An ad from one of Target’s previous designer collaborations

The fashion industry is always finding new ways to surprise, delight and confuse me (sometimes all at the same time, which might be the case today), but yesterday’s news from Women’s Wear Daily that Target, the suburban bastion of cheap leggings and toilet paper that we all know and love, would soon be moving into the high-end boutique business caught me particularly off guard.

Images via Target

These are the images we’ve been waiting to see for what seems like years (but has actually only been months) – the Jason Wu x Target lookbook is here! And for once, at long last, the handbags that have resulted from this collection aren’t utter crap. Leave it to Mr. Wu to finally do right by the accessories lovers in the audience.

Image via Gawker

We know that Louis Vuitton is willing to sue anyone and everyone in order to make sure that its logo or name isn’t used in any ways of which it doesn’t approve; after all, the company sued Hyundai last year over the brief appearance of a monogrammed basketball in one of its commercials. The ball didn’t even have an “LV” on it, but that didn’t stop Vuitton from filing a trademark infringement complaint against the Korean carmaker.

Image via Heritage Auctions

If you were to ask any handbag lover what the most expensive handbag to ever sell at auction was, I’m pretty sure that we’d all guess the same thing: an Hermes Crocodile Birkin with White Gold & Diamond Hardware. It just makes sense; not only are Hermes bags (and Birkins in particular) notorious for holding their value and doing well at resale, but a crocodile Birkin with diamond-encrusted hardware is one of the most elusive and expensive collector’s items in the world.

We have some very exciting new to share on this Friday afternoon! Start at the beginning of next month, you’ll now be able to put your American Express away and use your Visa or MasterCard in Neiman Marcus retail store. If you, like me, have ever felt the slight burn of shame when it comes time to pay for a purchase and you realize that you don’t have your AmEx on you that day, this will surely be good news.

Our community PurseForum is teaming up with Rebecca Minkoff in a project the likes of which handbag lovers have never seen before. Starting tomorrow, Monday the 10th of October, PurseForum.com will launch a three-week collaboration that will not only have fans vote on design elements to create an exclusive Rebecca Minkoff bag, but also allow the fans to be an integral part of the design process.

I cannot begin to imagine the frustration Joy Gryson and her company must feel over seeing a very similar brand name pop up and cause brand confusion. Many have thought Olivia & Joy is a new offshoot by Joy Gryson, but it is not. Do not be confused, there is absolutely no affiliation, and we wanted to help clear up any confusion that buyers might have.

Image via Bundle

Denying it is impossible: Even with most of the economy at a standstill, luxury goods continue to boom and the products that make up the marketplace continue to reach higher and higher price points. All of the husbands and boyfriends (not to mention jealous officemates and frienemies) out there who nearly keel over at the price tags on handbags should take a look through the back pages of any major US fashion magazine – accessories are expensive, but clothes are out of this world.

Do you ever get the sense that luxury monolith LVMH might be trolling Hermes, purely for CEO Bernard Arnault’s amusement? With yesterday’s report from British Vogue that LVMH’s ownership percentage in the family-run French leather goods company has increased once again, the possibility seems not altogether unlikely.

The increase – from 20.2% to 21.4% – may seem tiny on its face and to those who haven’t followed the story.

Economic problems? Debt ceilings? Political tensions? What are those things? The luxury industry has surely never heard of them, if double-digit sales increases from LVMH, Hermes and Burberry, just to name a few, are any indication. The rich only get richer, naturally, and when they do, they buy clothes. Lots of clothes. And handbags. Louis Vuitton is even reporting waiting lists, a thing that most pundits seemed to think would never be seen again after the economic crash of 2008.