This past Saturday, I found myself on a bit of a walkabout. New York was rainy and grey all of last week, but for a few hours on Saturday afternoon, the sun shone brightly and the air was warm and it felt wrong not to be outside. Twenty blocks later, I looked up and saw that I was passing by the Upper East Side Mulberry boutique and couldn’t help but take a look inside.

Mulberry Postman’s Lock Leather Bag, $1200 via Net-a-Porter.

As I’ve mentioned ad nauseum, I’m a little obsessed with hands-free bags at the moment. Major lifestyle changes require careful accessories planning, no matter how silly that sounds, and my collection needs a few more light, compact crossbodies like the Mulberry Postman’s Lock Leather Bag as soon as possible. This bag is already a strong contender for my affections because of the separate pocket on the front – perfect for easy cell phone access.

Since the handbag fame of the Mulberry Alexa, there have been a few other bags that have made a name for the brand but none of them have ever come close to the Alexa craze. I am sure Mulberry aims to change that with their new Taylor collection.

The Fall 2011 collection for Mulberry found inspiration in the Great British countryside, bustling hedgerows and effortless English glamour.

For Spring 2011 Mulberry decided to give us an option of the Lily that is not only much more expensive but also blinged out. Yes, I just used the word bling because it is so fitting in the case of the Mulberry Jewelled Lily.

One of the must have bags of the moment is the Mulberry Tillie.

There’s plenty to love about Mulberry Fall 2011, but one thing that I continually appreciate about Mulberry in general is that the brand always remembers where its bread is buttered: Handbags. Some brands only show a light smattering of purses on their runways, if any at all, but Mulberry knows that a huge proportion of its clientele exists because of the brand’s famous bags, and accordingly, it provides plenty of accessory eye candy during its seasonal presentations.

This may seem like bold talk, but casual clutches are a totally under-appreciated and under-carried type of handbag. Please allow me to use the brand new Mulberry Alexa All In One Clutch to explain why.

On the surface, clutches may have a rather singular purpose: to look cute and unobtrusive with a nighttime outfit. But really, a good one can be so much more than that.

Where does a brand go after it creates an It Bag? Designing something like the Mulberry Alexa is sort of like being in a bad that’s trying to record a second album after its first suddenly went triple platinum. Do you stick with what made you a star, or do you strike out in a new direction? Mulberry clearly chose the former with the Spring 2011 addition of the Mulberry Tillie Satchel.

At this point, I honestly thought that I had seen everything the Mulberry Bayswater had to show me. Yes, it’s a great everyday bag. I’ll never deny that. But I’ve seen it in so many leather, colors patterns and other materials that I didn’t expect to be surprised by it any more. I was wrong.

Never doubt the ability for a resourceful brand to have one more trick up its sleeve when you least expect it, and this time, that trick is luscious soft calf leather in the shade of blue that I imagine the sky would be on the most perfect evening in the history of weather.

The coveted and now classic Mulberry Alexa has been reinterpreted with quilted denim and a black and pink tie-dye pattern.