Oh, the Gossip Girl writers are so cute. This week’s episode even had a theme! And it was identity and if anyone ever changes, and anyone that’s seen much of the series so far already knows that none of these people ever turn over a new leaf. So, a bit predictable. But still: renewal! Change! All things that people think college will afford them, but everyone, including our Upper East Siders, eventually finds out that a change of scenery doesn’t mean a change of self. And these folks didn’t even really change scenery.

So things went as they usually do: Blair and Chuck were narcissistic, Georgina plotted malignantly, Dan had no idea what to make of the women in his life, Secret Brother Scott continued to want to skin Dan and wear him like last year’s Versace, and Serena had poor taste in men. Carter continued his three-episode streak of not wearing a belt.

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I look through a lot of fashion shows and various accessories presentations. It’s an occupational hazard, particularly at this time of year, and it can be a little hypnotizing after a white. Click. Belted shift. Click. High-waisted trousers. Click. Oh, a cropped jacket. Click.

If the show isn’t wow-worthy, it can be easy to flip through Style.com without really absorbing what I’m looking at, much like I did with my textbooks in high school (and, let’s face it, college). But I looked through Gucci Handbags Spring 2010 twice, with rapt attention – not only is this Frida Giannini’s best collection of clothing since her era at the brand began, but it’s also the strongest lineup of accessories that I’ve seen from the brand in years.

The collection’s clothes have a way of being minimal and ornate simultaneously, and that’s the only way to describe the bags as well. Even the lean, angular clutches are fashioned out of candy-colored crocodile skin that makes me want to say “I’ll take one in every color,” hand over my credit card, and not look at the total on the receipt.

And that’s just the beginning. There’s texture galore by way of exotics like crocodile and python and Gucci’s signature logo embossing, and a few of the company’s classic details, like bamboo handles and horse bit hardware. The collection was varied and nuanced, containing a little bit of something for everyone; it was perhaps the most wearable, beautiful bag collection I’ve seen grace the runway in several seasons.

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I am constantly looking for a great black clutch. I am sure you are all too familiar with my absolute adoration for clutches. However, when I was looking in my closet over the weekend, I realized sadly enough, that I don’t have a good black clutch.

Of course my next thought was, do I need a fancy one or more of a casual one? Well, clearly the answer is I need both, but I think I’ll get more use out of a casual black clutch than a fancy one right now. Ask me again around the Holiday season and you are sure to get a different answer. So, going with the casual idea, I want to make sure it is fun and not boring.

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Blake Lively could carry a potato sack and make it look amazing. Obviously, we prefer that she carry a swoon-worthy handbag, which we see her doing time and time again. Late in the summer, Blake was stopping traffic while toting the Donna Karan Eldridge. We covered the this Donna Karan bag with an overall positive feeling. But I yearned to see it in person or on someone.

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In the past few days the internet is a buzz about the latest must have nail polish, Chanel Jade Nail Polish. This polish was seen on the runway months ago and the speculation began if that color would be produced. It has been and is being sold online at Chanel now (better get it while you can).

The color Jade falls into the jewel hued family, but when we see jewel toned bags it is typically reds and purples and deep greens. A vivacious green will amp up your wardrobe and add the splash of color our browns and grays are yearning for. Here are some of our favorite Jade handbag picks, from Valentino to Kate Spade we have Jade Handbag options for you.

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What has Lifetime done with Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, and who are these people that are sitting in their chairs?!?! Do we as viewers need to come up with a ransom to get them back? Do we need to pass around the collection plate?

Anyway. You know how, in every other episode of Project Runway for the past five seasons, someone gets dinged for being “too costume-y?” Well, they’ve now completely given up and decided to let the designers just make actual costumes. For movies, because they film in Los Angeles now, remember? REMEMBER? Because they can’t stop talking about it, and I wish they would.

Despite my irritation, this wasn’t a bad challenge. It was particularly interesting because genres were assigned instead of everyone just getting to pick, which meant that not everyone could do “Old Hollywood Glamour” (and, interestingly, several of the people that got the chance to do it totally crapped the bed, so to speak). But it wasn’t one of those people that got sent home – no, no, it was someone that actually had a bit of potential.

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South Florida is an amazing place to live. The ocean surrounds us and the palm trees are endless. But the Sunshine state is missing my absolute favorite season, fall. Everything about Fall is amazing for me. The leaves turning to warm hues of red, orange and yellow while the air is crisp and cool puts an automatic smile on my face. It is great to live in Florida, but I am in desperate need of fall. Luckily we have a trip to NYC and Ohio planned for next month.

So it is time for fall colors and wardrobes to be brought out of hiding. South Florida is full of bright eye-catching colors all spring and summer, and while they work mostly year around, I still like to bring out my fall bags. I absolutely adore gray in my wardrobe. As I was going through my closet I noticed a lack of gray bags. WHAT? I do not own many gray bags? Actually, unless I have a stash of handbags hiding in my imaginary closet, I am nearly gray-bag-less. And that is oddly shocking to me.

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As a slavish fan of the Tom Ford era at Gucci, I’ve got to say that Spring 2010 is easily the best collection we’ve seen from current designer Frida Giannini.

Instead of the girly, at times hippie-chic clothes that have come out of her tenure at the company so far, what we saw this season was modern, athletic, and a tad science fiction. Normally those would be words from which I would shy away as descriptors of beautiful clothing, but the high-waist leggings, voluminous jackets and body-conscious dresses make sci fi chic and aspirational – if only Ra’mon from Project Runway had made something like this on last week’s episode, he might not have been auf’d.

But he didn’t, and Frida did, because there’s a reason that she’s employed by one of the largest and most recognizable luxury brands in the world. She started, as has proven popular this season, with white (it would be a full nine looks before another color appeared) and slowly moved herself into light greys before going for bolder books in black, orange, and even a little bit of pink. Print was limited mostly to ikat here and there on smart shift dresses, and the majority of looks were solid and neutral.

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The Marc by Marc Jacobs RTW Spring 2010 collections presented most all of the female models wearing gigantic bows on their heads. You’d have to be blind to have missed the neon fuchsia, red and blue swathes of fabric walking down the runway. It was all in tune with the very prevalent ’80s theme. Or perhaps it is an ode to Madonna. Can you say “Desperately Seeking Susan” or ginormous bunny ears at the Met ball, anyone? Thus, we are also seeing a common trend in bow-embellished handbags. Perhaps it is part of the ’80s revival as well. We found a few bags with a serious bow element to them.

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So many of you said the Diane von Furstenberg Stephanie was too big. That bag is super-sized and super fabulous. But if you still think it is too big but you liked the look, DvF has come to the rescue. The Diane von Furstenberg Stephanie Clutch is the baby sis to the larger Stephanie and is the perfect size. We are obsessed. The body of the clutch features the chain-link metallic leather design, which is truly a technique I have not seen on another bag EVER. Dimensions of the clutch, 5.5″H x 11.5″L x 3″D, are tiny when compared to the large hobo [$395 via ShopBop].

Now Diane has taken over the handbag world, continuing to bring us DvF Handbags that we can not get enough of. Not only does Diane understand a woman’s body and how to make the perfect dress among other clothing items, but she also understands the handbag world. Therefor we adore Diane von Furstenberg and look forward to seeing many more of her bags.

Read our full review on Purse Blog Savvy HERE.