And now, in “Things That Cost Way More Than is Reasonable” news, we have the Versace Croc-Stamped Clutch. Is it an actual exotic? No, no, it’s stamped. So it’s regular leather like every other bag you own. Hmm. Well, is it big? No, it’s a clutch. A clutch-sized clutch. Ok. Well is the design really interesting or innovative? No, it’s just a regular pleated leather bag with a standard chain strap like most clutches have. It’s got a metal handle, but I’m not thrilled. And I’m not saying I don’t like it – I do! It’s cute! It’s couple-hundred-bucks cute, though. And when has Versace priced anything but a t-shirt in the couple-hundred-bucks price range? Certainly not a bag. And this bag, my dear bag friends, started out at a whopping two grand. Even thinking about is giving me a headache like you wouldn’t believe. Thankfully, the reasonable folks at eLuxury have had the good sense to knock about $800 off the starting price, but still. That’s $1200 for a completely unspectacular clutch (and the leather looks a little fake-y. Just sayin’). We all pay exorbitant prices for our bags, but this might border on insulting. Buy through eLuxury for $1239.

My first reaction when I looked at the Dolce & Gabanna Miss Sicily Snakeskin Handbag was that it didn’t look anything like a Dolce & Gabbana handbag. At least not the ones that have come out most recently – they’ve all looked like ruffly garbage bags or been in various color of lamé. I won’t say that’s a bad thing – I kind of like the ruffly garbage bags – but it’s certainly different than what we see here. The Dolce & Gabbana Miss Sicily Snakeskin Handbag Miss Sicily is the exact opposite of a ruffly anything. Its lines are so rigid, just looking at it makes my back hurt, and I’m pretty sure that I could fend off an attacker with it quite quickly. That’s not to say I don’t like it, because I do; it would dress up jeans and a white button-down quite nicely, and snakeskin is my favorite neutral material of all time. Go ahead, try and think of something snakeskin, in one form or another, wouldn’t match. And this skin in particular is gorgeous – it’s textured with tons of tiny scales that really deserve some time spent with Nordstrom’s zoom feature. Seeing this makes me really wish that Hermes would consider expanding their snakeskin offerings in the future. Pre-order through Nordstrom for $2475.

I know I mentioned it before, but last year I had the chance to meet lovely and talented Laura and Sheila of Treesje. Their combination of creativity, business savvy, wit and charm were instantly picked up on. As I walked into their office, I sat down and felt instantly at ease. After a few minutes it was as if I was talking to friends I’ve known for years. The story behind how their brand got started and morphed into what it is today is classic. They met at the wedding of a mutual friend, became friends, became co-founders, launched a brand, and have been making customers happy and eager to carry their bags ever since. In fact, you might remember the initial Treesje Interview we brought you a while back. Since then, Treesje has continued to grow and expand.

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Many moons ago I wrote about a pink version of this Jalda clutch. Absolutely loved it then, love it even more now with silver python skin. As I was perusing my closet the other day I realized how perfect metallics fit into my wardrobe as accessories. Denim is a major part of my wardrobe, from skinny jeans to high-waisted wide leg jeans, and my tops tend to be more monochromatic. Just what my closet needs, another clutch. But really, I don’t own a silver clutch and adding the Jalda Python Original Clutch seems like a great idea. The shape of this clutch I love, with a bit of an angle at the edges, and the silver python is the perfect glitzy finish. Dimensions are 8″W X 4″H X 3″D. Buy through Saks for $490.

I saw the Chloe Sally Flap Bag yesterday at Saks in Atlanta and thought to myself that I’d really like to be able to write about it, but it’d probably be a while before I saw it online. I check all of my favorite sites for new bags basically every day, and it hadn’t appeared on any of them even for a moment, so I figured that all was lost. Sometimes bags don’t make it to the internet, and sometimes if they do, it’s so woefully late that there’s not much of a point in writing about them. So I was delighted when I got home from the mall and found that the bag had suddenly become available for presale at Nordstrom (who has really stepped up their game recently when it comes to designer bags, in my humble opinion). In person, the bag is deceptively simple: it looks like a normal, medium-sized flap bag at first, but I found myself impressed at how clean and precise its lines were. The pebbled leather also makes it a more casual option than a Chanel flap while still being some of the most beautiful textured leather I’ve seen in while; it’s sturdy but soft at the same time. From the front, it also looks much smaller than it is – at the bottom, it is a good bit deeper than a similar Chanel. The strap is long but not nearly long enough to be a crossbody bag, and the overall effect is tailored and polished, just like it should be to be a part of the “flap bag” trend that is gaining steam. This bag and those like it appear to be a pointed response to the needlessly huge bags of seasons past, and they’re making a very good argument for themselves. Pre-order through Nordstrom for $1995.

Sometimes you want a dainty, understated bag. Sometimes you want something delicate or subtle that won’t draw too much attention. And then, other times, you just want a big ol’ shiny animal skin behemoth of a bag. For those times, consider the Ted Rossi Python Shoulder Bag. Hardware? None. Pockets? It doesn’t have any of those either. What it does have, however, is several square feet of of black python skin with a great shine to it – almost patent, but without the thick texture that often comes with it. The snakeskin still looks supple and textured like a natural skin should, and the addition of a bit of metallic draws the eye even more to the differentiation between every scale. If you’re going to own a python bag, after all, you might as well own one that makes everyone go, “Hey, look how awesome that enormous, shiny python bag is!” On the practical side, I imagine it’d hold everything you could want to carry around on an average day (and probably more) and be super comfy to wear – python is notoriously light as a feather, and the wide straps would distribute the weight of all your loot evenly on your shoulder. So, what are you waiting for? Buy through Singer 22 for $2495.

We here at Purse Blog encounter a lot of bags every day – expensive ones, cheap ones, pretty ones, ugly ones. And then, sometimes, we encounter those that look just like ones that we’ve already encountered elsewhere. And, to a certain extent, you have to let it go. There are only so many ways to design a strap or attach a buckle, and when designer bags set so many of the overall bag trends, you’re going to see similar bags all over the place, and that’s not necessarily the cheaper brands’ fault. They have to follow the trends that their customers want to buy, which leaves them with few choices. They CAN choose, however, to not copy a brand’s design detail for detail, which is apparently not the choice that Forever 21’s “designers” made when they copied their Stone Quilted Tote inch for inch from the beautiful Dior 61 Croc-Stamped Tote. We normally ignore the copies, but I think this instance is a good reminder of why exactly it is we love designer bags – the Dior tote shows such an obvious precision and attention to detail, even in these small photos, when compared to the cheap copy that the craftsmanship is clear. No one would ever mistake one for the other, despite Forever 21’s best efforts.

Karl “Krazypants” Lagerfeld is at it again. He’s made a bike, which we covered, as well as other sporting equipment like skis. If Krazypants can find a way to put a Chanel logo on something that is already expensive and then charge more for it, he’s all over it. Particularly if it can be done in a wacky, eccentric way that makes everyone go “…waaaah?” And that’s the case with the all-new-for-spring Chanel Segway. It’s got an enormous classic flap stuck on the front of it like a basket on an old-fashioned bicycle and Chanel’s quilted caviar leather covering the wheel wells. I don’t even know what else could be said about this…thing. Except that Krazy Karl is the only person I could ever see riding it, except for maybe Victoria Beckham. And maybe her kids behind her, on mini ones. No price information was given, but their bicycle from several seasons ago was several thousand dollars, and this thing has a motor, so…draw your own conclusions.

Image courtesy of Chanel via NYMag.com

What a month it has been. There was Valentine’s Day, New York Fashion Week and the wedding (Megs and Vlad are still glowing). And wait, there was one more major thing going on this past month, one of our most amazing collaborations to date! We teamed up with our friends at Who What Wear to bring you one of our greatest giveaways yet – Louis Vuitton Luggage! If you weren’t already familiar with Who What Wear or Purse Blog, you might now have a new “must visit daily” site. Today is your last chance to enter to win the amazing Louis Vuitton luggage set. And don’t forget, if you’ve already entered, click here to go back to Who What Wear and enter some of your friends email addresses in order to increase your chances to win. Either way, stay tuned! We can’t wait to announce the oh so lucky winner!

Oh, thank you God, finally. My handbags prayers have been answered. Because Prada has made some questionable handbags lately, and for a designer so known for their bags, it was getting kind of discouraged. The Prada St. Pitone Tote is not my favorite bag that I’ve ever seen, but it’s a strong improvement over the randomly bedazzled bags we’ve seen from the brand lately. The tote takes a cue from their diffusion Miu Miu line’s very successful Bow Satchel with its side adornment, although this tote’s finishing is a little looser and softer. Combine that with a beautiful, large-scale python skin and and some cute top handles, and Prada’s got a great satchel on their hands that will likely sell very well for them. Now if only they’d get away from that habit of sticking random stuff to their bags that has grown so tiresome. Buy through Saks for $995.