Shop the 797 Handbag collection at ToryBurch.com

Today is the last day of August. I realize we all share the same calendar but I needed to say that out loud to remind myself that summer is over and fashion week is a week away. INSERT PANIC HERE. Kidding, kind of. Fashion Week is one of the best times to be in this industry, because not only do I get to attend the shows I love most, but also I get to dress up to attend them as well.

Photos via All the Way Up Here

I’m always excited when a new Target designer collaboration is announced, but about half of the time, I end up a little disappointed when the actual lookbook hits the Internet. That’s absolutely not the case for Missoni for Target, a sneak peek of which just hit fashion sites today. Now that I’ve seen some of the clothes, accessories and home goods that we can look forward to, I’m even more excited than I already was.

Images via Fashionologie

You all know that I’m an Alexander McQueen fangirl, but I love the entire line just as much as I love the company’s accessories. I’m particularly fond of the artistic direction that McQueen’s ads have taken since his company changed hands following his tragic passing, and the Fall 2011 ad campaign is yet another reassurance that Sarah Burton was the right choice to lead the brand.

Photo via Jak & Jil

Emotionally, I have moved on from summer. I’ve decided that summer and I are over and my new love interest is fall, even though it won’t begin to cool down in New York for at least another six weeks. Facts don’t figure in matters of the heart, after all.

I’m already well into the planning stages for fall clothing and accessory purchases, but this fantastic photo of model Britt Maren by (who else?) Tommy Ton of Jak & Jil has reminded me of a style arena that I’ve yet to tackle for the new season: Makeup.

Of all the words that could potentially be used to describe the enormously innovative work done over the past few decades by Maison Martin Margiela, I think that “clever” is the most apt. Margiela’s best work always makes me smile, even when the themes are dark, because the man (and the company, which he may or may not have left, depending on who you believe) always comes up with a way to take the basic thing that we all know and twist our expectations into something that makes a huge (if sometimes subtle) visual statement.

Photo via The Coveteur

I was browsing The Coveteur yesterday when I came across the website’s feature on Meredith German, a ten-year fashion industry veteran and creative director of handbag company Meredith Wendell. As a fan of both The Coveteur’s photography and German’s bags, I relished the opportunity to take a peek inside the domicile of a fellow accessories aficionado.

Photo via Style.com

Normally for Want It Wednesday, we pick a specific item (which may or may not be a handbag – we like to switch things up around here sometimes) over which we’re lusting that week. But today, we’re doing things a little bit differently. While paging through Tommy Ton‘s always-excellent street style photos from Style.com’s Paris Haute Couture Week coverage, we came upon this photo of a group of young fashion luminaries that had us rummaging through our closets to see if we could recreate some of the colorful looks.

Selima Optique Amanda Sunglasses, $350 via Net-a-Porter.

Somehow, when my name comes up as the moniker for a new handbag or pair of shoes, it’s always a piece that I don’t like. At all. Something I’d never consider buying and likely wouldn’t even wear if it were to find its way to me for free. So you can imagine my delight when I was checking the new arrivals at Net-a-Porter.com this morning and found the Selima Optique Amanda Sunglasses, which I loved even before I realized that the universe had conspired to name them after me.

With all the thinking I’ve been doing today about Hermes, it seemed particularly serendipitous that I would come across this utterly lovely photo of a very fashionable lady carrying the Hermes Constance on photographer Tommy Ton’s Jak & Jil blog. While this design doesn’t have the ardent and ravenous following of the Birkin or Kelly, I think we can all agree that its lines are elegant in a way that only Hermes can pull off.

Yesterday afternoon I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet Lulu Guinness at her Manhattan boutique and preview her upcoming collection, and although I came away from the event with many thoughts (Lulu and her team are lovely, I need more opportunities to drink prosecco in the afternoon, I can understand why West Village rents are so astronomical), the one thing that keeps popping into my head is how much I want a Lulu Guinness Lips Clutch.