Totes (Page 8)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Whether you like their bags or not, Valentino does the best detail work in the business. There’s not a major designer that can touch them when it comes to taking regular (albeit extremely supple and wonderful) leather and turning it into something that is far more than the sum of its parts. Behold: the Valentino Fleurs Couture Tote.

Ahh, the eternal handbag questions: how much should we, as consumers, be willing to pay for bags that aren’t made out of leather? How about one made out of canvas? How about a really SIMPLE bag made out of canvas? Should it vary by brand? If it does, does that mean we’ve all fallen victim to someone’s marketing scheme? For me, the Yves Saint Laurent Safety Pins Tote brings up all of those questions and more.

For what it is, I quite like this bag. But is the bag that it is worthy of the price that Yves Saint Laurent is asking? I suppose that depends on who you are and how much extra money is sitting in your bank account.

A few months ago, we brought you news that friend-of-PurseBlog Carlos Falchi would be collaborating with his daughter on a new line of graffiti-inspired bags to debut in the coming months.

Well, the future is now: the bags are here! We already had some pictures of what they would look like, so that isn’t much of a surprise, but it’s nice to see something so unique and fun arrive in stores nonetheless.

I’ve never been an overwhelming fan of Tod’s. While I can see why some people would really like them, and I don’t doubt that they’re well-made, they’re usually missing a certain something that makes a bag work for me. I like a bit of pizazz in my handbags, and Tod’s keeps their look very, very low key.

I do very much like the Tod’s Shade Tote, however. It’s got that little certain something to it that makes me find it appealing, and I’m still not sure exactly what that is. The color? Shape? Maybe a combination of the two?

Ever see a bag and know immediately that it’s one that you would use constantly and incorporate into your wardrobe effortlessly? Like its existence is just a little bit of handbag kismet that the Powers That Be most surely intended just for you? A match made in proverbial handbag heaven?

That’s exactly what the Be&D Woodstock Shopper Bag is for me. Surely they didn’t have me in mind when they designed it, but I’m going to satisfy my occasional delusions of grandeur and pretend that they did. And why not? They couldn’t have done any better if they had tried.

It’s rare that I find myself completely conflicted, but that’s where the Valentino Ricamo Macro Paillettes Tote has me. Sometimes I love it, other times I’m not impressed by it at all. Would it be fair to give it the benefit of the doubt just because it’s Valentino?

I’m normally something of a YSL fangirl, but despite the brand’s history of sleek, classic bags, even they make a misstep every once in a while. It’s a forgivable thing to do, for sure, but that has never stopped me from calling a spade a spade, so to speak.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Yves Saint Laurent Shopping Tote is a spade. Which is to say, of course, that it’s a misstep, as are all the bags with this weird raised logo thing that YSL insists on doing. I don’t like it and no one shall convince me otherwise. Probably because it reminds me of something…