In The News (Page 6)

Scarlett Johansson can be seen as the face of Mango campaigns and now also has partnered with Mango to design a handbag which will benefit the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The simple tote shape is adorned with ancient cartography of Haiti and at the top of the bag has the message “Supporting the people of Haiti. Designed by Scarlett Johansson”.

About this collaboration Scarlett Johansson said: “I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Mango to promote conscious consumerism and to benefit Oxfam’s Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. By purchasing this bag, which I specially designed, you are helping to provide life saving assistance like clean water to the people of Haiti.”

Ninona Vila, Corporate PR Director said: “Given the terrible events that have taken place, MANGO wants to support the victims of the Haiti earthquake. For this reason, we want to offer our clients the chance to collaborate in this project, as there are many people who need help.”

One of our favorite handbag styles at the moment, the Proenza Schouler PS1, is now available on their website. This bag has continued to catch our attention, with its schoolgirl appeal and masculine yet ladylike vibe. I will continue to applaud the boys behind PS, who have made Proenza Schouler bags become part of our handbag vocabulary.

In December we first got news that Proenza Schouler would open up their online sales and were selling web exclusives. After we posted this, all of you helped sell out their limited edition wallets.

In the fashion industry (and, increasingly, in any industry), the phrase “Chinese craftsmanship” is usually an implied pejorative. Fairly or unfairly, things that are made in China are generally assumed to be less well-made than those made in Europe or the US, and much has been made over a handful of Chinese product recalls that have been announced for deadly dog food and baby formula or lead-filled toothpaste.

So when Hermes says that they’re going to launch a Chinese-designed, Chinese-manufactured luxury brand, surely they jest, correct? Wrong. Hermes never jests. According to Women’s Wear Daily, the new brand, Shang Xia, will be helmed by a head designer from the Chinese mainland, feature products made from Chinese materials and techniques and be autonomous from the design influence of its legendary parent company. All things considered, is it time to reevaluate our preconceived notions about Chinese-made goods?

When it came to realization that the levels of lead being used in children’s toys was off the charts, everyone became very aware of the toys they were buying. High lead levels have been found in other household products including paint and blinds as well. ABC broke the story that researches found extremely alarming levels of lead in some handbags from top retailers. This means it is time to be conscious of the handbags we are buying for other reasons that just the price tag.

For the most part, genuine leather bags are not the problem. It is the bags made with PVC, polyvinyl chloride, which may contain lead. Manufacturers find PVC useful when making a synthetic handbag, as it gives the bag pliability and can help brighten colors as it is used in pigment.

The Center for Environmental Health went to 100 top retailers, including Target, Macy’s, and WalMart to buy purses and have the bags tested for lead at an independent lab. They used two tests, one was to wipe the bag to see if lead would simply rub off and the other was testing the bag for overall lead content.

What they found was truly frightening.

Add this to the list of Things I Didn’t Know Science Cared About, I suppose.

According to UK retailer Debenhams, the weight of the average woman’s handbag, including its contents, has fallen from 7.69 pounds in 2007 to 3.31 pounds in 2009. I don’t know about anyone else, but my shoulders and back are certainly thankful for the dramatic change.

Everyone knows that no trend lasts forever, so when tiny actresses were seen with handbags bigger than some New York studio apartments in the middle of the last decade, we all knew that it was a matter of time until the Olsen look was so five minutes ago. Well, if handbag weight is any indication, that time is now. But are there possible explanations other than just the normal ebb and flow of fashion trends?

File this under “Things That Really Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone, Ever.”

According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Renee Richardson Gosline (yeah, that’s right, MIT is interested in your handbag), consumers are far more likely to identify a counterfeit bag as real when worn by someone that “looks” rich and a real bag as counterfeit when worn by someone that “looks” poor. I’m not sure why that would come as a huge surprise to anyone, but the fact that its been scientifically confirmed means that we can all congratulate ourselves on being logical, I suppose..

Before you fire up the keyboard and claim in the comments that you don’t care if people think your bag is fake or that it’s shallow for people to assume things about you because you dress a certain way, please slow your roll and read the stuff after the jump.

Proenza Schouler has opened up its online gates to include e-shopping. With the start of this, they have also released exclusive items you can buy through the online shop. Right now the number of exclusives are small and include a leather wallet, key chain, and novelty bag. Our pick goes to the wallets, which cost $165 each. The wallets have a leather flap front with a snap closure and are available in 6 rich colors.