Yves Saint Laurent Handbags

Another major design house has joined the world of social media. As of August 1st, Yves Saint Laurent became official on both Twitter and Facebook to reach out with their fans and share news on fashion shows, products, special products and events, campaigns, and celebrity dressing.

Also, Yves Saint Laurent released the fifth edition of Manifesto featuring Christy Turlington, which was photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. The Manifesto will be distributed in the streets of Paris, New York, Milan, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and for the first time in Seoul on Saturday, September 12, 2009. We will bring you more on the Manifesto when it goes live.

I can’t wear heels. I won’t get into the story of exactly why because it’s gruesome and I don’t want to ruin the next few minutes of your life, but suffice it to say, heels are not an option. Also, I can’t wear most knee-high boots because I have enormous calves, and most designers don’t embrace the big calf market. So my ability to appreciate and enjoy the new over-the-knee-boot trend is limited to merely watching from a distance, so that’s what I’m here to do: which of you girls out there have jumped the bandwagon and bought them already, and which of you plan to later?

If ever there was a pair of shoes that was worth an astronomical price tag, it’s these. The construction of a shoe that will cover that much of your leg has to be so precise and well-designed that I’m not sure how well this style will fair at retail. One of my favorite pairs so far is the Yves Saint Laurent Over-the-Knee Boots since they have a bit of stretch and will be more forgiving on more leg structures. If you can pull it off, though, I think you should absolutely go for it – maybe with some tights and a tunic for maximum boot exposure.

And what type of handbag should be worn with these boots? Probably something with a simple, clean design, although the size would be negotiable depending on whether you were rocking them during the day or night. The most important thing to remember with a shoe like this, though, is that what you’re wearing shouldn’t compete with them. So are you going to wear them once the weather turns cold? Buy through Saks for $1745.

Sometimes, you look at a bag and it just screams luxury. There’s no question that it’s made out of amazing materials that will last a lifetime, and it’ll be stylish for just as long as it’s wearable. You can buy it without worry that it won’t fit into your wardrobe or that you won’t find a use for it. Sometimes, a bag is just that straightforward and just that good. The Yves Saint Laurent Roady Hobo is exactly one of those bags.

The first thing to stop me in my tracks was the color – red with earthy brown undertones. It’s incredibly rich-looking without being ostentatious or showy in the least. Instead of screaming at you about how wonderful it is, it puts its hand on your shoulder and whispers in your ear. From there, I then noticed the subtle but important texture of the leather. Instead of being boring and smooth, it’s somewhere between a stamped exotic and a conventional pebbled leather. Like the color, it’s interesting and luxe without being unnecessarily attention-grabbing. It talks softly and carries a big stick. The refined, sleek shape is the perfect compliment – the structured handle provides a nice counterpoint to the soft, slouchy shape. The metallic hooks on the ends of the strap are the perfect finishing touch. Buy through Saks for $1395.

Ever find a bag that just SPEAKS to you? Like, on a personal level that other people may not understand? That’s what the Yves Saint Laurent Spiral Clutch is doing to me. And I’d love to…nay, I HAVE TO…have it.

See, I’m a writer. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was six. Writers often have an odd relationship with the old-school tools of our trade; pens, notebooks, things like that. I’ve even know writers that collect vintage typewriters. When I was little, I’d use the stray dollars and coins I collected from various things (mostly from my mom. Hi, mom!) to go to the school store (do they have those in elementary school anymore?) to buy office supplies. Pens, pencils, notebooks. I still have an inordinate amount of pens in my apartment and, until recently, had an entire cup-holder filled with them in my car. I also find it incredibly difficult to throw away a notebook I’ve written anything in, even if it was just schoolwork from a college career that’s been over for more than a year. It’s not a fixation I think about; pens and notebooks are just things I’ve always liked. And, as such, I love this clutch. The reference is done in a way that is so sleek and irreverent that I can’t help but smile when I look at it. Even for those that aren’t writers, I have to believe that this is interesting enough to have a certain sort of appeal. Buy through Saks for $395.

You know that satisfied feeling you get when you have been looking for a lost item for so long that you had almost forgotten about it? You know the feeling: you’re walking around and suddenly come across the item and you say to yourself, “Oh, that’s where it was!” Well, I got the same feeling when I laid my eyes on this Yves Saint Laurent Muse Clutch, but for entirely different reasons. I’m not a fan of bags completely covered with sequins, but at the same time, I like the sheen of the sequins. Bummer, right?

But this clutch solves that problem by having the creamy grey patent leather embossed with little round shapes, as if there were sequins. Ah, Yves Saint Laurent is clever. You get all the lustre without the annoying indents of sequins in your palm- although you get admittedly less shimmer and glitz; this bag is more sophisticated than just glittery. And the second reason for my satisfaction? It’s Yves Saint Laurent clutch for less than a grand. Need I say more? Buy through Bluefly for $556.

Yves Saint Laurent has perfected the art of suede printing bags. The duffel shape is a bit hit for fall and the simple shape of the Yves Saint Laurent Easy Suede Bag looks amazing with rich, lizard-print suede. The burgundy is a stunner and the mustard truly doesn’t look bad on the website, though I wonder what it looks like in person. If you have not felt a YSL sueded bag in person, you must! I assure you it is divine. Dimensions are 16¾”W X 12½”H X 6½”D.

Buy through Saks for $995.

No matter how much it goes in and out of style, my dedication to animal print persists. In the hands of unskillful designers, it can often go sadly awry, but when done correctly, I enjoy it so thoroughly.

And some may disagree, but I think the Yves Saint Lauren Animal Print Muse II is done absolutely right. In order to temper a strong statement like leopard, it’s important to keep a bag’s other lines and features sleek and clean, which is exactly what the folks at Yves Saint Laurent did. The Muse II was a fabulous candidate for the animal print treatment because of both its inherent simplicity of design and also its status as a must-have It Bag. That way, if you don’t like the animal print, there are plenty of other versions available. And if you do, not only is it an It Bag, but it’s one that everyone who sees you will notice immediately. For better or for worse. But I think it’s for better. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $2295.

I have to tell you about a handbag obsession of mine. To see a stamped suede finish off a bag that I already adore, my heart melts. I don’t know what it is about the soft touch and matte finish, but I have a weak spot for printed suede bags. One of the best brands to pull this off is Yves Saint Laurent . I am actually mad at myself that I did not splurge on the YSL Croc Muse Two which has two colors that I adore with a sueced croc pattern. I LOVE. And then this week on Purse Blog Amanda covered the Yves Saint Laurent Y-Bow Suede Bowler which stamped the suede to look like lizard skin.

Today I bring you another amazing option that brings you lizard-print suede on the longtime favorite Yves Saint Laurent Muse. The Muse is a classic YSL bag and it is easy to see why. YSL continuously brings us designs that stand out from others, like the rounded top on the Muse. I am not drawn toward brown bags, but I desperately want this bag in for my fall wardrobe. It is truly perfect for the autumn; brown, suede, exotic print. Sure, it wouldn’t work in Florida as well, but imagine a brisk fall day when the leaves are turning and you have this perfect bag. There are double handles, a zipper closure, and inside pockets. Buy through Saks for $1395.

Ask anyone that knows me (including Megs and Vlad) – I’ve never had much of a problem forming an opinion. About pretty much anything, in fact. I was captain of the debate team in high school. I took lots of comparative lit classes in college because their assignments usually involved forming an opinion on a book and then arguing it in a paper. My life is exceedingly wordy and over-articulated. I talk too much.

Having said all of that, I can’t decide for the life of me what I think about the Yves Saint Laurent Y-Bow Suefe Bowler. I’m in a Yves Saint Laurent mood lately, partly because I like the way that they unconventionally combine materials and textures in some of their recent bags. I like that they stamped suede to look like lizard skin here, it’s a technique that most designers wouldn’t use in this combination. I also think that I might like the little bow ends coming out of each side, but I’m not sure. It might not work, and I have no idea how to decide if it does or not. As with the texture, I like that it’s unexpected, but instead of doing something interesting with the bag’s form or structure, it’s just a stuck-on decoration to a basic satchel. But maybe I’m okay with that – I just can’t decide. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $1695.

I’m in a big Yves Saint Laurent mood lately, and I’m not sure why. Normally, I like things that are a bit weirder, a bit flashier, or just a bit more unexpected. Which is not to say that YSL is boring, but their aesthetic is normally just a bit more tailored and simple than my own.

I keep finding YSL bags that I really like in the past couple of weeks, however, and the Yves Saint Laurent Deerskin Hobo is the most recent. I even like the shade of almost-chocolate brown that they used, which is exceptionally odd for me, and possibly means that I need to lay down for a moment. But it seems like it would be usable in most people’s wardrobes (if not my own, which is exceptionally heavy in black) for a variety of occasions and for most of the year. The seaming at the ends gives the bag a slightly more interesting shape than your average small hobo and the small chain elements to the handle add a bit of visual interest as well. All in all, another solid effort from YSL. Buy through Bluefly for $895.99.