For every season, Chanel generously offers not one handbag collection but two. You get the regular collection bags, which are always luxurious and highly detailed in their own right, and then you get Outstanding Pieces, which are on a whole different level. These are the jewel-encrusted exotic bags that would turn your heard so hard that you’d have to see a chiropractor, should you encounter someone toting one down the street.

For the Byzantine-inspired Chanel Paris-Byzance Pre-Fall 2011 collection, Karl Lagerfeld pulled out all the stops to create a gilded, ornate collection of crocodile, python and cabochon. These designs aren’t for a shrinking violet, but even lovers of statement pieces should be careful; these bags may result in a shrinking wallet. Please contact Chanel at 800-550-0005 for pricing and availability.

Ok, so this post a little last minute for a Father’s Day gift idea but honestly, I know many of you may be like me and procrastinate. When it comes to both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, I always try to find a gift that can be sentimental. It gets hard to come up with something year after year, but as much as my dad loves Hermes ties, sometimes a tie gets a little too repetitive.

If you are looking for a last minute Father’s Day gift option, have an accessory from Coach monogrammed.

Just when I was beginning to wonder if Coach president Reed Krakoff could continue to replicate the smashing success that he’s had in the very short life of his eponymous label, Reed Krakoff Resort 2012 comes around to prove it to me. Ladies, this line isn’t just a flash in the pan.

When I was flipping through the press photos, it was the Reed Krakoff Boxer Bag that you see at left that really proved to me that there’s something major here. The design deftly takes the current trends of brights and colorblocking and translates them on the one of the brand’s signature pieces without losing the integrity of the Krakoff aesthetic or the excitement of the of-the-moment look. Combining two disparate ideas isn’t an easy thing to do, but that’s exactly how all of these bags feel: Easy. In the best possible way. More photos after the jump.

Every year, resort collections spring up at the beginning of summer like an oasis in the dessert. The fashion industry sometimes seems to come to a near-grinding halt during the warmer months while industry heavyweights are off sunning themselves in St. Barths, but the unorganized and sporadic resort show season seems to send us a new collection every time we begin to think that perhaps we’ll never write another interesting post again.

This time, Mulberry Resort 2012 is one of our saviors, and they’ve actually released stock images of their bags, which is something of a resort rarity. Most brands save their big reveals for the full spring and fall collections, but this mid-season group offers several covetable bags, particularly the ivory faux python Alexa and the green-and-black leopard tote, which would be perfect for weekend shopping. More pictures after the jump.

For the past few years, Louis Vuitton has been on such a great roll with resort collections, and for good reason. The brand’s identity is built around the idea of luxury travel, so it follows naturally that it would be particularly suited to a season that came about out of the need for pre-season travel goods for those who have the money and flexibility to escape the winter weather in less exotic locales.

Vuitton, in partnership with longtime muse and current aesthetic collaborator Sophia Coppola, have dreamed up a grand Parisian adventure from the back of a scooter for Louis Vuitton Resort 2012. Because of Coppola’s involvement, the bags include several colorful versions of her popular satchel, but the real standouts were the leopard print helmets. I wonder if LV will make any bags in that pattern? A girl can home. More pictures after the jump. (Warning: Some of the images are a tad small, we did the best we could with what Vuitton released for the media.)

With all the thinking I’ve been doing today about Hermes, it seemed particularly serendipitous that I would come across this utterly lovely photo of a very fashionable lady carrying the Hermes Constance on photographer Tommy Ton’s Jak & Jil blog. While this design doesn’t have the ardent and ravenous following of the Birkin or Kelly, I think we can all agree that its lines are elegant in a way that only Hermes can pull off. The curve of the gussets, the sharp corners of the handle attachement – it’s all perfect. And what’s even more perfect is that the Constance costs thousands of dollars less than a Birkin. Maybe this is the Hermes bag for me.

When our friends over at lovely fashion and lifestyle site StyledOn asked me to pick my ten favorite bags of the moment for their readers, I was more than happy to oblige – I look at it as part of my PurseBlog duty to spread the handbag gospel far and wide. The site did a lovely job putting together the list for me, and I’d like to hear your feedback – if you were to pick your must-haves right now, how would you fill out your list?