When I started PurseBlog in 2005, I owned 2 bags. My love of handbags has been with me from a very young age, but my collection didn’t start to expand rapidly until after this site was already up and running. As a biproduct of having carried so many different bags in that time, I’ve learned not only about the intricacies of the purses in my collection, but also what I think makes for a good bag overall. To share the results of our trials and errors, we’re introducing a new category to PurseBlog, Purseonals.

Amanda and I will get purseonal with our readers and share honest reviews of the bags we own and rate them on our Purseonals scale. We’ve come up with the five major categories within our rating system: Aesthetics, Usability + Functionality, Quality + Construction, Value, and Staying Power.

Images via Vogue.com

I always feel good about buying a Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag for a couple of reasons, first and foremost because I’ve loved every one that I’ve ever owned. Almost as important, though, is that the overwhelming retail success of those bags makes it possible for Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere to do what he does without quite as much pressure to make a collection that will sell well at retail. He does his best work when he’s at his most conceptual, and conceptual clothes are usually not retail darlings.

I’d encourage all of you to take a look through the entire Balenciaga Spring 2012 collection because, let’s face it, Ghesquiere is that good, but you’ll get an idea of what was going on just from the bags. Half were ultraminimal two-tone shoulder bags and boxy shapes, and the other half were the kind of smallish bags that we’ve come to expect from the accessories industry in general, but with a very Balenciaga twist. Straps and buckles jut out from spots where you don’t expect, creating a counterintuitive look that still functions as you think such a bag should.

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One of our favorite designers (and new mommy to a baby boy), Rebecca Minkoff, will be running her first print ad in October’s debut issue of Style.com Magazine. Always ahead of the curve, Rebecca Minkoff has decided to turn to her fans to help create the ad by submitting Instagram photos of their Rebecca Minkoff items.

To make sure the RM team sees your entries, simply tag every photo on Instagram that you want to enter with #RebeccaMinkoff between now and October 1. I am already taking photos (shown above) and hope to see many of you participate as well. Some of their favorite entries will be included alongside professional shots of accessories and her Resort 2012 collection.

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What if I told you that on Saturday, all you have to do is show up at a Neiman Marcus store with your smartphone for a chance to walk out with a free crocodile clutch from the crocmaster herself, Nancy Gonzalez? Believe it or not, that’s what’s going to be happening at an NM near you this weekend, according to Mashable.

If you don’t have a FourSquare account, you might want to get one, because that’s how you’ll enter the Neiman Marcus Nancy Gonzalez Scavenger Hunt at one of 15 Neiman Marcus locations this weekend. We’ve got the details, plus some info about the other 41 Nancy Gonzalez clutches that Neiman Marcus will be giving away during the event, after the jump!

I cannot begin to imagine the frustration Joy Gryson and her company must feel over seeing a very similar brand name pop up and cause brand confusion. Many have thought Olivia & Joy is a new offshoot by Joy Gryson, but it is not. Do not be confused, there is absolutely no affiliation, and we wanted to help clear up any confusion that buyers might have.

Images via Vogue.com

I need to have a moment of honesty here: I know it’s been a couple of weeks since London Fashion Week, but I completely forgot that I had these photos from Matthew Williamson Spring 2012 to show you. Williamson isn’t known for his bags, but I adore his sense of color and pattern so thoroughly that I wanted to put them up for discussion anyway.

As his his wont, Williamson went a little bohemian with his handbags for the runway show, and the two intricately detailed clutches are of particular note. They’re big enough to be carried to a daytime event but still special enough to go to a nighttime pool party in the warmer months. If you’re looking for a true day bag, I hope you like fringe, because Williamson has it by the fistful. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Williamson also included a few of Charlotte Olympia’s perspex clutches on the runway. (She also made the excellent shoes that he showed with the collection.)