Prada, take note: if you insist on producing bags comprised mainly of perforated leather, then you might want to take some notes from Jimmy Choo on how you do it correctly.

We witnessed one of Prada’s perforated failings last week, so now I think that it’s only fair that we feature something like the Jimmy Choo Martha Perforated Clutch, which uses perforation tastefully. Well…maybe “tastefully” isn’t the word. Maybe it would best be described as “stylishly.”

The key to this clutch’s success over the perforated Prada bag is that this one uses perforations artfully and as a single element, not the full show. The pink diamond-shaped cutouts remind me more of fishnet stalkings than basketball jerseys, and I much prefer to be aesthetically transported to the 80s than to a sporting event.

It also works better because the clutch is designed better as a whole – perforations that might not work otherwise are elevated by their surroundings. I love that the entire bag is a single, beautiful color but that it has elements done in three different textures. Instead of being one-note like the Prada bag, it’s visually interesting and incredibly stylish (if you dig the 80s thing that’s going on in fashion right now, which I happen to). Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1175.

Back in June, we found out that Jimmy Choo was going to be releasing a line this fall in conjunction with Elton John’s AIDS charity, and now the first vestiges of that limited edition line are making their way to market for pre-order. Everything from flip-flops to clutches will be available, but the centerpiece of the effort is the Jimmy Choo Project PEP Glazed Canvas Tote.

Just as they said it would, the bag’s pattern includes a mishmash of symbols from the Choo design lexicon – studding, eyelet, the British flag, animal print. The overall feeling is slightly punk but still high end, just like what they appear to be going for lately. It’d be a great bag for casual weekend use or for bad weather since the canvas is glazed.

The best part of the bag, though, is the big charitable contribution that it will make – 25% of the net sales from the Project PEP line will go to the Simelela Rape Center in South Africa, which provides anti-HIV medication and healthcare to rape victims. Nearly $250 will be donated for every one of these totes that is sold. Buy through Nordstrom for $995.

We had a fairly lively debate a few months ago when the Jimmy Choo for H&M collaboration was announced, and now we’ve finally got a comprehensive look at what the partnership will yield when it hits store shelves November 14.

The collection includes shoes, boots, handbags, jewelry, and a few items of clothing, all done in the slightly 80s glam-punk look that Jimmy Choo has been fond of lately. There are only a few bags, but they’re certainly worth a look. Most of the bags and shoes are real leather, so this is not nearly as bargain basement as a lot of low-end collaborations are. I wouldn’t call myself overly impressed, but rather pleasantly surprised. Most of the collection is genuinely attractive, although the bags are not the high point.

More photos after the jump.

        

More info via The Daily Mail.

Giddy up, cowgirl. The Jimmy Choo Isola Shopper is ready for a rootin’ tootin’ good time. And I hope you don’t expect me to continue writing like that for the rest of the post, because I think it would make my head explode.

Fringe and studs are two things that you have to be very careful with, lest they turn a cute outfit into a complete costume. The folks at Jimmy Choo apparently chose not to heed such warnings, and this handbag suffers for it.

I really wish it was better, because I kind of like where they were headed with this style, but the first problem is the star studs. Studs can be studs and stars can be stars, but making them one and the same on a super expensive handbag does not exactly say “high end” to me. It says rodeo clown. When you combine that with a healthy doze of fringe and chunky leather stitching on the same bag, this particular piece becomes something that would probably only appeal to a very specific customer, and that customer is not me. Which is too bad, because the leather and the wrinkling detail on this bag are beautiful. It’s the rest of it that’s not. Buy through Nordstrom for $1495.

The main event on this clutch is obviously the banded metal closure, though, and I absolutely love it. The off-center placement is perfect, as is the decision to use two different colors of silver in order to set it apart from the finish of the clutch. In fact, I love it so much that I kind of wish I could slide it off and use it as a bracelet…or that it could be bought separately as a bracelet…are the Choo people listening? Have they considered a jewelry line? Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1495.

Particularly for buying a straw bag that will cost, after tax, over $1000. That seems like a beginning-of-the-summer purchase, if you’re inclined to spend so much money on a straw bag at all, and most people contemplating big bag purchases seem to be looking forward to the next season and thinking about black leather, studs, and industrial details, not cutesy straw. The timing of this bag seems incredibly ill-advised, and since the design isn’t particularly strong, I’d bet that it’s destined for a long life on the sale rack. Buy through Saks for $975.

Studs continue to make their mark for fall/winter 2009 handbags. Some of you may not love a large studded bag and that is precisely why a clutch or accessory is the perfect way to add a little stud in your life. We are huge fans of Jimmy Choo and are happy to bring you a fabulous giveaway from Jimmy Choo!

New for autumn/winter 2009, the Jimmy Choo Filipa Wallet features luscious black Nappa leather with gold triangle studs. The price is $795. This wallet is so hot that it is already out of stock at Jimmy Choo. But we got our hands on one for one of you!

TO ENTER: Visit JimmyChoo.com and tell us your favorite item! Post your answers in the comments section of this post and you will be entered to win the Filipa Wallet. Contest runs from July 20th through August 3rd at 4:00 PM EST. Open for both US and international users.

Amanda covered the Jimmy Choo Odetta previously and quite liked it. I looked at that bag then and now and I am still totally undecided. I am decided on the fact that I would never buy this bag for myself, but I am undecided if I am liking it. Something about the strap detailing rubs me wrong. It looks like a Y, making some previously think it was a YSL bag. When I see it on the mannequin I begin to like it more, as I can see how the bag looks being carried. It is larger than the photo alludes and looks much better with a slouch as it is held, so that takes it up a few points. I suppose I just do not entirely get it. Care to help me hop on the train with this one or should we leave it at the station? Buy the black pebbled leather version through Net A Porter for $2095 or the ponyskin version for $3295 via Net A Porter.

For some reason, they want us to believe that this bag is gold. Maybe the lighting is bad, but Nordstrom’s pictures are usually among the most accurate on the Internet, and on their website, the bag looks beige. Metallic beige, maybe, but beige nonetheless. In my household, the color is much reviled and derided, but on the Jimmy Choo Metallic Mandah Hobo, it works pretty well. The shimmery finish goes a long way towards banishing my boredom, and I could see this working really well as a metallic winter white. How cute would it be next to a fuzzy grey sweater? Buy through Nordstrom for $1595.

Hot pink AND Leopard print. And glitter flecks throughout. Sound tacky right? It most certainly can be an awfully over-the-top combination, but somehow Jimmy Choo pulls it off in this clutch. Not meant to everyday use, not meant to be anything other than a statement piece, the Jimmy Choo Tube Clutch pulls in eyes with its outlandish pink, leopard, and glitter combination. This is one of those take-out-for-girls-night clutches. Everything about it seems too colorful, too printed, too sparkly, but it just kind of works. Don’t get me wrong, I am not about to buy it. But in my world of no price tag on anything, I would so rock this clutch with a pair of skinny jeans, heels, and a party top. Buy through Net A Porter for $1095.

But the Jimmy Choo Bardia Shoulder Bag just isn’t doing it for me, and it’s mostly because the whole idea for the bag seems a little bit half-baked. Instead of really playing with the idea of a bag inspired by industrial style, it looks like the folks at Jimmy Choo merely took a really boring black hobo and but some nonfunctional buckles and straps on the sides. At best, it looks like a bit of an afterthought and at worst, it looks totally contrived. With so many outstanding bags of a similar style on the market for fall, Choo is going to have to try harder next time. Buy through Saks for $1750.

Which is why I sorta like the Jimmy Choo Cara Suede Evening Bag. Suede is usually a bit too casual for an evening out, but the varied print that Choo uses to embellish this bag makes it glam enough to go with a modern Little Black Dress. The colors also work well together – the shimmery silver combined with the matte black gives the bag a bit of a glam rock edge. The chain strap is fully detachable, which allows the bag to be used on the shoulder or as an oversized clutch, and who doesn’t love a little bit of versatility. What I want to know is if the bag feels embossed in person – it looks like it might be, but the bag’s description doesn’t give us any information on that. Buy through Saks for $895.

Many customers would claim that they buy only for the quality that these products provide, but the reaction of some customers to the recent announcement of Jimmy Choo’s collaboration with H&M seems to run contrary to those claims. Some people were excited to see what the partnership would create, but many Choo loyalists voiced the opinion that the brand was losing something by creating a temporary line for a low-end retailer.

Choo’s fans aren’t the first to scowl at the idea of their favorite label creating an inexpensive product line, and they’ll be far from the last. What seems to be unique about this occasion, though, is that Jimmy Choo is the most broadly known brand yet to dabble in mass-market, low-price retail. So far, many small or independent designers have used the tactic as a way to broaden their name recognition and, potentially, their customer base. Choo, though, is a brand with a pretty clear image in the minds of most women with any sort of fashion consciousness or desire for expensive shoes.

So what happens when a brand with a large following and a seemingly healthy business decides that they want to dabble in the desires of Middle America? Well, according to Robin Givhan of the Washington Post, it means that luxury as we know it is dead.

Which seems like an incredibly histrionic reaction indeed. In the economic predicament in which we currently find ourselves, any number of writers have predicted that an unending list of occurrences are what really marks this mythic “end” of aspirational consumer goods. Why this one is any different than the others? I have no idea.

What I think it does, though, is bring up some nasty truths that luxury customers would rather push out of their minds. If I had spent thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars of my earnings on Jimmy Choo shoes in my life at $500-700 a pop, the reality that Choo can make an attractive (if likely to be lower-quality) pair of stilettos for less than $100 would definitely be unpleasant. If the steep price tag isn’t necessary, why have their customers been paying it for so long?

But does acknowledgment of the often-astronomical margins on handbags and shoes mean that all customers will suddenly abandon the goods that they know and love? I seriously doubt it. Most reasonable consumers have to realize that the construction of an average high-end handbag doesn’t cost anywhere near four digits, and I don’t think that Jimmy Choo making a couple pairs of cheap shoes is going to inform anyone of this fact that wasn’t already aware of it on some level.

Image may be a slightly bigger problem than economics, though. Luxury customers, no matter what they say, are often in the market for exclusivity as much as they are for a new bag. And if anyone with a local H&M (or Target, or TopShop) and a spare $50 can have something designed by their favorite brand, then the status implied by sporting a pair of Jimmy Choos is suddenly in limbo. And if Jimmy Choo is doing it, then are there that many brands out there that wouldn’t consider it? Probably not.

Only time will tell what, if any, lasting impact this will have on the luxury industry, but despite all the hubbub it’s causing among Jimmy Choo’s fans, I’m still dubious. If they were introducing a permanent collection of pleather shoes, then the impact would probably be more palpable and long-lasting. As it is, the collection is a small group of products that will only be sold in H&M’s largest stores in their largest markets and will probably be completely wiped off the shelves by the end of launch day. It provides a lot to talk about for people like us, who are in the business of talking about such things, but it’s likely to be little more than a blip on the radar screen of the larger fashion industry.

Things don’t change overnight, and cheap shoes will not fell the decades-old luxury industry as we know it. A price reset among traditional luxury goods is already somewhat underway, as we’ve discussed previously on this blog, and some women probably do need to reevaluate what they’re trying to accomplish by buying a small fortune’s worth of shoes or bags. But the marketplace forgets things like this rather quickly, and a recession-era olive branch to cash-strapped consumers won’t reflect poorly on the brand in the eyes of fashion history. And when women are looking for the sexiest pair of stilettos they can find, they’re not going to exclude Jimmy Choo on principle for long, and probably not at all.

And the Jimmy Choo Odette Tote is definitely something new, both for us and for the good folks at Choo. It’s decidedly more “biker” than any of their bags I’ve seen so far, what with the black pebbled leather and silver-hardware harness that stretches down the sides of the bag from the handle attachment in the front (can’t see it in this picture, but I promise it’s there! And it’s cool). I’m usually look at pebbled leather rather sneeringly, but here, I like it and it goes well with the industrial theme. It also doesn’t seem to sacrifice the bag’s slouch, as pebbling so often does, and a good bit of slouch is oh so important in my life. Buy through Saks for $2095.

This is the first time that one of the Swedish chain’s designer capsule collections has focused on shoes and accessories (reports are that the clothes will be designed to “compliment” them), and the very idea makes me weep for my weak ankles, one of which I would surely destroy by trying to buy and wear any of the suddenly affordable Choos that are soon to come our way (old soccer accident, the story is gruesome, you don’t want to know). I’m hoping against hope that they make some flats for those like me, but the teaser image that we have shows two high heels, both of which are quite a bit more intricate than I would have expected for a collection like this. And is that the corner of a very shiny clutch that I see peeking out of the frame there? Because if it is, God help me, I will be the first one in line if any of the Atlanta-area H&Ms carry this line. No word on which stores will have it yet (when we find out, we’ll let you know!), but my guess is only the largest and most flagship-y of the locations will see these beauties. November 14, hurry up and get here.

Photo via Vogue UK

The collection itself will feature the collage-like pattern that you see here as a representation of some of the iconic elements that make Jimmy Choo all that it is today. This should look familiar to anyone that involved in punk culture in their formative years – the gritty look is a clear take-off of that subculture. It will be printed on coated canvas for the line’s bags, clutches and pouches and also used in several types of shoes. Prices will range from around $100 for flip-flops to almost $1000 for a large bag. If you like the pattern or are a Choo fan, this is money you can feel good about spending.

So when I started scrolling through all the detail shots, I got to the one of the mannequin wearing a slightly-less-stuffed version of the bag and it confirmed my first suspicion – this is actually pretty cool purse. The leather looks magnificent and the rows of short fringe don’t come off as overpowering or gimmicky. I think it was a great move to make the gusset out of regular flat leather instead of covering it with fringe, and the overall effect is that of an excellent everyday bag for fall and winter with a ton of personality. Which brings me to my second reason for making this post – it’s an important reminder to never trust stock photos to be gospel truth. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $2295.

If I had to choose between Choo shoes or handbags, I would have to say I am a shoe fan. But, this bag has me singing a different song. I love the gray patent and suede combination as well as the gold-tone hardware. Typically, I am a little skeptical when it comes to gray material and gold hardware, for some reason it doesn’t always seem to go together as well as I’d like it to. However, this bag executes the combination flawlessly. The zip pockets add character to the bag, they don’t make it seem busy. Now add the slight stud detailing and you have a bag for seasons to come. Pair it with bright colors this spring/summer then with your favorite jeans and black top this fall/winter and voila, success! Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1750.

I promised you a better look at the Jimmy Choo Martha Clutch that we covered earlier this week. After I reviewed the bag I realized that the picture on NAP had the middle of the bag zipped up, which does nothing great for the look of this particular clutch. All of the Jimmy Choo Zip bags look better unzipped. This is a fact; every single zip bag from Choo looks 10 times better unzipped. My only gripe with this clutch is that it is flimsy. I like a hearty handbag that keeps its shape. If you don’t mind a lack of structure and you love animal print, then this clutch will be perfect for you. Again, I am not hating on it, I am just wishing for more structure on an otherwise stunning clutch. At least it will pack well for trips. Buy through Net A Porter for $1595.

As far as the bag goes, I find it a little aggravating as well. I like the idea, and I like the theory behind the leather’s finish – what I don’t like is the execution. The stamped pattern and shininess seem a little too glam for the color, shape and hardware that were used. When I think about a brown bag, I want something casual with a soft, maybe even slightly rugged, finish. I want the leather too look like it’s been worn in and worked like a baseball glove, and what Jimmy Choo has done here just doesn’t seem quite right to me. Keep the hardware, keep the color, keep the hobo shape, maybe make the body of the bag a little larger, and lose the stamping and shiny finish. The flap is a little big and triangular, but that’s kind of a minor point. Follow that prescription, and they’d have a mighty fine bag indeed. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1495.