When it comes to ensuring that your belongings don’t get soaked in a sudden downpour, your pickings are slim. Go ahead, Google “waterproof handbags.” I’ll wait! See what I mean? Nothing but a bunch of camping equipment, which means that you should always carry an umbrella if possible. That doesn’t mean, though, that all regular handbags are created equal when it comes to inclement weather. Far from it, in fact!

We’ve got three suggestions for three different personal styles, but this is the important stuff to remember when you’re getting dressed on a rainy day: Make sure it closes all the way, make sure it’s big enough to hold an umbrella and make sure you won’t weep if it gets ruined. Those are the rules, ladies. I don’t make them, I just share them.

Lanvin Gypsie Straw and Snakeskin Tote, $2190 via Bergdorf Goodman

When a bag is as popular as the Celine Luggage Tote, it’s only logical that other brands will try to stand in the reflected glow of the design’s success by debuting bags that share certain characteristics with the one that everyone wants. This practice is as old as time, and it’s how trends in size, shape and color start. As long as the reinterpretation is reasonably original, it generally doesn’t bother me as a consumer.

Even with that in mind, though, I was surprised to see the Lanvin Gypsie Straw and Snakeskin Tote in the Resort 2012 pre-orders at Bergdorf Goodman. Lanvin tends to be a brand that shirks most trends in favor of its own brand of Parisian chic, so even though I don’t have a philosophical problem with the existence of this bag, I didn’t think I’d ever see it.

Y’all, I am freezing. Vlad and I are in Ohio for an alumni weekend filled with a little swimming and Ohio State football and all I can think about it how utterly cold I am. The multiple layers aren’t cutting it and it is only in the mid-40′s. This Florida girl is a true Florida girl.

When I spotted the Tory Burch Fur Hobo on ShopBop, I felt a slight sensation of warmth come over me. It was short-lived, but it happened, and for that I am grateful. You know why else I am grateful? This bag is seriously stylish and that can’t be said for many fur bags (check out our six worst fur bags for fall).

Finally! We now have our PurseForum app for iPhone, iPad and Android – and it’s free! The app makes browsing and posting on PurseForum much easier and more seamless than ever before. If you are as addicted as we are, this app is for you. And for all photo junkies, you can now upload photos directly from your phone/iPad to PurseForum as well.

Download the Apple app and the Android app!

Images via Fashionista.com

Handbag lovers often get the shaft on the runway, but when it comes time to move some product and keep the company in the black (namely, ad season), brands are all about giving us lots of pretty pictures of exactly what we want to see. If you needed any convincing of that fact, just take a look at Prada‘s new Resort 2012 ads from the lovely ladies of Fashionista.com.

The shots, featuring model Lea Seydoux, at times literally feature more clutches than one person can hold. There’s great variety among the bags too – bright exotics, ruched leather flap bags, bejeweled box clutches. If you don’t look closely, you might miss a great piece, but don’t stop at the bags. Prada’s brand new jewelry line, launching next month, is also represented heavily. And are those a couple of Prada Bear Bag Tricks that I see? More photos and a behind-the-scenes video, after the jump.

Halloween is, by far, my favorite holiday. Everything about it – the brightly colored wigs, the over-the-top makeup, the elaborate costumes, the slutty hosiery and shoes – appeals to my inner drag queen, and ladies, my inner drag queen is especially glittery. When you combine those tendencies with my penchant for black and my preexisting love of fun size candy, Halloween and I are like a match made costume-closet heaven.

I still have no idea what I’m going to wear this year (I have a green wig. Give me ideas based on that in the comments. This is a serious request.), but I do have a few ideas on what everyone should be carrying in order to properly embrace the Halloween spirit. Whether you’re attending a swanky costume ball (I wish) or a kegger at your friend’s sketchy apartment (slightly closer to reality), I have assembled a group of bags to keep your hands and arms occupied, both on Halloween and well beyond.

Last night, we bid farewell to another season of The Rachel Zoe Project, and unlike with most reality show finales, I left feeling warm and fuzzy. When you compare and contrast that to the taste of bile that was left in my mouth after the Real Housewives of New Jersey finale, I found myself wishing that the season ran a little longer.

We did get a final visit with Little Peanut Skyler, though, who is just as adorable and well-dressed and you would expect. In addition, Rachel seemed to be enjoying motherhood just as much, if not more than, she enjoyed being pregnant. It looks like the thing that Rachel needed all along was something important enough to distract her from her work and balance out her life.