Jimmy Choo is another of the major designers whose fall designs have started to trickle out a bit sooner than some of their brethren. And, from a public relations standpoint, it might have been a great idea for them to arrive a little early. I feel like we’ve all been looking at basically the same group of handbags on every website for the past few months – first at full price, now on sale. And I’ve got some fatigue of those designs, even at their newly lowered prices. I want something new.

And the Jimmy Choo Odette Tote is definitely something new, both for us and for the good folks at Choo. It’s decidedly more “biker” than any of their bags I’ve seen so far, what with the black pebbled leather and silver-hardware harness that stretches down the sides of the bag from the handle attachment in the front (can’t see it in this picture, but I promise it’s there! And it’s cool). I’m usually look at pebbled leather rather sneeringly, but here, I like it and it goes well with the industrial theme. It also doesn’t seem to sacrifice the bag’s slouch, as pebbling so often does, and a good bit of slouch is oh so important in my life. Buy through Saks for $2095.

You asked for it and Rebecca Minkoff complied. Really, what else could our devoted Minkettes ask for? (I know you all can think of something!). Rebecca Minkoff is actually getting married almost as we speak. Congratulation to Rebecca! A great way to celebrate is with her online sample sale. So maybe you didn’t make it to NYC, LA, SF, or DC, but we can all attend the online sample sale. I will be there, with my jammies on, ready to click if needed! The sale starts tonight at 9 P.M EST and you all are known to take down the Rebecca Minkoff site and servers. Who is ready to click away? After you buy, make sure to share what you get with the large group of Minkettes on tPF on the Sample Sale Thread!

Happy Hump Day. It is the middle of the week and the middle of our week of amazing giveaways. We love working with our friends over at Luxaholics and promise to keep bringing you other amazing giveaways like this! With your help, today, Adriana Castro has designed an amazing clutch that could be yours. The Adriana Castro Lizard Daisy Clutch is sleek, elegant and boasts just a bit of color to spice up your handbag collection. And if you think you like this one… just wait until you see what we have for you tomorrow and Friday!

As you have probably noticed, I adore structured bags. They have such an inherent sophistication in them, like someone plucked them out of some ancient photograph and spiced them up a bit, of course. This Alexander McQueen Izzie Clutch is the latest bag in this shape that I have found. I love the hardware, even if the gold is a little too gold-y for me, a tad too garish. It’s the shape I’m obsessed with. The clutch itself, on the other hand, is a different story.

The iridescent patent leather reminds me of one of those glow-in-the-dark frogs, but I obviously don’t want this on a purse. It’s the same color as McQueen’s Skull Clutch, which Shannon reviewed, but the color is considerably cuter on that clutch than on this one. And while I love the retro turn lock closure, it’s what is on the back of the bag that I’m not a fan of. Why is there a wrist strap on the back? I can understand having a thin wrist strap on the side, but why make it flush with the back? Oh McQueen, if only this clutch came in another (normal) color- without that strap. Buy through Zappos for $1527.

I…I don’t think I remember the first half of this episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and as such, I’m not sure I know where to begin. I’ve sat here and watched it three times, back to back. And it’s now one in the morning as I’m writing this, and no matter how hard I try to focus on the first thirty minutes of this episode, it gets wiped clean from my brain, like it was never there at all, by the giant, off-the-rails load of ridiculousness that is the last thirty minutes. Stuff happened. I’m sure it did. But then some more stuff happened, and that stuff was way more interesting than the first stuff. And now I’m completely disoriented, and the fact that it sounds like my upstairs neighbors are doing cartwheels through their apartment isn’t helping. At any rate, we’ll try to sort out all of the drama of the much-anticipated season finale after the jump.

Click here to read more...

This news is just what I wanted to hear today. H&M has a long and well-publicized history of collaborations with high-end designers, but until now, all of those designers had been most well-known for their clothes. Taking things in a slightly different direction, H&M will feature shoes, accessories, AND clothes (CLOTHES?!?!) designed by the folks at Jimmy Choo in select stores this November.

This is the first time that one of the Swedish chain’s designer capsule collections has focused on shoes and accessories (reports are that the clothes will be designed to “compliment” them), and the very idea makes me weep for my weak ankles, one of which I would surely destroy by trying to buy and wear any of the suddenly affordable Choos that are soon to come our way (old soccer accident, the story is gruesome, you don’t want to know). I’m hoping against hope that they make some flats for those like me, but the teaser image that we have shows two high heels, both of which are quite a bit more intricate than I would have expected for a collection like this. And is that the corner of a very shiny clutch that I see peeking out of the frame there? Because if it is, God help me, I will be the first one in line if any of the Atlanta-area H&Ms carry this line. No word on which stores will have it yet (when we find out, we’ll let you know!), but my guess is only the largest and most flagship-y of the locations will see these beauties. November 14, hurry up and get here.

Photo via Vogue UK

Few people love a slouchy bag more than me. In my own handbag collection, I mostly eschew structure in favor of soft, slouchy, slightly bohemian shoulder bags and oversized clutches. I worship soft, wearable leather.

Which makes the Costume National Ruched Hobo all the more disappointing to me – this is a bag I could have easily loved if the design had been decent at all. But it’s not – instead, it’s just really awkward. Although it’s a hobo, the body of the bag protrudes unreasonably far up past where the handles are attached, creating a weird pooch of material above where you would expect the bag to stop. It breaks up what could have been a clean but slouchy line and makes the bag look a little home-sewn, to borrow a phrase from Project Runway. The black iteration of this bag is somewhat less expensive (probably because black is a color notorious for being flaw-friendly), but the dark brown does nothing but highlight the considerable number of design issues we have here. I’m all for avant garde, but this is just ill-conceived. Buy through Saks for $1125.

When I got an email from Megs a few weeks ago inviting me to an event with Tory Burch (yes, THE Tory Burch) I immediately accepted. Now, I had no idea what to expect, as I’ve never been to such an intimate event, let alone a “Blogger Breakfast,” as fellow bloggers affectionately referred to the genre of event. But I was nevertheless excited, especially since I had just purchased a pair of Tory Burch Wedges and I now had the perfect place to wear them.

Click here to read on!

Around 1:30pm Eastern Time, the barrier of 200,000 registered members on tPF was broken. Welcome beaks!

Here’s to another few hundred thousand members for the future!

Curious to see what other exotic Adriana Castro handbags are up for grabs this week? Well, today, you have the chance to win a gorgeous Python Zip Wallet and matching card holder. This gorgeous bag can easily be used during the day as you run around or at night when you put on one of your killer outfits and dangerously breathtaking heels. Can’t you just see yourself pairing this with jeans and a white snug fitting shirt or your favorite LBD (little black dress)? Oh the options! Head over to Luxaholics so you can enter to win this great bag and card holder which retail at over $500.