In The News

Vote for The Purse Blog at the blogger’s choice awards!

You all already helped us win Best in Fashion and Best in Accessories for Glam, and now we need your help to win the Best Shopping Blog for the Blogger’s Choice Awards! While some may think this website merely talks about handbags, there is so much more that goes on, including the extensive forum! So if you find a minute of spare time, just go through the voting routine and vote for us. You know you want to

If you enjoy this website, then show us some love and vote for us for the Best Shopping Blog. All you have to do is sign up and then vote!

THANKS

We are happy to announce the two winners of our Bottega Veneta Giveaway!

The Pink BV Intrecciato Leather Clutch goes to

LVCRAZED
(”854 pink proud passionate PFers… patiently, purposely, pursuing praise for there clever contest phrase..”)

The Blue BV Twofold Leather Wallet goes to

Mr Posh Spice
(”168 bounding blue broncos”)

The lucky numbers were “906″ for the pink clutch and “316″ for the blue wallet – which happen to be Vlads’ and my birthdays. Total coincidence, I promise!

There was entries with numbers closer to the lucky ones, unfortunately the rules weren’t followed properly or the member didn’t meet the minimum post requirement.

Thanks to everyone who participated! Starting Monday will begin our next giveaway (everyone can enter) so please stay tuned!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Remember, the Purse Blog Bottega Veneta contest is only going on a few more days!!! The winner will be announced June 1st, so enter now!

Our friends over at Fab Sugar have a fab giveaway for May. They are giving away an Andrea Brueckner handbag. Make sure you check out the rules and sign up if you want to win this number.

The New York Times On the Street reports that red handbags are the color for spring. Brilliant red leathers, patent, canvas, and other materials have been spotted on the chic ladies of NYC recently. Not rouge, but vibrant red. I am on the outs, only owning a fall-rouge Chloe Paddington, but maybe I need to invest in the color of spring. Can you name some of the bags shown in the picture?

Via NYT

All of the men can keep denying that they care about fashion or designer labels, but a recent study shows that men in fact do care about the labels (the wealthy men at least). The most recognized brand name from the study was Coach, which I found to be an interesting fact to keep in mind for my appearance on Millionaire. Read more below and share your thoughts!

Men are more likely than women to opt for a luxury brand when buying handbags – and it’s the label, not the price, that counts, according to a survey of wealthy shoppers.

The Luxury Institute said the demand for luxury bags remains strong, with about one third of 1,500 wealthy American shoppers surveyed buying a branded bag in the last 12 months.

“The luxury handbag is the accessory that defines the wealthy woman and is a major profit driver for luxury fashion brands,” said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the New York-based researcher focused on wealthy consumers.

The Luxury Institute found that men were more likely than women to reach for a luxury label when buying a handbag – 73 per cent of men, compared with 50 per cent of women – and over three times more likely to choose luxury French brand Chanel.

But overall, US label Coach has become the most popular bag among wealthy shoppers, leading with a 29 percent market share with other brands compete heavily for the rest of the pie.

Continue reading →

This is late, but there is still time to sign up to win the Marc by Marc Jacobs Softy Tote over at Fab Sugar! The fabulous folks there have a spring handbag giveaway with this MJ number in a chic green color!

Via Fab Sugar

I would like to take a minute to extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends who lost loved ones in yesterday’s tragic event, our feelings go out towards the whole Virginia Tech community and anyone who was affected by. It’s been only few years since Megs and I both stepped foot off the Ohio State campus, we only begin to realize the effect it had on the VT family.

Hang in there Hokies, you have all our love and support.

Yesterday and early this morning we brought you some of the world’s most extravagant handbags. Some are drop dead gorgeous while others make you wonder why you would spend one cent on them. The information came from an amazing article written in Forbes magazine and online by Hitha Prabhakar. I had the pleasure of speaking with Hitha and sharing some of my thoughts for the article. Thanks to Hitha and Forbes! Read the full article after seeing the quoted part below!

World’s Most Extravagant Handbags
Hitha Prabhakar

Not to be outdone, Louis Vuitton had fashionistas scrambling recently for the $42,000 Tribute Patchwork handbag introduced on the runway last fall. Dubbed “the most expensive handbag ever” by industry experts and media outlets, the four available this year in U.S. stores sold out, but 20 can be found in Louis Vuitton boutiques throughout Europe and Asia.

“If something is hard to find or impossible to get, it makes it more valuable,” says Meaghan Mahoney, editor of purseblog.com, an online community devoted to handbags. “In addition to paying the high price, you are also getting something that no one else will have.”
What hangs in our closets depends on the creativity of these 10 men and women. Click here to see who made our list of fashion industry tastemakers.

That’s true for the Tribute. “It may not be most attractive bag,” Mahoney continues. “It’s made of 15 different patterns of Vuitton handbags all sewn together. But only 24 of them exist.” Translation? It’s unsightly, but prized.

Despite media claims that the Tribute is the costliest handbag on the market, we found several much more expensive. Adding to the princely price tags? Diamonds and rare animal skin.

Read the full article after the jump!
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Recently there was a great article in Forbes about the World’s Most Extravagant Handbags. Yours truly was interviewed for the article and is quoted in it. I will post the article later, but will be taking you through some the most extravagant handbags according to Forbes today. At the end of the day, I will post the whole article for you to read and enjoy!

Thanks to Hitha Prabhakar for the great interview!

I was doing what I do best: getting lost in cyber space, and I came upon this article. It is a tad long, but a well written article that makes you think about exactly why handbags are the perfect accessory for every woman. Enjoy the fun read!

NEW YORK — I am fond of quoting the adage “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” However, I recently had the privilege of conducting a qualitative research study on another topic that’s near and dear to my heart: handbags.

As a result, I have come to realize that handbags can be considered—together with diamonds—one more indispensable member of a female’s close coterie.

Walking around various high-end stores in upscale Bergen County, N.J., I could not help but marvel at the diversity of the women looking for their expensive handbag “fix”: regardless of age, income or career path, women today certainly seem to understand that a beautiful, high-end pocketbook can simultaneously give them the emotional high they yearn for and telegraph to their female peers that they have class, taste and a hip sense of style.

In 2005, handbags (aka purses and pocketbooks) dominated the U.S. accessories market, accounting for more than $5 billion in sales. Consumer research from Mintel finds that British women are becoming increasingly enamored with their handbags as sales there grew by 146% between 2000 and 2005 to reach an estimated $680 million (or £350 million).

By: Tanya Krim
Story via Brandweek

Read the rest of the article after the jump!
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