Satchel Bags (Page 4)

One thing that I’ve always appreciated about Marc Jacobs is the sheer breadth of aesthetic choices that can be contained within his eponymous line at any given time. His clothes and accessories range from the somewhat classic and conservative to the utterly wild, often in the span of a single season, and I suppose that this is the point where I should say “variety is the spice of life” and all that.

Fresh off the metallic parachute bags and foot-long fringe from last season, Jacobs has decided to make a 180-degree turn and go for something entirely different: retro, ladylike handbags. The Marc Jacobs Gene Satchel in particular is strongly reminiscent of the accessories from the Louis Vuitton fall line, which is also under Jacobs’s stewardship. Is that a good thing? In this case, absolutely.

Why must Miu Miu torture me so? Their Fall/Winter 2010 collection is one of the best that I’ve seen in quite a while, and that’s in no small part because of the line’s beautifully textured and detailed handbags. I’ve always loved the aesthetic of Prada’s little sister brand, and a handbag like the Miu Miu Quilted Front Lock Satchel only makes me love it more.

This picture absolutely doesn’t do any justice to the intricate chevron quilting that covers the majority of the satchel. It’s rich, touchable and utterly unique in a world where almost every quilted handbag uses simple diamonds instead of something more daring.

It takes a lot for me to like a suede bag, but Gucci has gone and done just that. I’m already on the record as being a fan of their “1973″ line for fall, but I was a little bit dubious of the Gucci 1973 Medium Satchel until I saw the red suede version.

Because of the tactile nature of suede, colors usually end up looking muted when the finished product arrives. I like my colors vibrant, which contributes to my usual distaste for the material. In this case, though, the orange-y hue comes through loud and clear, taking advantage of suede’s texture without sacrificing vibrancy.

As we all know, I’m the first one to criticize Versace when they screw up a handbag, so I feel like it’s only fair that I recognize them early and often when they get something right. And this time, I feel like they have: the Versace Python Frame Satchel is sleek and restrained, but it still has the signature sexiness of a Versace design.

It actually strikes me as a bit more of a briefcase than a handbag, which I mean in the best way possible. This is the sort of bag to carry your work files if you work in the most stylish of offices (and receive the highest of salaries).

Sometimes in fashion, the phrase “ask and ye shall receive” holds true. I’m pleased to say that appears to be the case with my recent complaint about Dior’s somewhat tedious bag line – a few of the bags from the brand’s recently presented Resort 2011 line caught my attention.

For me, the clear standout of the line is this Dior Resort 2011 Tote, which doesn’t have an official name or price as of yet. Although the design is fairly simple, it manages to represent everything that a Dior bag should be – it’s feminine, Parisian and obviously designed by Dior.

We’ve already talked about the weaker points of Prada’s Fall/Winter 2010 handbag collection – I’m no great fan of camouflage, and it seems like most of you agree with me. Thankfully most of the bags in the collection aren’t decked in camo, and I’d love to have most of them in my closet.

In particular, the Prada Cervo Shine Bowler looks like a perfect everyday bag – it’s neutral but doesn’t lack luxury and can be carried on the shoulder or arm, depending on how badly you need to carry other things at the same time.

It seems as though I should have waited another week to write about leopard print as a bag trend – since that post was published, several more enormous brands have made their entrance into the fad, most notable among them Gucci. I was surprised to see the Gucci Heritage Pony Hair Boston Bag at first, but once I had a chance to think about it, the print totally makes sense with the retro feel of their most recent collection.

As several commenters correctly pointed out on my initial leopard print post, animal prints have been around for ever and waxed and waned in relative trendiness for generations. It only makes sense that when most of fashion is taking a look back to find inspiration from over half a century ago that leopard print would experience a resurgence in popularity.