Fendi Handbags and Purses (Page 2)

What: FENDI Introducing the 2Bag with Custom Monogramming available

Where: Bergdorf Goodman NYC Main Floor

When: Friday, April 15

Time: 1-5pm

Phone: 212.872.2577

Over the last several season, I’ve come to anticipate Fendi’s fashion shows because of the uptick in the quality of the brand’s accessories. Not only were its Spring 2011 bags totally on-trend and directional, but they seem just as brilliant now that they’ve arrived in stores as they did on the runway six months ago. I’m not as in love with Fendi Fall 2011 handbags as I was with those pieces, but there are still several winners to be found in the collection.

The line was fit for a wealthy New England art student, and the handbags also had the same vintage-modern flair. Shapes were mostly structured and ladylike, with several repeat visitors from Spring 2011, along with a handbag (literally) of textured, jeweled clutches that looked like the kind of thing you’d find at a finely curated thrift store in a great neighborhood. And I mean that in the nicest way possible; the charmingly retro feel of these bags will please a lot of customers.

Many of my choices for our Want it Wednesday category are both exotic and rather pricey. That is part of the lust factor – we all love something and yearn for it a little more the more it is out of reach. And as much as I love a holy grail dream list, I prefer floating on clouds of reality.

Colorblocking is a huge trend for spring and will continue to be prevalent into next fall. With everyone talking about colorblocking, I was thrilled to see many design houses giving us handbag options that fit the trend ever so perfectly. Fendi is not always on my radar, but their Spring 2011 collection caught my attention early on.

And this Wednesday I am wanting to add the Fendi Silvana Flap Top Bag to my spring wardrobe.

The Fendi Peek-A-Boo is the largest hit for the brand since their coveted Spy bag back in 2005. Like the Spy, the Peek-A-Boo has been released and revamped into hundreds of different materials, options, and colors. In fact, if you pop into a Fendi boutique they will show you all the available options to customize your very own Peek-A-Boo.

But I am more interested in what Fendi themselves release. What kind of rendition will the brand come up with? Right now I am eying the striped Fendi Snakeskin Peek-A-Boo Tote.

I’ve already waxed rhapsodic about my love for Fendi’s Spring 2011 bags several times, and now it’s time for the hard truth of the collection: These bags cost a lot. But, surprisingly, not as much as I was expecting from all the whispers that it would require the sale of a kidney in order to buy one.

The Fendi Croco and Calfskin Top Handle you see at left comes in above eight grand because of the exotic flap, and similar bags with regular leather come in above two grand, at least according to Luisa Via Roma’s European prices, which often vary a bit (sometimes up, sometimes down) from what American retailers charge when they receive these bags. The leather totes from the collection? Also around two grand. Whether or not those prices are justified (or if any of the prices we pay are really justified) is a more complicated question.

I’ve already pontificated on just how much I love Fendi’s Spring 2011 handbags, but now that promo photos are out and we can all get a clearer, closer look at the bags than runway shots afford us, I feel the need to reiterate: This collection is great, and from a purely accessories standpoint, it’s one of the very best of the season.

Not only are these bags highly detailed and extremely well-designed, but they provide a momentary snapshot of where fashion is right now and where it may be going in the seasons ahead. The shapes are absolutely classic; these totes, shoulder bags and satchels don’t needlessly re-invent the wheel, but the ways that they’re finished give them a fresh, modern edge. The combinations of colors and textures in the leathers and hardware make the entire enterprise feel new and vibrant, even though these are the kinds of bags that generally become wardrobe staples. If you’re looking for one bag to buy for spring, buy it from this collection.

Exotic leather are usually something to behold. Because they make a bag so expensive, most consumers want their snake, lizard or croc front and center where they can see it, and in order to justify the inflated prices, designers are usually more than happy to oblige. When even a bit of an exotic trim can raise a bag’s price by hundreds of dollars, they better be.

Which is why I can’t really understand what happened with the Fendi Mini Snakeskin Beaded Peekaboo. According to the bag’s description, the exterior body is made entirely of snakeskin…and then beaded over the top with beads of the same color. Only a little or the exotic peeks out around the trim, and the texture on the interior is embossed. Say what?