Whether or not you believe that clothing and accessories can qualify as art, you have to look at the Balenciaga Metallic Crocodile Wristlet and see, first and foremost, an art object. It’s uses (and, most likely, it’s production) are decidedly limited, but if I was to get my hands on it, I think I’d probably just hold it and stare at it anyway. The crocodile skin is treated in such a way that it almost reminds me of mother of pearl – it’s shiny, but in a way that does a beautiful job picking up the colors and the light around them, making the bag look eternally different. It’s finished with polished blue-green accents, which might be either polished stone or lucite, it’s impossible to tell, and a bold box-chain wrist strap. It doesn’t look like it would hold much, and I’m sure it costs an arm and a leg, but it’s just so stinkin’ beautiful that I don’t really care. Where do I sign up?

Picture courtesy of Style.com

The gossip mills are churning as news breaks that Marc Jacobs and his ad executive boyfriend, Lorenzo Martone, are engaged. The couple has been together for about a year. The duo is said to go public with their engagement news on Thursday when they arrive in Brazil wearing rings. No information on a wedding date yet.

Congratulations to Marc and Lorenzo from the Purse Blog team! We are looking forward to hearing more!

[story via WWD]

Check out our favorite links this week from Purse Blog Savvy! And make sure to find your way over there to keep updated with our newest addition.

Perfect name and great bag: Rebecca Minkoff Knocked Up Baby Bag [via PB Savvy]

We are loving the Kettle Black New Clutch with White Studs [via PB Savvy]

There is a great duo of colors on the Gryson Lola Tote [via PB Savvy]

I knew this bag was going to be a big hit. Totally knew it from the moment I saw it. And all of you seemed to agree, that you positively loved the new metallic slouchy bag from DvF. While I covered the medium DvF Stephanie Bag previously, the version Beyonce was spotted carrying is the large gold metallic DvF Stephanie Bag. And the Purse Blog team made sure to go out and buy the bag before it sold out completely! What I absolutely adore about this bag is that it truly is different from any other bag in my closet. It is totally oversized, really huge actually, and slouchy, and can hang low on your body (though you can adjust the shoulder straps to wear it different ways). Really, what is not to love about this bag? Spacious, comfortable, relevant, and a little metallic gleam. I know we love it, and while we wait for Vlad to shoot it we are graciously contemplating who will wear it first. I got first dibs! And while the bag is out of stock online, check out your nearest DvF boutique. We lucked out at DvF Bal Harbour (305.865.1850).

UPDATE: ShopBop currently has the DvF Stephanie in stock: $995 via ShopBop. More pictures below...

For those of you who check Purse Blog frequently, you are certainly familiar with Meg’s Web She Bang Posts. Well, we’re also collaborating with another great site, The Find, to bring you a wide variety of what is on the most-wanted fashion lists. Starting today, look for weekly installments of guest posts from The Find. Enjoy!

Inspired by the ultra modern Perspex briefcases shown at the Chanel ready-to-wear fall ‘09 show is an emerging trend, clear accessories. Karl Lagerfeld’s briefcase for the modern workingwoman bears it all, exposing all of your personal belongings to the world. Perfectly proportioned for a compact, lipstick (Chanel of course!) as well as your iPod, glasses and shoulder bag. Practical, perhaps not, but a fashion statement, yes!

Are see thru accessories of all types on the horizon? Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren all have transparent bags each with their own signature look. Hollywood jewelry designer CCSkye has also created a clear Lucite Medallion Cuff. Also spotted are crystal clear cases for your iPod and electronic gadgets and of course the original vintage Lucite clear handbag designs. Keep an eye out for more clear accessories, but be sure to edit your handbag contents before bearing them to the world.

I don’t particularly like the end-result look of the Dior Diorita Contrast Twist Medium Hobo, but I love the bag on principle. The more I look at handbags, the more clear it becomes that some designers are getting a little lazy with their products – a simple leather bag with a designers name on it does not a fabulous bag make. I’m not a huge Dior fan, but I can certainly appreciate the intricate work that went in to making this bag in particular. At first, at a distance, I thought the bag was made of woven straw, and I was ready to come here and declare my irritation at being charged upwards of two grand for a straw bag. But it’s not straw, and the way they worked the leather is pretty interesting to look at. I’m thinking that at least a good portion of that work had to be done by hand, and that’s no small feat for a mass-produced bag (which, let’s face it, this is). So thank you to the folks at Dior who are still paying attention to the details when charging us out the nose for their bags. At least I feel like I’m getting something in return. Buy through eLuxury for $2500.

British PurseBlog readers, I need your help on this one. As an American, I’m not too familiar with Matthew Williamson, although I’ve seen enough of his clothing to understand a bit of his aesthetic. So, to the Brits out there, I humbly inquire: what makes the Matthew Williamson Dark Escape Box Clutch worth $1200? Am I missing something? Because it’s not leather or any kind of exotic. It’s silk. Pretty silk, but still silk. Its information on Net-a-Porter doesn’t indicate that it’s hand painted or anything of that nature. It’s not crystal-encrusted. So…what gives?

Is the brand’s name strong enough in the UK to merit that kind of cash for a 6″ wide silk clutch? If it is, then that’s insane. I think I would scoff at any American designer trying to do the same. The colors would spice up a solid color outfit, and I like the name. The kaleidoscope effect is cute, as is the big tassel, but nothing about this is explaining to me why I need to spend so much money on it. Until someone else explains it to me, I think I’ll pass. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1200.

I am of two minds about the Nancy Gonzalez Crocodile Cutout Satchel. First, the cutout detail is amazingly intricate – to form lace out of a stiff skin like croc is quite a feat and requires the kind of precision that most designers forgo as something that is not cost-effective. But then, if I was going to go to the expense of buying a croc bag, I’d probably want the skin to be full and intact, and the bag to be as simple as possible.

The skin is the inherent design of any exotic bag, and it seems counterproductive to take a piece of leather that is naturally beautiful and that has it’s own intrinsic design elements and cut it up, no matter how beautiful the cutting is. As a result, I wouldn’t recommend this as anyone’s first croc bag, but it may make a nice special occasion bag for warm weather, particularly with Easter approaching. Also, it’s lined, so the cut croc won’t expose all of your loot inside your bag. Buy through Saks for $3700.

You know what really grinds my gears? More than, like, anything else in fashion? The misappropriation of the word “couture.” Something isn’t “couture” just because it’s expensive or weird looking. You don’t call something “couture” just so you can try and charge more for it. Couture is a real word with a specific definition. Couture is a one-off piece that is hand-made for a client or show, not mass-produced. Couture is not sold on a mass-market website.

I would think that a brand like Versace would understand the distinction. Apparently not, though, because the Versace Couture Clutch has no indication of ACTUALLY being couture to me. It’s just a woven metallic envelope clutch that reminds me a lot of Bottega Veneta. And since Versace is known to charge upwards of $2000 for completely non-spectacular, non-couture clutches, I can’t imagine that they’d charge less (but still an exorbitant amount for what you get) for something that was actually handmade in small quantities. So I’m befuddled here. Has the word lost all of its fabulous meaning? Or am I missing the reason that this actually fits the category? Buy through eLuxury for $1305.

I have a slight bias towards Pucci bags ever since I found out that Emilio Pucci apparently has some sort of graduate degree from my alma mater, The University of Georgia. I can’t remember what the degree was in, but the idea that such a fashion icon matriculated in Athens for a few years is enough to make give even his company’s non-awesome ideas the benefit of the doubt. Which is just what I did with the Emilio Pucci Alessandro Terry Bag.

I’m generally one for bold and colorful patterns anyway, which makes me a perennial Pucci fan, and the blues and purples in this one are speaking it me. It would be a great beach bag, or as an airplane carry-on, you’d always know which one was yours in the overhead bin. Flat handles mean it would be comfortable to carry and terrycloth is light as a feather. But I looked at it again, and I realized something I didn’t like: it’s a $761 beach bag. Any situation that it would be suited for would make it sandy, wet, dirty, or abused in some way, and I’m not sure that any bag that costs that much would be something I’d use for those things. And I’m also not sure if I’d pay more than $200 for a bag made out of terrycloth, if even that much. Buy through eLuxury for $761.