Gaging a trend’s lifespan can be a precarious endeavor, particularly when that trend is born out of something like leopard print, which is an innate classic whether its haters want to admit it or not. It’s been around for ages, and even though it tends to fall in and out of favor cyclically, it will never leave the style world entirely. For leopard lovers like me, that’s a beautiful thing.

Over the past couple of seasons, though, leopard has been pushed by every brand from Givenchy to the Gap. I find this Yves Saint Laurent Cabas Chyc Tote in leopard haircalf exceptionally beautiful, but thanks to overexposure, it does occur to me that some of you might disagree. We’ve set up a handy-dandy poll to measure your leopard fatigue after the jump, or you can buy this bag via Nordstrom for $2795.

With head designer Stefano Pilati’s relationship with Yves Saint Laurent bigwigs rumored to be growing ever more tense, it’s always interesting to see what Pilati will turn out when it’s time for a new collection. I was lukewarm on his work for Fall 2011, but Yves Saint Laurent Resort 2012 is a whole different story. Not only were the nautical-chic clothes absolutely lust-worthy, but the bags and shoes, which are most brands’ chief moneymakers, will likely retail very well.

The bag that I’m most excited about is the Yves Saint Laurent Chyc Cabas, which you can see in one of its iterations above. The roomy tote has both functional and aesthetic appeal, and the frayed red straw accented with white leather and gold hardware makes me want to leave my apartment and make friends with someone who owns a boat. This collection will hit stores right around my birthday. Hint hint.

Photos via WWD

Usually, women only ask two things of their handbags: That they be fabulous and functional. Increasingly, though, some women are making a third request of their clothing and accessories: That it also has a sense of social responsibility. Admittedly not everyone cares about what impact their purchases have on the world or on the people who produced them, but the number of people who do are growing, which makes it fashionable for global brand to debut products like the limited editionYves Saint Laurent Muse Two Artisanal Recycled Bag, which was produced by artisans in Burkina Faso with Fair Trade cotton and recycled plastic bags. For real.

Although I’m betting that most people will balk at paying over $1700 for a cotton handbag even if it is part of a 60-piece handmade run that’s only available online to US and UK customers, the more luxury companies undertake projects like this, the better. Mainstreaming responsible manufacturing processes is a slow process, but this bag makes it hard to argue that the results aren’t every bit as good as their traditional counterparts. Available via YSL.com for $1720.

By now, we all know what spring’s big trend are: Colorblocking, mixed brights, pink and orange, brights contrasted with neutrals. We’ve all been saying this since the collections made their fashion week debuts six months ago, and those looks have made their way to retail with a vengeance. And in the case of the Yves Saint Laurent Lucky Chyc Colorblock Tote, they’ve all showed up in one design.

I really want to like this bag, but I just can’t find it within me. I like the idea – the mixture of brights and neutrals, the bold swaths of color, the functional structure are things that I’ve been digging lately in almost all iterations, but this one just isn’t quite right. The yellow is too mustard-y and not bright enough, the mismatched neutral gussets compete with the rest of the design and should have been left the same color for the sake of symmetry and an ivory handle will show wear almost immediately with any sort of regular use.

Being on-trend doesn’t automatically make a design good, and unfortunately, this bag illustrates that perfectly. YSL came close to having a winner on its hands, and I still appreciate the functional structure (particularly the roomy and well-disguised front pocket), but the rest of the bag needs some tweaks to get it on the right track. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1350.

It may be bigger than current trends dictate, and I don’t think we’ve seen a python version of the Roady so far (although Fall 2011 promises python versions of every bag ever made, so the odds are good), but I’m still a big fan of the Roady and its minimalist, functional shape. I would make but two improvements: A lighter interior lining to make it not such a black hole and a small exterior pocket for my cell phone. On the side that would face my body, of course.

Mostly, I continue to be impressed by what excellent canvases bags like this make for beautiful colors. I like this bag for the same reason that I’m so drawn to Balenciaga’s motorcycle bags – simple shapes and hardware let a saturated color take center stage, and I find myself utterly transfixed by this deep shade of almost-navy. So do you still want a Roady, or would you prefer this hue in a different design? Buy through Saks for $1495.

Naturally, I’ve found myself seeking lower-priced alternatives, and the Yves Saint Laurent Chyc Shoulder Bag is one of the better contenders that I’ve found thus far. Sure, it’s missing some of the exquisite touches that I love about the Celine bag, but it also costs several thousand dollars less.

This bag lacks the leather lining and multiple interior compartments that make the Celine bag so much fun to investigate for the first time, but it has a similarly classic shape and feel to it that gets the aesthetic job done. I love the combination of ivory leather with the weathered gold hardware, and because of the simple lines, this is a bag that could do double duty in the office and out. I have to say, though, that I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the price of this bag either. Buy through Matches for $1785.

I wonder if the folks at Yves Saint Laurent are CSI fanatics as well? The Yves Saint Laurent Fingerprint Flap Bag is a clever and fun take on science and handbags.

The body of the bag is canvas with large black finger prints all over. Feel like this idea is out of place? It is not. In fact, Stefano Pilati sent a dress in this very same print down the Paris runway as well. The shoulder strap is adjustable and the hardware is golden.

At first I planned to just cover this bag as a novelty item, but it is growing on me. There is something fun and playful about the design yet it is still wearable. Pre-order via Neiman Marcus for $1,650.

I’m not sure what makes me love this bag so much. The propensity for the design to come in multicolor versions? Its vaguely nautical lines? The lovely way it sags when carried on the arm? I don’t know, but I’m not so concerned with the knowing as I am with the having.

I can barely resist the utter cheerfulness of this pinky-red leather juxtaposed with white, which means that this is another bag that’s make me wish for spring and flowers and pretty dresses. It’s pretty cruel that all of these bags are coming out now, just when winter’s cold streak is really picking up, but we all know that fashion is inherently structured to make us want what we can’t have in as many ways as possible. Come spring, though, this little darling just might be mine. Buy through Matches for $1326.

Once I saw the Yves Saint Laurent Roady Hobo in what the brand calls “flame,” I knew that there was no escaping the onslaught of orange. My sales associate at Jeffrey told me that they had ordered a lot of orange and coral for spring, and since the boutique’s owner Jeffrey Kalinsky is also an executive vice president at Nordstrom, it’s safe to say that orange will be showing up there as well, not to mention in every other department store in existence. Brights had a moment on the Spring 2011 runways in what seemed like a direct response to Fall 2010′s neutral palette, and fiery shades in particular look to be among the biggest winners of the season.

My skin tone generally prefers to be paired with magentas, violets and cobalts when it comes to brights, but if you’d like to incorporate orange into your spring purchases without having to worry about what kind of undertones in might bring out in your natural color, a handbag is a relatively safe way to do it. Since the Roady is a simple, classic shape, the odds of you looking like a total trend-chaser are relatively minimal, and as far as oranges go, even I can admit that the color is rather lovely. Buy through Bergdorf Goodman for $1295.

Suede bags are hard to maintain, but can still give a great soft touch with a hint of fall and winter to the right bag. Yves Saint Laurent proves that with the YSL Suede Sac Trench, which has a tan suede body offset by contrasting leather whipstitching. And you know what? I totally love it.

I rarely consider suede bags as options, but this classic YSL shape has me re-thinking my previous assessments. Imagine toting this bag with the fall leaves behind you. It works really well in a fall scenario. And it works for winter, but not during a snow storm. So as much as I am digging this bag, it might be a little too late on my radar as far as the seasons go. Buy via BlueFly for $1,148.