re birthing suede hobos. Maybe these bags are just so different that I need to give them a chance to grow on me, but right now, I simply don’t get it, with the exception of the couple clutches with the extra-short fur trim. Those can stay. Cathy Horyn disagrees with me, though, so I’m probably wrong. → Read More