St. Patrick’s Day has become every single persons holiday. On this day, everyone is Irish. Not hard to imagine why. It is a day with all the excuses in the world to drink pints of green beer and tell people to Kiss you, because you are Irish. I truly am Irish, although now married to an Eastern European who refuses to wear green today (bah-hum-bug). Meaghan Mahoney. Spelling of my first name is as Gaelic as they come and the last name screams out Irish, although my family has been butchering the pronunciation for years. Tonight we will have our traditional corned beef and cabbage menu, wash it down with green beer, and some clever little shamrock cookies which are divine. As for my green item, I am wearing a green shirt. I do own green bags, but I really would only want a pop of ravishing color if I were wearing a green bag today. A handbag that is not an everyday bag, a bag that makes no sense otherwise, and that I have found.

Every single aspect of the Lanvin Happy Square Silk Bag screams out tacky. There is the green silk, the frayed shoulder straps, the woven finish. This bag is ornate and gaudy, and by-golly I love it! Yes, you heard me right. There is a love that I have for this bag that is not just because it is green and today is St. Patrick’s Day. But this bag will be memorable. It may be remembered by some for being heinous, but it will be remembered. And that is an aspect that many bags lack. If you are going to get a bag that is a little crazy, why not get a full-blown crazy bag. The look of this bag is safe in parts, but together, it is eye-catching. The crayola green I love. And for a gal like me who wears jeans and plain tees all the time, a bright and crazy bag may just be the option. Buy through Net A Porter for $2315.

Are you really Irish too or just celebrating because it seems like a good idea?

As most of you know, back in February we partnered with our friends at Who What Wear to bring you an amazing giveaway: Louis Vuitton Luggage Set. Throughout the month, you waited, on the edge of your seat to see who the lucky winner would be. Well, we tallied all the entries and randomly selected the oh-so-lucky winner. Congrats to Kaitlyn T. from New York!!!

We hope you’ve all enjoyed the giveaway and if you’re not Kaitlyn, fear not, we have some great new giveaways on the horizon.

Looking at the designers we know and love is all well and good, but sometimes, honestly, it gets a little boring. When you become familiar with a designer’s aesthetic, it’s hard to be surprised at new bags unless the brand decides to take their line in a new direction. As a result, I’m always look for a good indie designer that’s doing things a bit differently than the big guys, and I’ve found one in Michelle Vale. Take the Michelle Vale Pavolova, for instance. The piecing and seaming on the front flap are incredibly precise and different than anything I’ve seen as of late, and the size and shape seem perfect for me, since I don’t carry much, not to mention perfect for the flap bag trend without ripping off a certain other designer…

My favorite part of the bag, though, is something small. It comes with both silver and gold chain attachments so you can switch them out depending on the outfit and jewelry you’re wearing that day. Brilliant!!! Sometimes I shy away from wearing the bags that I have with gold hardware because I never wear gold jewelry, and this would be a fantastic way to solve that problem. Does anyone know where I can get a big silver chain for my Stam??? Buy through Michelle Vale Pavolova Handbags for $850.

We’re in a recession! And by now, you should have figured out what that means: discounts! And our friends at eLuxury are offering a great one – 30% discount on almost all of the wallets and pouches they carry. Exclusions are as they usually are: LV, Dior, and Dior Homme. Other than that, looks like pretty much everything else is fair game! My mom got a beautiful wallet last time they ran this promo, so if you’re in the market or need a cute wristlet for going out, take a look. 30% is nothing to sneeze at, after all. Shop and save at eLuxury!!!

One of my favorite things about BlueFly, as I may have mentioned before, is your ability to find things there that you may have missed in their original trip through Retail Land. So before any of you haters tell me “Ugh, this is such an old bag, why are you writing about this,” I’ll remind you that some folks may have missed it the first time. And the Prada Tweed Printed Medium Tote is worth taking a look at, even if that’s all you do.

First, it’s deerskin. Any deerskin that I’ve ever been in contact with has been not only super soft (on the level of lambskin), but also thick and durable-feeling, unlike lambskin. Second, I think the tweed print on the outside is cute and kind of irreverent. It wouldn’t match with everything, but I think it’s versatile in ways that belie it’s original appearance. Its simple structure puts the pattern on display, and the shade of green used would match with most solid-colored outfits for spring. My favorite part, though, is the lining. It seems like few brands still use leather to line their bags, but Prada has come through for us with a beautiful green leather throughout the interior. This isn’t my favorite bag I’ve ever seen, but it certainly isn’t bad. Buy through Bluefly for $1364.

This has nothing to do with handbags, admittedly, but it is an urgent fashion message that I feel needs to reach the public as quickly as possible. Ladies and gentlemen, jumpsuits are not your friend. Oh, the fashion magazines want you to believe that they are. They want you to think “hey, one piece outfit, that’s so easy!” But it’s not easy, dear readers. It’s heinous. It will take your midsection and turn it into a lumpy sack of cottage cheese. Think you’re immune? You’re not.

A jumpsuit will find the area you hate most on your body and practically paint a target on it. It’s like a “look at me!” sign for your love handles, saddle bags, or tummy pooch. Do you have the audacity to have a top bigger than your bottom or a bottom bigger than your top? Well the jumpsuit says that they’re now the same size, despite whatever conventional reality says! Why? Because they now both have to be covered by a single garment! And it’s not just the catwalk, ladies – I have seen these in regular mall stores, beckoning the clueless masses to cross over to the dark side and dress in a waist-eating, belly-fat-hugging jumpsuit. Do your future self a favor. Don’t ever be in a position to be photographed in one of these, because the pictures will haunt you forever, and you’ll embarrass your children. Just say “no!” to these unflattering monstrosities, and remember:

Friends don’t let friends wear jumpsuits.

Picture courtesy of Net-A-Porter

Alright, I’ve done it! I’ve found a bag that not a single one of you will be able to say that Marc Jacobs ripped off from Chanel. Why? Because the Marc Jacobs Amazon Shoulder Bag is far too bizarre to be ripped off from any serious designer. I also think that this will be the first MJ bag in a while without a good bit of “I love it!”/”I hate it!” comment fights – I think you’re all going to hate it (if you don’t, then comment and prove me wrong!). I’m certainly not a fan. It’s just an uninventive small crossbody bag with a layer flap that doesn’t match. Not only does the purse not match itself, but it won’t match anything else in your wardrobe, either. I’m all for doing odd things when they’re done in a way that looks artistic or high-end, and this looks like neither of those things, sadly. It looks more home-sewn and pieced together than anything. Expect it on a sale rack near you very soon. Buy through eLuxury for $2850.

I don’t really want to like this bag, but I think I do. The problem I have is that the Carlos Falchi Tigersnake Shopping Tote is a shape that really, really annoys me. For the prices that designers charge for their bags, I’d like them to give me some structure or hardware or SOMETHING to indicate that the bag was actually designed. But this is just a flat bag with two handles that would probably fall off of my shoulder, and that annoys me. What really DOESN’T annoy me, though, is the colors. In fact, I find the color and pattern so non-annoying that they almost make up for the boring structure. The watersnake is hand-painted in silver and cobalt blue, which gives it an imperfect, slightly bohemian or artistic feel that makes the bag subversively chic, despite its rather banal shape. It’d certainly pep up a boring outfit, and probably gives the wearer an aura of subtle fashionable-ness that more obviously “designer” bags simply don’t have. Buy through Saks for $850.

Thud.

I just fell off my couch.

The Notting Hill Design Westbourne Tote is just that beautiful. Never heard of the designer? Me neither. Nor has basically anyone, but they somehow snuck the Westbourne Tote into an upcoming episode of Gossip Girl, on the arm of none other than Blair Waldorf herself, and that will set the fashion folks a-chatter more quickly than almost anything. As the name suggests, the brand is based in West London and has a small collection of several bags in a variety of exotics including python, crocodile, alligator and ostrich as well as calf, deer, goat, and buffalo leather. Their bags are simple but architectural in design, and the attention to detail paid when using the exotic skins is incredibly exact.

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Bird Handbags made their way into the Purse Blog pages a year and a half ago. Being the casual chic that I am, I obsessed over their hippie-chic vibe and loose shoulder bags that were designed with exotic skins. The pairing of casual and exotic is precisely what I would designer if I were a handbag designer. Very cool, very boho, very me. I am the proud owner of the Lady in ostrich, which is the IDEAL travel companion. The Lady folds away into smallness and this is precisely why I love traveling with it. The oversized Bird Handbags One Night Stand Clutch was my next favorite from the designer and now different versions of the clutch are being carried at Net A Porter.

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