Photo via Marie Claire

Ok, so here’s the deal. The Row launched its first-ever line of handbags at Barneys last night, and as I was dutifully checking Twitter while finishing up my posts for the day, a strange thing came across my computer screen. Fashionista.com, staffers of which were in attendance at last night’s launch festivities, tweeted a picture of what appeared to be the bag above and a price point: A cool $39,000. I promptly fell off my chair.

Photo via The Coveteur

I was browsing The Coveteur yesterday when I came across the website’s feature on Meredith German, a ten-year fashion industry veteran and creative director of handbag company Meredith Wendell. As a fan of both The Coveteur’s photography and German’s bags, I relished the opportunity to take a peek inside the domicile of a fellow accessories aficionado.

Well that was quick! We told you just last night about the newly announced capsule bag line that Current/Elliott founders Emily Current and Meritt Elliott would be doing for Kate Spade, and now we have images of all seven bags for you to peruse. As expected, the designs of Westward by Emily and Meritt for Kate Spade New York marry the competing East Coast and West Coast aesthetic of the two brands, and hopefully this time, no one will get shot. (RIP to Biggie and Pac.)

Photo via StyledOn

When I met StyledOn creative director Casey Kettleson for lunch in Soho yesterday (go to Cafe Falai, try the burger, thank me later), I knew I’d get a great meal and even better company. What I didn’t expect to get was such an awesome photo of my beloved Celine Luggage Tote in Spring 2011 lipstick red. None of my shots every turn out this nicely because I’ve yet to master the art of the cell phone photo (I have, however, mastered Angry Birds), so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share it with you since I’ve mentioned the bag so often.

Looking for a Celine Luggage Tote? Good luck…

We’ve got one last interesting morsel of handbags news for you lovely ladies today, this time by way of a counterintuitive collaboration that threatens to be fabulous. Women’s Wear Daily reports that Emily Current and Meritt Elliott, the duo behind West Coast denim brand Current/Elliott, have joined forces with girly New York’s Kate Spade to bring us a capsule collection of bags.

The collaboration, which has been given the mouth-full name of The Westward by Emily and Meritt for Kate Spade New York, will feature bags ranging from $245 to $1295 that marry Current/Elliott’s West Coast cool with Kate Spade’s colorful East Coast femininity. For a larger image of the first bag from the collection to hit the Internet, you know where to click. We’ll bring you more pictures and availability info as soon as we have it.

We’ve heavily covered Christian Louboutin‘s hit-and-miss record when it comes to handbags in general, but when it comes to the footwear master’s clutches, I rarely have a negative review to report. Something about the small size and structure of an evening bag lends itself well to Louboutin’s design sensibility, probably because the scale and rigidity make clutches more similar to designing a shoe than other types of bags. And we all know that Louboutin has his shoe game on lock, now don’t we? Here are four of our current favorite CL clutches for your consideration; we think you’ll agree that Louboutin has something of a flare for these particular bags.

Photo via Marie Claire

The Row has two interesting and and seemingly incongruous distinctions: It’s a clothing line owned by former child stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and it’s one of the most expensive ready-to-wear lines in the entire industry. By all accounts, the prices of The Row’s garments come as a result of the Olsens’ desire to make clothing in as exacting and precise a way as possible instead of just having Another Celebrity Clothing Line, and even if the prices are out of your budget, their desire for quality instead of another quick buck is to be commended.

With the sisters’ bag choices being a topic of discussion in the fashion world for some time, it was only a matter of time until The Row launched a line of bags, as it has for Fall 2011. And wow, are these things expensive. The price points for the regular leather day bags and smaller lizard and ostrich bags are in the $5000 range, but I’ve been unable to find firm prices for the alligator pieces. To me, that means, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” And, well, that’s probably true. The bags will be available exclusively through Barneys and Barneys.com. As many photos of the collection as I could find, after the jump.