Images via Vogue.com

Excuse me for this moment of bluntness: Miu Miu should consider “refreshing” its handbag team.

I’m not saying that the Miu Miu Spring 2012 handbags are bad; they’re not. They’re fine for the very narrow look of this runway show, but they’re not particularly relevant to anything beyond it, and most of them certainly don’t look like what the Miu Miu customer carries in her day-to-day life. I’d carry one because I’m a huge, unapologetic Miu Miu fangirl, but beyond that, I can’t see these bags having a wider appeal.

Every season, I fervently hope that the brand’s runway bags will be fabulous enough to inspire the sort of devotion and panicked credit card-swiping that its shoes do, and my dreams are so rarely answered. Second-guessing Miuccia Prada is a rare thing for me to do, but in this case, a couple new members to her team might serve the overall brand (and handbag lovers everywhere) well. In the past few seasons, purses seem to be something of a lost business opportunity for the brand, and a well-positioned label like Miu Miu should be turning out It Bags hand over fist.

Do you hear the crickets? Our Burberry category has been quiet for quite some time simply because many of the designs I’ve seen don’t wow me. Sure, Burberry is known for its nova check pattern, but after you grow tired of checkered bags, there isn’t much to lure you in. And then there’s another problem: some designs that we see from Burberry are just… weird. All of this makes me sad because Burberry is a brand I adore, especially their Prorsum line of apparel (the jackets are KILLER).

With that in mind, it brings me great joy to show you the Burberry East-West Buffalo Tote, which not only offers an elegant style but is also priced very reasonably. The little sliver of my hear that wants so badly for Burberry to succeed at handbags is jumping for joy right now.

For the next eight weeks, we will be giving away one $50 Net-A-Porter.com giftcard to a lucky winner. That means you have eight chances to win and you can enter once a day. Entering is easy and winning is sweet! Who wouldn’t want a giftcard to one of our favorite online shops?

So hop over to tPF and make sure not to miss this great giveaway. Enter in this thread on PurseForum.com. Good luck!

The Row Alligator Backpack, $34,000 via Net-a-Porter

As is probably to be expected of anything that’s received as much press attention as this little bag has, naturally.

The Huffington Post is reporting that The Row’s $34,000 black alligator backpack has sold out, but that appears to be the result of a misinterpreted quote that one of the Olsen sisters gave to Women’s Wear Daily during a party for their newly launched handbag line in Paris. My suspicion is corroborated by the fact that Net-a-Porter still has the bag in stock well after its debut, but the point still stands – people are buying this bag. Who are they? As always, I have a few theories.

Images via Vogue.com

Now that shows have officially closed for the season and all the bags have been seen (by us, anyway – we’ve still got some more posts for you guys!), I feel comfortable saying that Spring 2012 is probably going to be a bit of a boring season for accessories, at least compared to what we’ve grown used to recently. That being said, a few major designers who have been struggling to find their voices have stepped it up this season, at least when handbags are concerned.

Valentino Spring 2012 is one such collection; I did a lot of complaining about the brand’s Fall 2011 runway bags, but this group is altogether more refined and well-conceived than previous lines have felt. Some of last season’s elements, including studded hand straps, can be found in these designs, but they’re used in ways that feel more natural and functional. This is the collection that Valentino should have showed last season, but I’m glad they decided to show it at all.

Images via Vogue.com

Every season, waiting for the Louis Vuitton show is torturous. It comes at the very end of Paris Fashion Week, which is the last city of the season, and its arrival taunts handbag lovers for a full month. Unlike some designers whose brands make a great deal of money from accessories but you largely eschew the use of bags on the runway (we’re looking at you, Yves Saint Laurent), Vuitton knows exactly what we want – THE BAGS. SHOW US THE BAGS.

And befitting off all the anticipation, the bags from Louis Vuitton Spring 2011 are particularly lovely. Model after model strode the runway with trend-appropriate pastel satchels on their arms, many in wallet-draining crocodile. If you’d like to see one of these beauties in your closet come spring, you best start making the financial arrangements now. Also, I’d recommend ridding your house entirely of foods that cause stains – no red wine around these lovely accessories.

I’m not one to turn to single-handle structured handbags much, but sometimes an unexpected bag wows me enough to get my attention. Fendi has accomplished this with their Silvana Croc & Stingray Bag. Seriously, everything about this bag is absolutely stunning from the beige smooth leather to the dark brown crocodile to the beige stingray top handle. Each piece of the whole flows together beautifully, leaving a stunning fall accessory staple.

But does this bag evoke enough emotion to draw a price tag over $8,000?