Hobo Bags (Page 12)

In my opinion, the Burberry Westcott Shoulder Bag is a very clear case of a bag that looks much better in person than it does online. This is the best picture I could find to see the immense detail of the bag’s construction, but it still looks stiff and kind of messy, don’t you think? In reality, it’s anything but. The neat rows of buttery soft leather ruffles are cropped close enough to the bag to not look silly, but still long enough to give the bag tons of texture that makes it much more than just another black leather hobo.

The leather that makes up the base of the bag is just as soft as that that makes up the ruffle decoration, which gives the bag a slouch that would probably break in even more with a bit of use. The strap was plenty long to carry the hobo easily and it also has an extra crossbody strap, if that’s your think. The bag is big but not oversized, and still muted enough, with ruffles and all, to use as an everyday bag that could be carried to work. On the whole, I think Burberry did a beautiful job with this bag, and it’s really too bad that it doesn’t show up well in photos. This is definitely a bag you need to see to appreciate. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $2195.

You know what I like? I like it when brands that we don’t normally associate with handbags make a handbag line. Why do I like that so much? Sometimes, I think that the traditional handbag brands get so bogged down in their own branding that they can’t see past it to innovate or make something exciting. I’ve heard many complain that that seems to be the case with Chanel lately, and I might agree. So I’m always looking for unexpected things, and today I saw the Yohji Yamamoto Leather Bag with Metal Rings.

I have no idea how long it’s been out; I never click on the designer at eLuxury since he’s not known for his bags. Although it doesn’t appear so different than a regular bag at first, something about the proportion and handle look really interesting to me. It’s entirely functional in pretty much every way that it needs to be, but it still has a minimalist, architectural quality to it that most designers don’t think about incorporating when making a hobo bag out of soft leather. In the face of established designers becoming complacent, it’s nice to see a relative outsider in the high-end handbag market do something interesting. Buy through eLuxury for $2000.

I’m kind of undecided here, PurseBloggers. So here are my thoughts, I need you to help me make a decision. The Derek Lam Romina Bag has some definite strong points. The leather is nice and smooth. It has a cool chain strap (I love chain straps) that most bags of this shape don’t have, and it also has a piece of leather attached to the chain to make it more comfortable to carry. I generally enjoy grey as a color for bags, because I think that grey goes with more other colors than either black or brown. The lining is pretty. Something about this bag, though, is making think “eh. pass.” I’m not sure exactly what it is…could it be the seaming?

The bag might be a little TOO pieced together for my taste, and I’m finding the lack of symmetry in the seaming a bit disconcerting. Is that a pocket over there on that one side? I’m not sure. It looks like one, but who knows. One side of the front is also pleated, while the other is not, and the overall effect is just not doing anything for me. I won’t go so far as to say that it’s an affront to my sense of balance…but it sort of is. And the leather, despite being smooth, doesn’t look like it would be particularly soft. Strike two. Does anyone have a strike three? Buy through ShopBop for $1690.

I’ve got good news! A lot of you have expressed interest in the Diane von Furstenberg Stephanie Slouchy Hobo that Megs wrote about last week but were unable to find it. I can totally understand the interest – I can’t wait to be able to see it in person, and I can’t take my eyes off of the few pictures of it that I’ve been able to find.

It sold out quickly on the brand’s website and had yet to ship to many retailers, but over the weekend it became available on tPF favorite ShopBop. They ship all ground orders for free and most US orders are sales-tax free, so if you’re looking to try out this bag, you can’t do a whole lot better than that. Hurry, though – with all the interest in this beautiful hobo, who knows how long it’ll stay in stock. Buy through ShopBop for $995.

  

After I first posted about the Mulberry Creased Patent Mitzy Hobo the other day, Megs received an email from Jackie at Mulberry with a link to check out the bag on their website to show that the bag is, indeed, slouchy and wonderful. And as you can see above, it is! The patent does appear to slouch quite nicely, and her assertion that ShopBop overstuffed the bag on their website does indeed seem true (and hobos get awkward-looking quickly when overstuffed). What I see above is a far lovelier bag than I wrote about yesterday, and while I still don’t adore the color, it looks a lot better here than it does in the previous photo, which appeared to have been washed out by the camera flash. So I take back all the mean things I said about how this bag was going to poke everyone in the armpit. Because it’s not.

I’ve also included a shot from their website of the regular leather Mulberry Mitzy Hobo, because I’m in love. It’s gorgeous. The leather looks thick and soft and fantastic, and I love the shape and the slouch. I owned a Mulberry bag a while back, and the leather on that one was awesome, and this one looks even better. I wish more places in Georgia carried the brand because there’s a lot of bags on their site that I have never seen before, and now I really want to scope them out in person. I’ve always been a casual Mulberry fan in the past, but I’m starting to take a more active interest. Buy through ShopBop for $695.

At first glance, I was on board with the Mulberry Creased Patent Mitzy Hobo. I like big leather hobos, and I like Mulberry, so I didn’t give the whole thing much of a second thought. But upon further consideration…I can’t get behind this. Patent leather hobos are extremely hard to structure correctly – it’s a shape that is supposed to slouch, by definition, and patent is a material that is much more conducive to creating structure than slouch. So, strike one. Because of the apparent lack of slouch, the handle isn’t long enough. I don’t think it would be comfortable to carry on my shoulder – I’m not a fan of having leather poke me in the arm pit. Strike Two. Then, the color. Oh, the color. Mulberry calls it “Lipstick,” but I certainly don’t have any lipstick in this shade, and I don’t think I would want a bag this color, either. it’s kind of salmon-y and a little too pastel for my taste, which is the same problem I had with the last Mulberry bag I reviewed. Pastels are hard to pull off and tend to make people look either washed-out or sallow, and I think this particular color might have both effects on my skin. So, strike three, it’s out. Buy through Shop Bop for $695.

The new must-have handbag floating around the DvF offices is the metallic Diane von Furstenberg Stephanie Bag. This bag is a favorite among the DvF staff (wonder if Whitney and Olivia are vying for it!). Celebs already carrying the bag include Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, and Jessica Biel. Because I am thoroughly obsessed with The Hills and now The City, I can image this bag being the handbag of choice on Whitney and her bff Erin. The DvF Stephanie Bag is a slouchy hobo which stands out with its knitted metallic leather, either gold or magenta, and an adjustable leather strap. The shape of the bag will slouch beautifully next to your body, give you both hands, and lend that boho chic vibe. I can see why this is the new beloved DvF bag and it is totally my style. I would opt for the gold. Buy through DvF for $875.

UPDATE: ShopBop currently has the DvF Stephanie in stock: $995 via ShopBop.