So this post was supposed to come last week, but this little thing called life happened and poof!, Father’s Day is right around the corner. Luckily my father along with most others still loves and accepts gifts a few days late. I have been meaning to post about the Lambertson Truex man bags. After we met Richard and John, we began to obsess over their bags. But do you know who was sitting in the showroom trying a bag on and looking like a kid at Christmas? It was Vlad, not even me! Sure I was excited and had a mental list of about 10 purses that I had to had, but Vlad had an ear-to-ear smile when he found the LT Wright Mailbag in espresso crocodile and luxe grain ($9,900). He tried it on and was so sold on it I had to literally drag him out of the store. When I think back on it, we should have just asked if we could buy it, because after all, tech guru or not, Vlad is the handbag king in his own right! The aspect about Lambertson Truex Man Bags is that they are masculine. There is nothing about them that your un-handbag-loving dude will not like. The lines are clean, the shapes are boxy, but the overall look is meticulous as Richard and John are and perfect. Vlad is particular about his man-bags. A great messenger suits his needs but he is not looking for a monogram canvas or a colorful array. This is why most men would love a Lambertson Truex bag; the clean lines and understated elegance will not overwhelm or overpower the usability. If you need a gift for your dad this Father’s Day and are a little behind, make sure to check out some bags from Lambertson Truex! Sold through Saks and LT boutiques.

LT Slim Brief | $595

LT Pebbled Leather Carryall | $625 via Saks

LT Edelston Duffle | $555

LT Pebbled Leather Billfold Wallet | $275 via Saks

As we continue traveling, we continue shopping for a new travel bag. Vlad and I were tempted by a 50 cm Hermes Haut A Courroie (HAC), but it was just too big, yet his current messenger is just too small. We are like Goldilocks, we need something just right. I am waiting for a 40 cm Birkin, which will be the best option for me when it comes to a travel Birkin and Vlad is stumped. He needs a better carry-on bag for all of the traveling we do. We popped into Louis Vuitton Cologne and saw a great looking tote. For me, it was not a bag that I wanted him or I to leave with, but it is a great everyday bag nonetheless. The SA at Louis Vuitton said it is unisex, though I find it to be very masculine. The Louis Vuitton Utah Leather Kiowa Tote is designed with sturdy, yet supple hand-grained Utah calf leather and sports straps down the front of the bag. I am not blown away by this handbag, it is rather simple, but when it comes to giving a man a handbag, simple usually is the best route. The hardware is polished but is aged brass, so it is not too shiny for the man that does not care to draw attention to his man bag. It is always a plus to have a zip top closure, and the inside features a flat pocket and a cell phone pocket. Dimensions are still too small for a 17″ computer, but will fit the average laptop, 16.4″x 12.9″x 5.85″. I like it, I don’t love it, and I am waiting for another Birkin Buy through eLuxury for $1,940.

When you travel it is important to make sure your man carries a bag along too. My handbag gets heavy from long days of walking and I always need a helping hand. Vlad carries his Louis Vuitton Taiga Dersou Messenger Bag with him and I begin to unload my unwanted items. That way my purse is lighter, my shoulder stops aching, and my man can carry my essentials that essentially hurt. Tod’s is a great designer to turn to for sturdy, stunning, manly designs. They are not feminine, yet they can definitely be classified as stylish. Take a load off your shoulder and tell your man (or buy your man) the Tod’s Messenger Bag. The dark brown textured leather gives off a masculine color and the contrast stitch keeps the bag from looking drab. I love the toned down shoulder strap, which is made with canvas. The hardware is metal and there are accessory compartments on the inside. The compartments, of course, are for you to help your man organize his things or your things. The dimensions would fit a small lap top, but if you are packing heavy machinery (17″ Mac Book Pro a la Vlad and I) you either need a bigger bag or to leave your lap top at home. Buy through Saks for $1250.

I have been obsessing over this Louis Vuitton man bag since the second our favorite Bal Harbour SA ‘J’ allowed me to lay my eyes on it. The Mini Grimaud from the Bequia line is the ultimate, sophisticated man bag that inherits bold features from its vintage sister Grimaud (which was recently brought back to life in Damier canvas, without the traditional shoe inserts, though). The calf leather is very thick, which makes the Mini Grimaud a heavy carry even in an empty state. Numerous chunky brass pieces and the heavy-duty zipper add additional weight, which does limit the bag’s portability (not a comfortable aeronautical traveling bag) but makes a perfect companion for weekend convertible trips to the Hampton’s. For $2,550, you get a sturdy short-traveler that will last a lifetime. Available via 1-866-VUITTON or eLuxury’s exclusive Vuitton boutique.

When it comes to man bags I very partial to Louis Vuitton. This preference may be blamed on the LV Dersou being my very first high-end bag ever, but I think it’s also due to the simple fact that Vuitton manages to create such wonderful, irresistible pieces. While being in the market for a new addition to the slowly growing collection, I have been eyeballing the Louis Vuitton Loup (bottom picture) and the Belier (top), both from the Damier Geant line. While the Loup could function as a smaller daily messenger, the Belier would do really well with my Nikon D70S I got mid-last year (even though it is lacking inside compartments for lenses and other accessories). Both range around $750-900 in price and while I have a crush on both, I could use your opinion on which one to get. By the way, I am mildly confused why LV lists these two bags in the women’s bag section, they have masculine written all over them.

Regardless, both Vuittons can be bought through eLuxury’s exclusive Louis Vuitton boutique.

Leave me a comment or respond to my thread on the forum. Merci!

You know you travel more than most when you start to have people who work the counter recognize you, can answer questions better than the airport staff, know exactly where each gate is at nearly every airport, and have the security check down. I am on land for another week and a half, and then up in the air on my way to Barcelona, then flying to Venice, then flying to Florida, then two weeks later to Ohio. Apparently I love cruising altitude more than steady turf. Yesterday I was lucky to sit next to a woman from Connecticut and talk about life, family, work, and everything in between. She was great. She has two kids and while I told her about Purse Blog she and I started to talk about travel gear. I couldn’t help but keep my mind from wandering about what would be perfect kid travel gear. Today I found a cool back pack for a dude and a cute roll on for a little girl. Funky and fresh, the Lipstik Luggage Roller is hand-painted and features, pink, denim, aqua, and purple coloring throughout. The front zipper pouch sports the words “love” and “peace” in paint. Easy to carry for a toddler to a tween, this roller is cute and affordable. Buy it through Neiman Marcus for $125. And for the cool dude, the Diesel Logo Backpack comes in an army green with blue denim trim and a white “Diesel 78″ on the front. Toss in an iPod, hand held game player, and a car magazine, and your cool dude is good to go. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $65.

Looks like Ryan Reyonlds enjoys rockin’ out leather. He screams out, ‘Yea, I’m kool’ with his beanie and his chic leather messenger bag. This post is pretty pointless, other than to say Happy Friday from Ryan Reynolds and his man bag!

{Told you it was pointless }

Shopping for your significant other is not easy if you are a gal. Boys will be boys which makes finding them a perfect holiday gift a very daunting task. Vlad for example loves his Louis Vuitton Taiga Dersou but also thinks he wants a Wii for Christmas. Seriously?! Boys make it hard to shop. Sometimes you have to set your foot down and make your boy a man at the office or look presentable in public, but let him have his toys to play at home. If you are wanting a gift for your man that will be boss-ready and office- ready, check out the Louis Vuitton Men Holiday Gifts. From the Holiday 2006 Catalog, this page brings a mix of LV products that do not scream out the LV label but still add class and sophistication for your man in training . In this ensemble there is the Louis Vuitton Taiga Dimitri which features grained cowhide leather, brass hardware with brushed palladium finish, an adjustable canvas shoulder strap, measures 7.8″ x 9.4″ x 3.1″, and is available in black or brown for $885 via eLuxury. If the Dimitri is not the size or shape for your man, I would personally opt for the Louis Vuitton Laguito. This is the perfect mix of streamlined style and everyday usability for the working man. This briefcase is designed with smooth grained Taiga leather, features brass hardware with brushed palladium finish, large inner compartment, large back pocket, and its dimensions are 15″ L x 11.4″ H x 1.8″ W. If your budget is a bit bigger for your man and you are looking for a briefcase, I would totally pick up this beauty at eLuxury for $1450. If you are budgeting or your man has been naughty this year, opt for a Louis Vuitton Epi Compact Change Purse for $285 via eLuxury or one of many brilliant Louis Vuitton Petillante Ties for $165 through eLuxury. A gift from Louis Vuitton will be a smashing hit for your boy on the verge of manhood (if they ever do grow out of it!)

It has been a while since we have discussed man bags here. I feel a little silly neglecting my man bag duty, especially because that makes me biased and also means I have been neglecting the man, Vlad. Without further ado I must introduce you all to a gorgeous and understated man bag that many of you could most possibly talk your man into wearing. The Lambertson Truex Brown Leather Mail Bag pairs sleek refinement with subtle style to make a brown leather messenger bag that nearly any man can wear to work or school and feel sophisticated but still masculine. The white topsthing adds a nice detail along with the silver metal hardware (found on the turn lock closures). Providing ample storage room, this mail bag features an open pocket beneath that front flap closure, a back zip pocket, and inside zip and organizational pockets. Not overly metro or too feminine in my opinion at all. Dimensions are 11 1/2″H x 16″W x 4″D. The holidays are on their way and if you need to give your man a helping hand I would keep this bag in mind. Buy it via Bergdorf Goodman for $495.

If you really want to go all out for your man, pair this bag with a beautiful set of cufflinks. To match the bag I would opt for the Robin Rotenier Striped Topaz Cuff Links which pair sterling silver with blue topaz and match this bag (through BG for $395). Or if your man loves to be bad to the bone, I would splurge and throw in some Deakin & Francis Yellow Gold Cuff Links. These are bling bling of the badass world boasting 18-karat yellow or white gold and diamond eyes and movable jaws (via BG for $3250).

Just 10 years ago the married couple, Kate and Jack, made their last name a household name; Spade. The Jack Spade approach offers men items that represent both honest, thoughtful design and practical purpose. For functionality the men of today need a messenger bag. You all know that the man of the Purse Blog and Forum just indulged in a Louis Vuitton Messenger If you are opting for a clean and sleek look, the Jack Spade Bridle Leather Bags are perfect for the everyday man. There is the day bag or the field bag to choose from which both have an adjustable shoulder strap, two interior pockets, and an exterior back pocket. The day bag measures 13″ x 4.5″ x 10″ while the field bag measures 15″ x 6″ x 12″. If you are attempting to fit your 17″ MacBook Pro in there, it won’t happen (haha Vlad!) but if you only have a 15″ MacBook Pro like myself, the field bag is just right. The messenger style bags are available in black, chocolate, orange, blue, and red. The day bag goes for $495 while the field bag goes for $525 via Jack Spade.

After a day of carrying my new Louis Vuitton Taiga Dersou around New York City, I am confident to say that this is the ultimate man bag. No doubt about it.

Its strap is long enough for a comfortable cross-body fit (I am not a small guy at 6′1″, 215lbs…), the inside compartment fits my 17 inch Macbook Pro like it was made for it. I initially had eyeballed the smaller LV Viktor or LV Alexei, which wouldn’t have been wide enough for the laptop, though. If you are looking for a stylish messenger for your boyfriend, husband or yourself, those are definitely two models to consider. Being a guy who carries around his 17 inch Macbook like it was an essential part of my body, I had to go with a wider version. At the Louis Vuitton store on 5th Ave, the friendly SA presented me with the aforementioned models, but I ended up with the bigger Dersou, because it seemed to be big enough to fit the ‘puter. When I arrived at home, I realized that it actually did!

The Louis Vuitton Dersou is made of waterproof canvas, which makes it wind-and-weather proof and keeps its contents nicely dry. Whether you want to carry the $1,270 bag into the rain, is a different story. The flap is made of my favorite Louis material, the Taiga leather. The texture almost makes the leather seem like a vinyl material, it seems very durable and I am sure it will be of great service for many, many years. Inside, you have a zipper compartment and two vertical patch pockets under the flap. An additional large zippered pocket on the back gives extra storage space.

What can I say? I am loving it. This purchase is both exciting… and dangerous as well – I’ve already caught myself peeking at all the other wonderful men’s collection goodies Louis Vuitton has in store. The store experience itself was a lot of fun, I would like to thank my SA Sandy P. for her help and making me feel comfortable purchasing this bad boy. The Dersou, as well as many other Louis Vuitton bags, clothes and accessories are available through eLuxury.com. I don’t think I would ever purchase any high class item online though, the in-store experience is just too much fun!

Ok, I’ll pass on the cookie. Aside from the redesign, I’ve come to the conclusion that my bag arsenal totally sucks, especially for a guy who sits at the helm of interweb’s biggest site dedicated to… bags. A shame really. Before you suggest for me to indulge myself with some lady bags, I need to preemtively announce and I don’t fly lady bags. While other guys may respectfully disagree with me, I just don’t see myself ever wearing a Speedy, for example (although Megs claims that her recent aquisition does look good on me… yikes). On the search of a genuinely good looking man bag, I stumbled across the Hugo Boss Havana Canvas Messenger Bag, which, surprisingly, only goes for 275 dollar Americano. Not bad for a bag from Boss, I would have expected it to go for at least twice as much. The bag offers a sleek, sophisticated everyday style that I really see myself sporting every day. The flap over the front covers two large pouch pockets with magnetic snap closures while the flat pocket on the back is perfect for magazines or papers. Now I just have to figure out if the messenger fits my 17 inch Macbook Pro and I am ready to kick the Samsonite backpack in the dust. [via eLuxury]

I have found a gift that is probably as far away from something that my dad would like as they come, but it is worth a manly try for some other amazing men out there. Paul Smith has quirky bags that may appeal to many men. Vlad for one loves motorcycles. It is not that I don’t think motorcycles are cool; it is that the safety factor terrifies me. So as long as I have any say in it, the closest Vlad will get to owning a motorcycle is this bag. The Paul Smith Triumph Messenger Bag is designed from woven canvas with leather trim and bright purple cotton canvas lining. The clincher is the photo image of a Triumph motorcycle on the front and back of the bag. This messenger bag has an adjustable shoulder strap and interior zip pocket and slot pocket. Honestly, I think this bag on a guy would look metro but could also be so handsome. Measuring 19″ x 12″ x 4.75″, buy this trendy thing for your man (or Dad!) for $420 through eLuxury.

If men in this world only realized how sexy it is to carry a sleek designer bag, they may begin to understand us a little better. I find that men don’t want to give off the un-manly vibe, but that doesn’t mean that matching and looking good makes you un-manly? I don’t need a man who wears stripes and checks all at once (cough cough I won’t want to pick on anyone- but a certain someone whose name starts with a V and ends with a lad did that to me about 2 years ago and I nearly got rid of him then!! ) I know you all agree with me that a first impression lasts forever in your mind, and you know you want that guy that is dressed nicely. Even more so this impression lasts in the workplace. If you are going for an interview you know to mind your P’s and Q’s and dress to impress. So for the small amount of men that are out there reading this, do us all a favor and keep in mind that a) we like when you dress nice and b) you are allowed to wear a nice bag and still be considered manly!

What I have in mind for the men who do care to impress us and the work force is the Louis Vuitton Kasbek PM. This tote bag for men is made from both grained Taïga and smooth leather. The outside is simple and appealing with the brown leather and brushed palladium hardware. But the compartments are what should lure you in- along with the simplistic elegance of the bag. This tote features two outside pockets (one is zipped), an inside zipped pocket, a cell phone pocket (which won’t get much use since the typical businessman lives on his cell), a large open pocket which could hold files, magazines, or your computer. The inside is also lines in Sari canvas and the tote comes with an adjustable shoulder strap (and when I say comes with I mean it is sold separately). Measuring 14.6″ L x 11.8″ H x 4.3″ W, this bag will help you men out there win your way into the fashion world and the ladies hearts. Buy it via eLuxury for $1470.

Man bags are a must. Well in my opinion, they should be. For some reason men just do not want to ever say that they are carrying a ‘man bag’. What is the issue? Why not?! I am not asking you to carry a pink bag, but some bags are just so darn good looking on a man. Jack Spade has decided that man bags are a must, so all you ladies need to convince the men in your lives to nab a man bag. The Jack Spade Dad Backpack in Chocolate is a simple enough bag for any man to like. Made from brown triple-layered, weatherproof nylon, this bag is equipped for any daddy playing mommy for the day. The outside has a double-zip top, padded shoulder straps (since all the baby gear weighs quite a bit), and two front zip pockets. Not only will you open up to some bright green nylon lining, you will also find two bottle holders, and easy to access Velcro® pocket, laptop sleeve, key loop, and a bright green reversible changing pad (that green lump in the picture ). Overall stats are 17″H x 14″W x 6″D. All you men on the verge of trying to venture into the world of bags may find this bag to be the perfect beginner bag- especially if you have a cute little baby!. Buy it through Neiman Marcus for $225.

Let’s talk some Burberry today. For a light start, we got the Burberry Luggage Tags for $130.00. A ridiculous amount of money, considering you can get generic tags for a buck fiddy or the free paper ones at the airline ticket counter. Still, if you don’t know what to do with your money, and you already spend several G’s on a full Louis luggage set, you might as well spend another half a grand on these tags to round off the luxurious bunch. They come in sets of two, in either Jacquard Canvas or Metallic Leather and can be ordered right here.

If you ladies want to treat your man with something that’ll make him stand out at the weekly golf outing with his buddies at the range, get him this Burberry Bag set. For just under $500, you get a carry-all bag for all of his misc golf equipment, along with a useful seperate shoe compartment. The signature black check nylon canvas on lightweight, shower-resistant polyester assure that moisture, dirt and mud stay where they belong. Get ‘em right here through Saks.

It’s the attack of the killer man bag. Yikes. The controversial Jake Gyllenhaal, who has seemed to have the problem staying faithful, is completely secure in his fashion choice. If I’ve ever seen a man bag be worn so proudly, it is by Jake while he flirts- oops, I mean converses- with another woman (where you at for this one Dunst?). If anyone can be so comfortable with his masculinity and huge ego, it’s Jake- even with his messenger-style man bag/small backpack. Jake wears the bag well with. More power to him