Images via Fashionista.com

You guys, it’s Friday. May I repeat for everyone who’s glazed over in front of the computer at work: IT’S FRIDAY. So it’s time to have some fun, ok? Today, I’d like to do that with these images from our friends at Fashionista.com of the latest and greatest Prada Tricks, which is what the company calls its absolutely adorable bag charms, which are often ursine (Fancy word for bear-like, y’all.

Images via Vogue.com

I have a few favorite days of the year: Christmas, Halloween, the first day of college football and New Prada Day. Luckily, New Prada Day comes twice a year (or four times, if you count Resort and Pre-Fall, which I do if I’m feeling desperate), and one of those days was yesterday! Naturally, Miuccia didn’t disappoint – Prada Spring 2012 was playful, feminine and incredibly smart.

Agent Provocateur Leopard Print Calf Hair Driving Gloves, $500 via Net-a-Porter. Prada Calfskin Tote, $2500 via Neiman Marcus.

Good news: Megs and I have returned to Manhattan! Bad news: We’re still getting back up to speed, so things will be a bit slow today and then totally back to normal tomorrow, and we hope that readers who were affected by the hurricane are also well on their way back to normalcy.

Can you believe that we’re already about halfway through August? I can’t, but I walked past a store yesterday and saw a fall jacket that I liked so much that I bought it in two colors, realizing only afterward that I’d be able to wear them far sooner than I had originally thought.

This would probably be the place to say something profound about the inescapable march of time, but I’d much rather talk about the Prada Glace Calf Degradé Top Handle, a design for which my feelings are profound in an entirely different way.

We’ve already explored the slightly more, uh, tactile elements of Prada Fall 2011, but what about the everyday bags that the brand does so well, year in and year out? Too many pre-orders have sprung up across the Internet for us to feature them all, but here’s a selection of four bags of different styles and leathers that we heartily recommend for purchase in the upcoming months.

I’ve spent a lot of time and energy in this space complaining about how designers keep trying to make fur bags happen, and usually during those rants I also wonder about why more companies aren’t using faux fur for their ill-advised fuzzy bags. Few designers hesitate to use stamped croc or python, so why not a little fake mink or chinchilla?

I love a good ad campaign. Unlike magazine editorials, ads are often designed to show prospective buyers the things that really make money for brands: Bags and shoes. Which, coincidentally, are the things we like most! Fashionista.com got a little preview of Prada’s Fall 2011 ad campaign and were so kind as to share it with the masses, so we thought we’d be so kind as to do the same.

Prada Leather Shoulder Bag | $1995 via Neiman Marcus

We have disappointed some with our lack of Man Bag Monday features, and for that I apologize. However, we are back on track now and while Vlad covered a novelty idea earlier today I have a full on leather bag to share.

Right when I saw this pop up on Neiman Marcus I knew I would cover it.

Over dinner a couple of weekends ago, a friend asked me if it ever felt silly to write about fashion in the wake of human and environmental disasters like the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. And, truth be told, it can feel a little bit silly at times, just as I imagine most people who work in non-public service jobs feel when confronted with such a devastating world event.