Prada Handbags

I’m kind of shocked, really – a Prada leather bag for less than a thousand dollars? At first I wondered if the price was correct, but it hasn’t changed in the couple of weeks that the bag has been on the Saks website, so it must be correct. I doubt this is the brand’s response to the recession – Prada doesn’t seem like the type of brand that intends to acknowledge it at all – but for whatever reason they chose to produce the reasonably priced Prada Vitello Shine Hobo, and I’m pretty pleased with it.

Odds are that the gorgeous purple color is making me more enthusiastic than I would be otherwise (it reminds me of my favorite Balenciaga color of all time, 2007 violet), but color is such an important part of a bag’s personality that I’m completely okay with that. Prada always uses excellent leathers and high-quality construction, so I don’t doubt that the bag will last for quite a long time indeed. The only thing left to consider is the structure: it’s boring, I’ll admit, but it’s also highly functional, and the beautiful shade of purple makes up for the simple shape. Considering the price of this bag relative to others in Miuccia’s arsenal, I’m pretty pleased. Buy through Saks for $995.

I have never been much of a fan of Prada. Not for any particular reason; they’re just not my thing, but I can understand why others are so passionate about them. The leather is usually supple and beautiful and I’ve heard wonderful things about their quality and construction. Nice leather, classic shapes, and durability – you can’t ask for a whole lot more than that, even if they don’t exactly tickle my fancy.

Which is why I can very much respect that a lot of people will love the Prada Cervo Shine Hobo, even though it’s not absolutely wowing me. It has a ton of factors working in its favor – buttery soft deerskin leather, accessible outside pockets, and a functional and wearable shape that would be great for work or play. I think what’s stopping me from being more enthusiastic is the color. I’m not much for tan, and if they gave me this in a grape-y purple or a slate grey, I’d probably be turning cartwheels right now. But for those of you out there that love tan, I may have found your new favorite everyday bag. Buy through Saks for $1650.

Prada bags have not made an appearance on Purse Blog in nearly two months. That means we are waiting on the new styles to show up online and there hasn’t been a great or awful Prada bag to cover. I found my way to the Prada Cervo Lux Print Bowler a couple months ago and found myself liking it. The bowler shape is not always my favorite as I prefer to be able to sling my bag over my shoulder and get on the go. But I could start to justify covering this bag since it is 50% off right now at Saks.

While it looks like python skin, this is actually python-printed deerskin which will not be as fragile as many python skins. The coloring of the bag is what I love most. From dark green to a lighter green, this bag has a great dimension to it. There is a goldtone logo in the center and double handle straps. Again, for a bag that was originally over $2k, the nylon lining is not as luxurious as I would want but will be easier to clean. I figured this bag was worth a mention, but it is not worthy of me remotely considering buying it. What about you? Buy through Saks for $1374.

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.

It’s wartime in Europe again. Well, sort of. Let me explain. It’s wartime in Milan, and on Miuccia Prada’s runway in particular. Forget the 80s-inspired neon club excess that we saw on New York’s runways – Prada isn’t going clubbing anytime soon. The shapes and materials alike in Prada Fall/Winter 2009 reminded me of World War II movies as soon as I laid eyes upon them, and the reference is as overt as the 80s redux shown by Marc Jacobs. There are rich tweeds in neutral grey and brown, cinched at the waist with thin brown belts. The shoulders and fall of the skirts are strongly 1940s reminiscent, and even the beaded pieces have an austerity that reminds one of a world torn apart by war in Western Europe.

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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.

Prada, haven’t we had this discussion before? The one about sticking random crap on bags? I feel like we have. And I just saw the Prada Pitone Pietre Shoulder Bag, so it looks like we’re going to have to have it again. I won’t say that I would have loved the bag without the random stones affixed to it; it would have been a fairly boring, small snakeskin handbag, and one that wouldn’t have been worth the money that I’m sure you would have been asking for it. At 16″ wide, you could have done so many more interesting things with that much python. It creates a beautiful pattern on its own, and there’s no need for you to obscure it with some ill-advised bedazzling. So, Prada, please stop and think the next time the urge to glue stuff to your bag strikes. Buy through Saks for $1895.

Apparently I am stuck on stocking stuffers. The reason for this could very well be that I do not have a stocking or anything to stuff it with prepared for Vlad yet. Do I go cute, do I go cool, do I go traditional, do I think out of the box? Part of my problem for finding him a stocking stuffer is I keep finding stocking stuffers for myself. I hate how I end up in the women’s section of every website rather than the men’s. Planned, nah, not me! I now found another stocking stuffer that could replace the orange that I typically got and never ate. The Prada Key Ring Pouch is small, cute, and made with silver leather and a key ring. Dimensions are 4½”W X 3″H. Buy through Saks for $195.

Don’t make fun of me for this one. Please? Because I feel like you people are going to make fun of me for this one. I genuinely like it, though, so give it a chance. The Prada Tessuto S Tote is, in my mind, totally adorable. It’s frilly and girly but in a somber black nylon that makes it more wearable than if it were, say, pink suede. For some reason, it reminds me of flamenco dancers and fun costumes and all sorts of over-the-top femininity, and although its price might be a bit steep for nylon, Prada’s Tessuto bags are known to wear extremely well. The one problem that I’ve always had with them, though, is that they’re so austere and unisex-looking; this particular ultra-femme tote certainly doesn’t have that problem. Buy through Saks for $995.

Sometimes, the little things count. A handbag, after all, is a utilitarian creation made beautiful because of its utter necessity – a bag that was difficult to carry would be useless to most women. As such, there are only so many design alteration that you can make to a bag, and I often think that making a beautiful bag with minimal design innovations is much more difficult than making a bag that’s art first and useful second. Which is why I love the Prada Cervo Lux Shoulder Bag – because, at it’s heart, it’s just a purse. It’s a tote that would hold everything you need with two straps long enough to toss it over your shoulder. Its magnetic closure is easy to fasten and unfasten, and its corners and strap attachments are reinforced for durability. It’s a bag that’s meant to be used instead of gazed upon. There’s a rivet here and a chain detail there (I love the straps), but it’s almost unnerving in it’s simplicity. Prada makes some gimmicky bags, for sure, but I think it’s probably bags like this one that earn them such devoted fans. Buy through Saks for $1,995.