Gucci Handbags and Purses (Page 7)

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.

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.

As a slavish fan of the Tom Ford era at Gucci, I’ve got to say that Spring 2010 is easily the best collection we’ve seen from current designer Frida Giannini.

Instead of the girly, at times hippie-chic clothes that have come out of her tenure at the company so far, what we saw this season was modern, athletic, and a tad science fiction. Normally those would be words from which I would shy away as descriptors of beautiful clothing, but the high-waist leggings, voluminous jackets and body-conscious dresses make sci fi chic and aspirational – if only Ra’mon from Project Runway had made something like this on last week’s episode, he might not have been auf’d.

But he didn’t, and Frida did, because there’s a reason that she’s employed by one of the largest and most recognizable luxury brands in the world. She started, as has proven popular this season, with white (it would be a full nine looks before another color appeared) and slowly moved herself into light greys before going for bolder books in black, orange, and even a little bit of pink. Print was limited mostly to ikat here and there on smart shift dresses, and the majority of looks were solid and neutral.

And now I can say that I am finding myself staring at a funky and fun Gucci Bag. I know, right? Been a long time since Gucci really wowed us. There have been a few contenders, a few bags that attempted to win their way back into our hearts, and this handbag is another.

Nothing about the Gucci Galaxy Slouchy Metallic Leather Hobo reinvents the wheel, but the shape is wearable and the lustrous blue metallic leather brings an edgy touch.

What is this? Do my eyes deceive me? Have I gone delirious from too many hours spent clacking away at my computer keyboard? Have the recession gods chosen to shine down upon us for a brief, fleeting, beautiful moment?

Has Gucci released a leather hobo with a price tag substantially under $1000? Because it looks like that’s exactly what the Gucci Web Guccisima Hobo is.

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.

As they say, the devil is in the details. Well, in the world of high-end handbags, sometimes that’s where you can find the design as well. And it’s the details that bring me back to the Gucci Crest Boule Fabric Tote over and over again. We’ve all seen plenty of ho-hum (and some slightly more than ho-hum) canvas totes from this brand over the years; besides their signature horsebit details, it’s probably one of the things for which they’re best known. But none has been so precise and sleek as this beauty right here.

It’s possible that the exclusion of the Gucci signature from this tote is what makes it look so clean and sophisticated, but I think it’s more than that. The thick leather trim and handles give the bag a heft and structure that few canvas totes have, and it makes it look a lot more purposeful and expensive-looking than other bags of this variety. The one thing I can’t get behind, though, is the price – even one of the nicest canvases totes I’ve ever seen still isn’t worth almost two grand. For that kind of dosh, I’m going to need leather. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $1990.