3.1 Phillip Lim 31 Hour Bag, $795 via Moda Operandi

When we talked about the 3.1 Phillip Lim 31 Hour Bag last week, several of you inquired about when we might expect to see the uber-covetable bicolor versions of the bag hitting stores. It seems as though my suspicion that we’d have to wait for Spring 2012 pre-orders to drop for those bags to grace normal retailers was accurate, but look what I found in my email yesterday: the very first opportunity to get your name on the list for the bag that’s shaping up to be the biggest accessories debut of the new year.

Christian Louboutin Marquise Clutch, $1295 via Net-a-Porter

A few months ago, I wrote a funny little post about bags that could be used as weapons. As fashion’s penchant for embellishment grows increasingly inescapable, it seems as though most high-end accessories can be repurposed for self-defense in an emergency, and with the prices that designers charge, it’s frankly nice that they have the extra utility.

If I had only known that the Christian Louboutin Marquise Clutch would be coming out, I would have waited to write that post. This bag may be the first I’ve ever seen that would actually allow you to stab a mugger, a cheating husband, that jerk in front of you in the line at Target, whoever strikes your stabbing fancy. I wonder if this bag could be classified as a deadly weapon?

Botkier Eden Satchel, now $394 via Nordstrom

Sorting through the miasma of after-Christmas sales is difficult, no matter whether you’re trying to do it in person or via the Internet while you’re supposed to be working. (It’s your boss’s own fault for not giving you an extra day off.) That’s where your friendly neighborhood bloggers come in – I spent yesterday wading through the debris of the holiday season to find you the best deals on the bags that you might actually want to buy and carry.

This season’s sales are particularly heavy on contemporary bags, so if you’re looking for a new accessory under $500, you’re in luck. We have a few from premier designers as well (including a Balenciaga that I love), but this is the time of year to really score on the lower end of the designer price spectrum. Check out all of our picks after the jump!

Rebecca Minkoff is notorious for her excellent day-after-Christmas sales, and this year’s just launched at noon. You’ll find a big selection of the year’s bags, all up to 50% off! Hurry hurry…

Shop the Rebecca Minkoff End of the Year Sale now!

I’m going to level with you here: The handbag selection in the Neiman Marcus After Christmas Sale isn’t all that fantastic. Almost all of it is an extra 25% off the marked price, so you should take a look anyway, but it’s the shoes that should really be your first point of attack. They, too, are nearly all an extra 25% off, so don’t let the seemingly lackluster markdowns fool you; the prices are actually much lower than they appear to be at first glance.

Shop the Neiman Marcus After Christmas Sale!

If you’re at the mall right now, you’re nuts. Or maybe you’re just sick of your relatives and you need to get out of the house before you do something that ends up on the news! But seriously, this is the 21st century, I’m not sure why you’d abide those kinds of crowds when the Internet has things to offer like the ShopBop Holiday Sale. ShopBop already has the best selection of contemporary handbags, shoes and clothes on the Internet, and now a bunch of it (including some stuff we included in our Holiday Gift Guide!) has been marked down. HURRY. You know how quickly the good stuff disappears…

Shop the ShopBop Holiday Sale now!

From our team here at PurseBlog, we wish you and your families a wonderful and magical Christmas and hope you enjoy this time with your loved ones.

So what did Santa drop off his sleigh for you this year?