Help me out with this one, folks. The Donna Karan Sabre Shoulder Bag is reminding me a lot of Gucci and I can’t quite figure out why.

I’ve always been critical of Christian Louboutin handbags in the past, but I’ve seen a few that I don’t hate in the past season. With all the design genius in that company, I knew they would pull together their handbag line sooner or later, and they appear to be slowly but surely turning out some purses that do justice to their drool-worthy shoes.

There isn’t a massive amount of completely fabric, bohemian handbags out there. Being one of the few people who embrace this style of handbags, it’s apparent why I was so drawn to this Simone Camille Handmade Vintage 2-Tier Handbag. Well, I suppose this particular bag isn’t so obscure; Nicole Richie has been spotted wearing it multiple times, after all.

The bag is made entirely by hand by famed stylist Simone Harouche, who’s known for her singular ability to transform and style stars with looks they’ve never imagined; witness Christina Aguilera’s Back to Basics Tour.

Oh Donna Karan, I think you are understanding the handbag world! We first saw the Donna Karan Pleated North-South Tote back in July, but the picture was not doing the bag justice. But it was Blake Lively who showed me just how lovely the Donna Karan Eldridge looks when worn.

So I started to lust after this bag. But it was sold out.

I’ve got to say at least one nice thing about this bag: Dolce & Gabbana, I like your enthusiasm.

No, actually, I love it. Because the kind of chutzpah it takes to put together seven (that I can count) types of fuzzy animal print onto one bag is the kind of chutzpah that it takes to occasionally create a stinkin’ awesome bag.

I’ve never been a Tod’s fan, by and large. I’m sure that their bags are well-made, but they always seemed to be lacking in the design department, and for that kind of money, I want a bit of visual flair with my perfect construction.

And in the Tod’s Ribbed Leather Bag, I may have found it – this is easily my favorite of their bags in quite a long while, if not ever.

I was really hoping to have more to report with the release of more Balmain Handbags to the public, but unfortunately, it looks like they’re sticking with the uninspired messenger bag style that we first saw with the Balmain Crystal Leopard Suede Bag.

Balmain is such an interesting, trend-setting line that I’m disappointed that they didn’t choose to do more with their handbags.

Call me crazy, but I can kind of see what Chloe was going for here. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they accomplished it, but I think I know where they were headed.

See, there’s these people called “hipsters.” They’re the ones that have been wearing skinny jeans since 2003, and Wayfarers as well. They shop for lamé leggings at American Apparel and live in Brooklyn (or Silverlake or East Atlanta or any other number of enclaves) and are responsible for a lot of music, most of it terrible but some of it reasonably good.

I can’t even describe how excited I was to see that Luisa Via Roma had started carrying Balmain handbags, but that feeling of joy was quickly eclipsed by abject disappointment when I saw what those bags actually looked like. Why is a brand that makes such glam, inventive, rock star clothes and shoes making bags as boring as the Balmain Crystal Leopard Suede Bag?

The ridiculous bags are always my favorite, be they good or bad in the long run. I’ve always thought it a greater sin to be boring than to be over-the-top, and sometimes great style is what happens when you get right on the line between just enough and too much.

The Marc Jacobs Wrath Studded Bag is somewhere circa that line, although I’m not sure what side it’s on.