Wait a second, this isn’t a Christian Louboutin design? I have become so accustom to seeing small, silk, chiffon CL handbags that I was a bit surprised this wasn’t another one. When I say I was surprised, I don’t mean it in a negative way. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that this was a Mary Norton clutch. Just as I had become accustom to seeing Christian Louboutin bags look one way, I was becoming accustom to seeing Mary Norton clutches adorned with several precious gems and stones. It is as if this bag steps outside of the box, at least a bit for this designer.

The Mary Norton Chiffon Rose Clutch is an elegant clutch that can add a girlie feel to just about any outfit. This small clutch is adorned with silk chiffon and comes with a shoulder chain strap. Sometimes I feel as though designers really need to be careful when it comes to the “girlie” factor of any handbag. Mary Norton has nailed this aspect. The way the silk chiffon comes together is beautiful and not over the top. Buy through Saks for $995.

We’ve been bringing you some amazing handbags picked up through Bloomingdale’s and today we have even better news. You might have already heard about it, but if you haven’t, there is an AWESOME handbag sale going on over at Bloomingdale’s now through June 3rd. Choose from designers like Botkier, Kooba and more!

CLICK HERE to shop and save!!!

It always confuses me when a designer takes an exotic skin, which is already a work of art in and of itself, and tries to do something intricate with it (usually something that involves cutting it into tiny pieces, either for weaving or for a laser-cut design). It seems like…well, it seems like a bit of a waste of a beautiful skin. I’ve got similar concerns with the Bottega Veneta Settantasei Ostrich Bag, which uses ostrich hide instead of traditional leather to make the signature Bottega Veneta intrecciato weave.

BV does better here than most do, though, because the copper finish combined with the ultra-textured feel of the bag give it a simultaneous glimmer and roughness that might not be achievable with regular, smooth leather. The finish is honestly quite cool, but I can’t help shake the feeling that exotic skins come with an inherent design to them and some of their charm is lost when they’re too heavily deconstructed. Plus, if I’m going to pay a premium for an exotic, I want that skin to be as intact as possible for maximum exotic effect. When you combine the high price of this bag with the way the skin was used, I’m not sure it’s worth it. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $7350.

Excuse me for a moment while I gush a bit.

Black hobos are largely boring. Take a general-use bag shape, combine it with a neutral color and expected material, and usually you get something without much personality or style. One of the hardest things to do in fashion is to take a basic and make it even the least bit extraordinary, and I think that that may be what the Katherine Fleming Bradbury Hobo is. It’s a black hobo with just enough personality to be stylish and interesting, and the patent trim is unique enough that people will notice it without being so gaudy that it makes the bag look cheap. Also, it avoids a pitfall that a lot of bags with flashy trim unfortunately don’t – the main leather on the bag doesn’t look like an afterthought. It’s smooth, soft-looking, and looks like it would be nice enough to carry a bag without any fun extras. But in this bag, you get the best of both worlds, and you also get a neutral bag with lots of personality – a rare find indeed. Buy through Barneys for $1550.

If you are following us on Twitter you know that we have a new member helping out the Purse Blog team. Anna will be assisting and contributing to various aspects of Purse Blog over the summer.

Below you will find a bit about her and make sure to join me in welcoming her to this amazing community!

Hello everyone! I’m Anna, and I’m so excited to be interning at Purse Blog. I’m a rising sophomore at Columbia University, where I most enjoy my classes in Italian, French, and computer science. Of course, a major perk of living in New York City is the fashion! One of my favorite things to do, besides sneakily reading US Weekly, is practice aerial fabric and contortion. I love handbags, obviously, walking in Central Park with friends, quesadillas, and anything in royal purple. And because this is Purse Blog, I’d like to add that my favorite handbag brand is Goyard.

I can’t decide if this news is counter-intuitive or not, but Forbes is reporting that Hermes will post an increase in sales during the first quarter of 2009, a time when many retailers and brands were feeling a big-time sales crunch. Why is that?

Well, the sales increase isn’t worldwide. Sales fell modestly in Europe and experienced a double-digit decline in luxury-goods-obsessed Japan, but the brand saw increases large enough in non-Japanese Asia to more than make up for decreases elsewhere. The increases were seen mostly in South Korea and China, which many industry watchers regard as somewhat of a Last Frontier of luxury retail.

So what does this tell us? First of all, we should all remember that signs of strength in the global economy probably mean good things for those of us in America. Our economy is incredibly interconnected with those of other nations, particularly China, and we can’t start to make a significant recovery without signs that are trading partners are also ready to move forward economically. Sales increases of luxury goods mean that consumers in other countries feel confident in the direction in which the economy is headed, and maybe a little bit of that consumer confidence will rub off on other markets. Lastly, it’s a good reminder to all businesses that there are still markets out there that are spending money. Finding them may be a challenge, but it can and will be done. So congratulations, Hermes, on a game well played.

Article via Forbes.com

If ever I’ve seen a good reason to have kids, it’s the page of stuff that Saks was calling a collection of reasonable Mother’s Day presents. Sure, there were some things that most kids could have pooled their money and afforded to get for mom, but then there were some things that were absolutely redonkulous (I feel that that’s the only correct term). The most out-of-this-world? The Zagliani Tomodachi Crocodile Tote. This thing is stunningly freakin’ gorgeous, and if having a couple of munchkins would mean that I might, one day, be given something even half as awesome as this bag, then that’s reason enough for me (ok, so maybe not, but go with the joke here, folks). It would take some rich kiddos to put together their piggy banks for this beauty, though, so it might be time for mothers everywhere to increase allowances for the foreseeable future. Buy through Saks for $10,500.

This is possibly the most luxurious laptop bag I’ve ever seen, even if it is slightly boring. I know that the Bottega Veneta Buckle Tote isn’t advertised as a computer bag per se, but if I’ve ever seen a designer handbag that would be more perfectly suited for that purpose, I’m having trouble recalling it now.

And by calling this a laptop bag, I don’t mean that as an insult. Far from it, in fact. This is modern society, after all, and the vast majority of women that will consider purchasing this bag will be women that worked hard to make the money that they’ll be spending. Acknowledging these women and giving them high-end options for their work bags is something that far more designers should be doing. Even if Bottega Veneta didn’t intend this bag for such utilitarian purposes, I think it would be perfect for the job. Plus, knowing of BV what I do, I bet the leather is flawless and soft and made of unicorn hides. Buy through Saks for $1850.

In rather hectic fashion, Shannon and I made our way to New York last Monday for the unique chance to meet and greet the Chief Operating Officer of Louis Vuitton North America, Mr. Daniel Lalonde. When we received the invitation last week whilst being on vacation, there was no real hesitation before realizing that we had to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

The Location

Shannon and I had high hopes that the event was going to take place in the flagship store on 5th Avenue, in our fantasies we had envisioned Vuitton clearing a whole floor off eager shoppers and letting the event attendees roam the palace freely.

The disappointment was only faint when a kind SA in the store pointed us to the adjacent building down 57th Street, where part of Louis Vuitton N.A.’s corporate headquarters are located. To my pleasant surprise, the showroom was presenting beautiful pieces of LV’s fall collection, some of which I captured on camera.

Read the full article...!

After seeing a few shots from Chanel Cruise 2010, I couldn’t resist sharing some of the highlights with all of you PurseBloggers out there. This has to be one of the most strikingly beautiful runway shows I’ve ever seen, from the Venice Lido boardwalk setting to the 1920s throwback clothes. Karl Lagerfeld said that he chose this particular setting to debut this collection because Coco Chanel was a long-time fan of this particular Italian beach. Coco made yearly visits to this beach during the 1920s, making it particularly appropriate for this set of retro-glam resort wear and beautiful evening dresses. The boardwalk is only steps from the sea, the show began at sunset, and I’ve never found myself wanting to attend any fashion show so much in my entire life.

Click here to see hilights from Chanel Cruise 2009