Versace Handbags and Purses (Page 3)

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve done it! I’ve found a Versace bag that doesn’t make my eyes roll or my stomach turn or my brain hurt just from looking at it. It’s simple! And functional! And kind of attractive! I could wear this bag and not be embarrassed about what it says about my taste level and also, my level of common sense.

But none of those things are what’s best about the Versace Giselle Lock Hobo. No, in fact, the best thing is the price. Shocking, right? Versace will normally charge at least two grand for any old thing, so color me shocked that the price tag for this attractive, reasonably functional bag falls so far below that number. Could it be that their accessories designers are finally realizing just how lucrative the handbag market can be if they give us products that are beautiful and fairly priced?

Let’s be honest, there has not been much praise from the PurseBlog team given to Versace. And it is kind of sad, because Versace is one of the most well-known design Houses alive. Today I have found a Versace bag that still will not appeal to many, but has some aspects that are totally quirky but alluring for me. I’m ready for the comments saying otherwise (and hopefully some that agree with me).

The bag I will be reviewing today is the Versace Block Color Python. We first see bold eye-catching colors that stand out, including turquoise, yellow, and white python offset by tan leather panels. And then there are studs. And a chain strap. And everything seems to get a little overwhelming. That is what Versace does though, create bags that are entirely packed with color and design elements that can be seen as over-done. Yet somehow this bag works for me.

I’M BA-ACK! I’m minus two tonsils, five post-surgery pounds, and a week of my life, but I have returned triumphant to do one of my absolute favorite things: make fun of a truly horrific Versace bag.

It’s almost as though the universe placed the galacticly awful Versace Scream Shopper on Nordstrom‘s website to welcome me back to the land of the living – It’s been quite a while since Donatella & Co. have provided us with a bag so thoroughly worthy of ridicule. When pitched such a softball, I can only hope to hit it out of the park. Won’t you join me?

Last month, I wrote about the cash flow problems that Versace has and how better handbag design could potentially alleviate some of their woes. No other brand makes bags that are such a consistent running joke in high-end bag circles, and they have little to no rabid following when it comes to their accessories.

Sadly, the Versace Gree Shopper could not be a more apt example of why that is. Gaudy metallic? Check. Logos galore? Check. No leather to be found? Check. Astronomical price for a canvas tote? You better believe it.

More accurately, trouble has been brewing for quite some time now.

We make light of Versace‘s relatively piddling bag efforts on a regular basis (or whenever I can’t think of something more interesting to write about), but based on Dana Thomas’s very interesting article on the company’s troubles for the latest Newsweek, bad bags aren’t the only problems that Donatella & Co. are having.

Whether or not we want to hear it, handbags are one of the most profitable and important sectors of a worldwide luxury business – the only thing that makes more money for companies like Chanel and Dior is beauty. So is it true that as go purses, so goes the company?

Well, first, it has to be said. Taylor Momsen is approximately 16 years old, and this look is perhaps a tad old for her. She could probably be wearing things that are slightly longer, and eye makeup that’s slightly less…well, just slightly less.

But I kind of love her for dressing like this, truth be told. This is how every girl that ever bought a Joy Division album desperately wanted to dress in high school (including yours truly…), and almost none of us ever got the opportunity. I didn’t because I was on debate team and bleach-blond extensions and a whole pencil worth of eyeliner probably would have made me look unprofessional at tournaments. That, and I don’t think my mom would have bought me leather short shorts. But a girl can dream, I suppose.

But obviously, we’re here to talk about Taylor’s bag, the Versace Metal Frame Satchel. We’ve spoken about this bag before, but it’s hard to get a sense of something when you can’t see it carried. Two things struck me this bag after I saw the pictures – it’s a lot smaller than I expected it to be (it’s not nearly the size of a Stam, to which I originally compared the structure) and I like it just as much as I did previously.

It’s legitimately a nice-looking bag, which is not always Versace‘s strong suit, and for that I’m excited. The price, however, is still thoroughly unexciting. Buy through Nordstrom for $3995.

One company that appears to be paying absolutely no attention to fall trends is Versace. And why would we expect them to? They pay no attention to good taste or reasonable pricing standards, so this is about par for the course.

Objectively, the Versace Socialite Satchel is not a terrible Bag. It’s perfectly fine. But it is completely tone deaf when compared to what else is going on in fashion right now. And, as always, the price is astronomical.