When we wrote about Fendi’s colorblocked clutch and what it portends for spring’s trends last week, your reaction was predictably split. A strong point of view will always divide people, even if all the people responding have great taste (and, duh, of course you do). For those of you who thought that Fendi veered into stank territory with that clutch, we present you with the Fendi Forever Mamma Anaconda Shoulder Bag.

You may or may not have liked Fendi’s Spring 2011 handbag collection, but you can’t argue that it was what fashion industry people call “directional.” Instead of merely designing safe, pretty accessories, Fendi’s handbags gave us a new way to think about combining color, structure and texture.

Vogue.com chose this Fendi Multicolor Woven Clutch to illustrate spring’s colorblocking trend in its Accessories Blackbook, but upon close examination, the design is interesting for more than just its use of color.

The Fendi Peekaboo Tote is getting to that point in its design life cycle where people start impatiently tapping their feet, awaiting the next thing from the brand. Spring 2011 holds a few options, but until those come to retail, this pink iteration of the popular Peekaboo might just be enough to hold your attention. I just have one question, though – what is this bag actually made of?

Perhaps I’m merely willing to indulge Fendi’s recent logo-bag silliness because of the beautiful runway collections the brand has given us over the past few seasons, but first I liked Fendi‘s slightly bizarre horse-head tote, and now I find myself enjoying the flowered-but-not-frilly Fendi Roll Bag Tote.

I think the more likely explanation is that these recent bags show a brand that’s not taking itself too seriously, which is always worthy of applause.

Can I get a standing ovation for Fendi? It wasn’t all that many seasons ago that the brand’s accessories department seemed to be in a bit of a post-Spy Bag aesthetic flux. There were too many logos, too many underdeveloped ideas and too little editing. From the looks of it, the brand has come out of its slump in fine form with Fendi Spring 2011, the brand’s third brilliant major accessories collection in a row.

Perhaps some of the black dye from my hair appointment yesterday has seeped into my brain, but I find the Fendi Seleria Zucca Horse Tote almost…charming. It has chutzpah, and I respect that, even if I don’t necessarily want to spend money on it or carry it around town.

Some leather-goods brands tend to be so self-serious about their origins in equestrianism and saddlery, and it seems as though Fendi is deliberately poking fun at that kind of slightly stodgy traditionalism and humorlessness.

It is ok to tell me how absolutely absurd it is to want to spend a good amount of money on a designer felt bag. Because really, intellectually I know it is ridiculous and typically I would agree with you. But my handbag-loving-emotions are taking over and I am seriously head-over-heels in love with the Fendi Felt Peekaboo Tote.

It is made with felt.

Not long after the annual summer release of a new iPhone comes an inevitable parade of ways to personalize and protect your new gadget. Those options range from rubber cases that can be had for $19.99 at your local Best Buy to Louis Vuitton monogram sheaths that cost more than the phone itself (with a two-year contract, of course), and the prospect of choosing one can be quite the task indeed for style-conscious gadget-lovers.

We got a peek at Fendi‘s Fall 2010 runway handbags in March, but now that they’ve started to trickle out for retail pre-order, the details of the collection are becoming even more clear. What’s perhaps most striking, however, is how much the collection, now dubbed “Classico,” hasn’t changed.

Accessories are often altered somewhere in the runway-to-retail journey, but the clean lines and clear midcentury influence that we saw on Fendi’s runway are here in almost completely unadulterated form.

Ok, so, that’s probably a false promise. But these are five beach bags that we really like for five different budgets and personal styles.