I feel like our little Gossip Girl writers are growing up. For the second (or third?) week in a row, we’ve had a theme. A theme and some narrative symmetry! It’s almost like this is a real TV show that we’re watching here!

In last night’s episode, everyone came clean. It was like a confessional up in this piece, for real. Scott confessed to Rufus and Lily (via Georgina), Lily confessed to Rufus, Vanessa confessed to Dan, Carter confessed to Serena, and Bree confessed to Nate (well, she was sort of…found out. But she came clean. Whatev).

Shall the truth set our Upper East Siders free? Probs not, they’ll all just start lying again next week. If they don’t lie, we don’t have a show. But let’s enjoy a brief moment of honesty and transparency, shall we?

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I can’t even describe how excited I was to see that Luisa Via Roma had started carrying Balmain handbags, but that feeling of joy was quickly eclipsed by abject disappointment when I saw what those bags actually looked like. Why is a brand that makes such glam, inventive, rock star clothes and shoes making bags as boring as the Balmain Crystal Leopard Suede Bag?

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It’s about time for another giveaway, don’t you think? I love the giveaways we do here at Purse Blog, I just only wish that I could enter to win myself, but oh well. As I mentioned on Friday, we have a gorgeous Katherine Kwei bag that is up for grabs. In the article on Friday I was able to share some really fascinating information about what Katherine Kwei has been up to since we last worked with her and now that you are all caught up to speed, I’m sure you are ready to see how you can enter to win!

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Huzzah! This week, we got a challenge that was actually challenging. I thought those had gone the way of the dodo bird!

While it was different than what we’ve seen this season, our designers’ task still fell squarely in one of the half dozen or so challenge categories that we’ve seen in the history of the show. They were given the job of taking a divorcee’s wedding dress and turning it into a kicky new outfit for them to start their new lives (except that some of them have been divorced since I was in elementary school…but through the magic of television, they’re just started new lives now).

I’ve always liked the “old to new” challenges because they’re doubly difficult: not only do they severely limit the amounts and types of materials that the designers are allowed to work with, but they also mean that the designers have to tailor something to fit an actual woman instead of a six-foot model, which has created some classic meltdowns over the years.

So now, on to the recap. But before we get there, can someone call the cops and report Nina Garcia as a missing person? I’m concerned. And also, it severely limits my ability to make “don’t bore Nina” jokes, and that’s not fair.

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Leave it to Bottega Veneta to do something so intricate and yet still keep their aesthetic so classic and streamlined. They’re playing the sequins trend perfectly with the Bottega Veneta Ebano Paillette Hobo.

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Trend Alert: Funky Foliage [via Fab Sugar]

EXCLUSIVE: Heidi Klum on Becoming Barbie: “A Dream Come True” [via Style Watch]

Jimmy Choo for H&M handbag on eBay [via Nitro:licious]

Cheryl Cole in Beatrice Boyle for Browns [via My Fashion Life]

For those of you who have been following us here at Purse Blog for a while, you probably remember reading about handbag designer, Katherine Kwei. Her intricate designs and attention to detail help make her bags the unique masterpieces they are. I fell in love with the Donna Clutch and can’t wait to add it to my collection. There is no way you will find another clutch out there like it.

Well, we have a lovely update for you about all the amazing stuff going on with Katherine Kwei and her line. I love getting a chance to speak with designers and hear about the latest and greatest. It’s as if I am dishing info with a close friend! And since you know me and what a hard time I have keeping secrets, it’s not a coincidence that I am sharing this update today.

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Between the half-shoes/half-claws shown by Alexander McQueen and Chanel Spring 2010 being show in a barn with smirking models, I thought I had seen every ridiculous thing that Paris Fashion Week had to offer.

And then at Louis Vuitton Spring 2010, creative director Marc Jacobs saw fit to attach furry tails to the bags. Yep, that happened.

As far as bags go, the show started…dreadfully. Most of them appeared to be made of dip-dyed cotton canvas in candy colors with coordinating fluffy appendages streaming off the back, which were sometimes bigger than the bag itself. After a dozen looks, I thought I was in for a very unpleasant show.

But after a little while, things started to look decidedly better. I’m not sure if it was just the fashion show version of Stockholm Syndrome, I guess that’s always possible, but things rallied a bit during the middle and end portions of the show. Instead of canvas bags with animal parts hanging from them, Vuitton returned to the leathers and embossed logos to which fans are slightly more accustomed.

Which is not to say the bags were boring – they weren’t. The opposite, in fact. And they weren’t entirely successful, but I appreciate the combination of colors, materials, and textures that Jacobs attempted in order to make something new out of one of the most recognizable logos in the fashion world. The collection was heavy on messengers, and the ones that combined logo leather with smooth in different colors were probably the best bags of the show, in addition to the duffel bags made of similar textures. Please, Marc Jacobs, if you’re out there: please give the tassel-covered bags a rest. Thanks.

The more I look through the bags from the last half of the collection, the more the eclectic ideas and influences grow on me, and I’m not sure what my final opinion will be once the dust of fashion week has settled. One thing is sure, though; adventurous collections like Louis Vuitton, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen are what make Paris the world’s reigning fashion city. New York has some catching up to do.

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Add some sparkle to your step this fall with a sequined handbag. This season it is all about luxe embellishments. Paillettes and sequins adorn handbags that can be worn both day and night. The dazzling surface, texture and color will get you noticed. Simply pair a sequined bag with an all black outfit comprised of skinny jeans for day or with a pretty and minimalist cocktail dress for evening.

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So, what happened last night on Real Housewives of Atlanta? Did the producers get lazy? Did they run out of story lines? Perhaps they just ran out of compelling story lines; at least that much seemed evident.

A bunch of stuff happened, but none of it added up to much. Kim shopped, because all she does is spend Big Poppa’s money and pretend it’s her own. Sheree tried to plan an event, because all she does is plan events that never happen. Nene had a charity event that forced me to look at Dwight’s balls (AGAIN, SECOND TIME THIS SEASON), and that doesn’t seem particularly charitable to me. Lisa continued to not have babies and maybe insinuated that Keith Sweat was an abusive husband. Kandi just made me sad because we all know what’s gone on in her life between then and now. I have no jokes about that.

But if you’d like to hear more jokes about Dwight’s junk, though, I think you know where to find those.

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