February 2011 - Page 2

Fill in the blank: The Saddlers Union Drawstring Bucket Bag is…

Feb 24, 2011 by Megs Mahoney Dusil

Fill in the blank in the comments: The Saddlers Union Drawstring-Top Bucket Bag is _____.

Seriously Covetable: The Proenza Schouler PS1 Pouch in yellow crocodile

Feb 24, 2011 by Amanda Mull

Megs and I are big Proenza Schouler fangirls already, as many of you might have noticed, and I’m already on the record as loving the Proenza Schouler PS1 Crossbody Pouch. The bag is functional, exactly my style and cute as a button – how could I not love it? So when you add gorgeous sueded yellow crocodile into the mix, my heart beats even faster.

Unfortunately, with crocodile comes a significantly increased price tag. If money were no object, I’d gladly plunk down in excess of six grand to have one of these little bags hanging from my shoulder. It’s a great pop of color and Proenza Schouler is still a relatively small, independently run brand, after all. So it would sort of be like supporting a local small business…right? Right? Ok, maybe it’s different. But the bag is still great.

Fashion Week Handbags: Victoria Beckham Fall 2011

Feb 24, 2011 by Amanda Mull

I still can’t help but find it fascinating that Victoria Beckham not only designs a collection that just generally very well-received at New York Fashion Week, but also makes handbags that I’m totally beginning to covet. Victoria Beckham’s Fall 2011 runway show, which Beckham narrated herself with notes about the designs, featured an expansion of the brand’s bag line, now in its second season, and the results were almost uniformly successful.

The best pieces were those that built on Beckham’s vision from Spring 2011 – sharp, impeccably tailored handbags and clutches that would look spotlessly chic on the sort of women who never take off their heels. The collection also featured travel bags worn as cross-body backpacks of sorts, but because the styling made the bags difficult to see in their entirety, I’ll reserve judgment on those pieces until I can see them in person.

Reason #1 Why We Love Bags

Feb 23, 2011Feb 23, 2011 by Megs Mahoney Dusil

Reason #1 why we love handbags…

Want it Wednesday: Fendi Silvana Flap Top Bag

Feb 23, 2011 by Megs Mahoney Dusil

Many of my choices for our Want it Wednesday category are both exotic and rather pricey. That is part of the lust factor – we all love something and yearn for it a little more the more it is out of reach. And as much as I love a holy grail dream list, I prefer floating on clouds of reality.

Colorblocking is a huge trend for spring and will continue to be prevalent into next fall. With everyone talking about colorblocking, I was thrilled to see many design houses giving us handbag options that fit the trend ever so perfectly. Fendi is not always on my radar, but their Spring 2011 collection caught my attention early on.

And this Wednesday I am wanting to add the Fendi Silvana Flap Top Bag to my spring wardrobe.

Fashion Week Handbags: Burberry Prorsum Fall 2011

Feb 23, 2011 by Amanda Mull

To say that I was critical of the last Burberry Prorsum handbag collection might actually be an understatement; I didn’t like the bags at all, and based on your reactions to our review, I wasn’t alone. Well, it looks as though Christopher Bailey’s accessories crew may have righted the ship in time for Burberry Prorsum Fall 2011 handbags – along with the collection’s splendid outwear, most of the handbags that hit the runway were intensely covetable.

I still don’t understand why Burberry insists on using its novacheck logo fabric on runway bags instead of relegating it to the regular line as most brands tend to do, but thankfully most of the tasseled satchels and smart, structured clutches were all leather. Burberry showed quite a bit of what appeared to be embossed crocodile as well, giving a collection full of texture yet another layer of visual interest. I would be happy to have every single structured clutch and all of the non-logo satchels from this show in my closet immediately.

Structurally Red

Feb 23, 2011 by Vlad Dusil

Captured on the street before the Alexander Wang show.

Marni flops with their ribbon-trimmed square leather tote

Feb 22, 2011 by Megs Mahoney Dusil

We don’t cover Marni all that often, but many times when we do we praise the brand for their sleek, minimal, and geometric designs. But this bag is a giant purple-people-eater-flop. I’ll give credit where credit is due and say the leather looks nice. Otherwise I am not keen on any design element and the overall appearance is really just silly. It is like a casual yoga bag meets high priced price tag with a weird out-of-place ribbon dangling on the front.

Marni, what were you thinking with your Ribbon-Trimmed Square Leather Tote?

Introducing: R&Em

Feb 22, 2011 by Megs Mahoney Dusil

How often do new brands pop up that are not only fun but also affordable? We all know the answer to that question: Not often. With most lower-priced brands, not only does quality suffer, but so does design. While I have not seen handbag newcomer R&Em in person yet, I can attest to the fact that the designs are eye-catching. And that is half the battle.

R&Em will be exclusively carried at Macy’s department stores and Macys.com starting February 23rd. The line is meant to capture your attention with its fun, flirty and friendly appeal.

This Alexander Wang bag might be your perfect spring carryall

Feb 22, 2011 by Amanda Mull

Now that almost all spring bags have made their way to online retail for pre-order, the season’s what has begun to separate itself from the chaff, so to speak. Some of Alexander Wang’s ideas for Spring 2011 have proven to be better than others, but the more I see the Alexander Wang Large Emile Tote, the more it seems to be among the best of his new bags.

The metal corner caps that Wang introduced with this collection have also carried into his Fall 2011 bags, and I couldn’t be more pleased. They take a simple, functional ivory tote and give it just enough detail to be something special, which is exactly the kind of look you want in a bag that you intend to carry regularly.

Fashion Week Handbags: 3.1 Phillip Lim Fall 2011

Feb 21, 2011 by Amanda Mull

Unlike most of the collections presented at New York Fashion Week, 3.1 Phillip Lim Fall 2011 didn’t use red as its accent color. Instead, Lim chose a brilliant shade of cobalt for everything from neoprene clutches to leather hobo to the tiny arcs at the bottom of his models’ manicures. And sometimes, when a trend is so pronounced and obvious, the best thing that you can do is buck it.

Lim’s bags were interesting beyond just his color choices, though. This collection marks a maturation in the brand as a source of stylish accessories, and the handbags (or what we can see of them) look as though they’ll be pretty covetable come fall. Particularly the black leather north-south tote; the grained leather makes it look slouchier than the smooth leather versions currently available at retail.

Bottega Veneta wins my heart with matte black python

Feb 21, 2011 by Amanda Mull

The Bottega Veneta Knot Clutch is one of those bags that I’m admittedly surprised to still like. The shape is so normal and Bottega has made so many different versions that I probably should have tired of it long ago, but for some reason, I still love almost every version that the brand creates. BV’s bag designers have a knack for the knot, to say the least.

With this utterly lovely matte black python version, though, I think that Bottega has really outdone itself. I have an overwhelming affection for almost anything matte black as it is, and when you apply that color and texture to an utterly luxurious exotic clutch, you have a match made in heaven. Or rather, a match made in Italy. Same difference.