I’ve been on a Celine kick for quite some time, and just as I thought my obsession begins to subside, I found a bag that makes it flare back up. I’ve gone back and forth trying to decide if I like the Celine Phantom, which is the most recent hit from the brand, and I have finally decided I want it.
With the middle of the bag matching the Luggage Tote that we know, the Celine Phantom expands in size with a more spacious east/west finish. When you zip the bag up, the shape comes back closer to the Luggage Tote, but I really like the bag left larger.
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced holiday gift that you’re sure the recipient has a use for, it’s hard to go wrong with something tech-y. No matter how girly the girl, we all have iPhones and laptops and iPads (some of us) that are parts of our everyday lives, and making them a little more chic while maintaining functionality is a near-constant pursuit for young women.
That’s why we’ve assembled a list of the finest high-fashion tech accessories as the latest installment of our Holiday Gift Guide 2011; from headphones to laptop cases to a bag to carry it all, we can outfit you for the next year and then some.
To me, the Kelly shape – a simple, arm-carried bag with a front flap closure and a top handle – is a classic shape that doesn’t really belong to Hermes so much as it belongs to handbag design in general. Much like the Louis Vuitton Speedy, the shape has reached such a classic level that attributing it to only one company no longer seems fair. And when the reinterpretations yield bags as different from the original as the Mulberry Postman’s Lock Satchel, I think it’s easy to see why I take that opinion.
I used to associate black and blue with bruises, but going forward I will always think of this stunning Bottega Veneta Knot clutch instead. Leave it to Bottega to know exactly what I adore and design it in a way that has me going gaga. We have discussed their Knot clutch ad nauseum and my two favorite renditions have been their crocodile version and their intrecciato metal version. But now I have both in one place and that feels like Christmas came early.
With the perfect touch of sophistication, the Bottega Veneta Crocodile and Intrecciato Metal Box Clutch integrates textures and colors in a completely fashion-forward combination.
Usually when we hear about something as awesome as a chance to collaborate with Proenza Schouler on your very own, custom Proenza Schouler PS1, we’re not lucky enough to ever see the results. That’s what I assumed would happen when I heard about this charity auction a few months ago, but luckily for us, a style blogger won the auction and now we have lots of photos of the finished product.
Jena Gambaccini, Chicagoan and proprieter of ChiCityFashion.com, worked with Proenza Schouler to come up with the final product that you see above: a medium PS1 in purple python with black trim and a yellow suede interior. I might be a bit biased because I’m also a big lover of this combination (I have a pair of custom Nike running shoes in the very same colors, except I like my yellows a bit more chartreuse), but I think she chose very wisely. If you could design your own version of any bag, which one would you choose and what would it look like?
Luxury travel accessories usually fall into two categories: Pretty things that no one actually uses or needs and things that are pretty while also being surprisingly useful. The Mulberry Travel Adapter, complete with its bright pink leather carrying case, is one of the few that fits firmly in the latter designation.
For anyone left who doesn’t know this, American plugs don’t work in foreign outlets and vice versa, and some foreign plugs don’t work in other foreign outlets. To make your flat iron work everywhere on the globe, it’s necessary to take a converter with you when travelling overseas, because god knows you don’t want a frizzy mane while on vacay. Now that Mulberry has stepped up to the plate, you can ensure electrical compatibility in chic pink leather.
Every year, Pantone picks a new color as a PR stunt to have us all talk about Pantone and colors for a week or two. Every year, it totally works. It’s a gimmick with staying power! Most years, the color selections seem a bit…off, at least by fashion standards. The last two have been a dark teal and a disappointingly middling shade of pink, neither of which had anything to do with the neon-a-gogo mood of the style industry in 2010 and 2011. For 2012, Pantone managed to get it right – the bright, saturated, orange-y reds that we’ve seen all over the runways for the past two seasons (and that were especially popular for Resort and Spring 2012) is 2012’s Color of the Year.
It’s technically called Tangerine Tango, but I see a lot more red than orange when I look at Pantone’s official swatch. Almost all of my friends have lamented this shade as a difficult one to wear, but that’s where being a handbag person comes in handy – you can wear it all you want, and since the color doesn’t sit near your face, it doesn’t matter if it’s flattering to your skin tone. Naturally, we have six handbag options in red-orange so that you can get a jump on 2012.
We are always giving full-on bags lots of loving, but small accessories are just as integral to our daily lives. From wallets to wristlets to card cases to makeup pouches, small accessories hold the necessities that we carry with us daily. Both handbags and small accessories are meant to be functional, but that doesn’t mean they need to lack style.
So with all of that in mind, I scoured the web to find you 9 of the best small accessories that will make amazing holiday gifts.
Megs and I: Incurable Proenza Schouler fangirls, as you all know. We both have PS1s (mine newly acquired via Net-a-Porter’s sale!), I have one of the duo’s simple wallets from their first-ever e-commerce venture, and it seems like we talk on nearly a weekly basis about what Proenza bag we’re thinking about buying or hopelessly stalking or dying to see in person. Even though our personal styles are different, they overlap when it comes to Proenza.
When the brand released several new wallet and pouch designs earlier this week, we were both smitten. As Megs posted earlier this week about the new PS1s, the bright colors make the new releases even better.
If you were to ask any handbag lover what the most expensive handbag to ever sell at auction was, I’m pretty sure that we’d all guess the same thing: an Hermes Crocodile Birkin with White Gold & Diamond Hardware. It just makes sense; not only are Hermes bags (and Birkins in particular) notorious for holding their value and doing well at resale, but a crocodile Birkin with diamond-encrusted hardware is one of the most elusive and expensive collector’s items in the world.
When a friend alerted me a few weeks ago that a Dallas auction house was set to put a group of rare Hermes bags on the auction block, I told her than the estimated $80,000 price for the “Hermes Exceptional Collection Shiny Rouge H Porosus Crocodile 30cm Birkin Bag with Solid 18K White Gold & Diamond Hardware” (as the auction house called it) you see above sounded a bit low; I guessed that it would go in the $100,000+ range. That being said, even I am a bit shocked at the price this bag actually sold for earlier this week…
If you want a great explanation of the multiple reasons why this collection’s India reference was such a brilliant move by Karl Lagerfeld, Style.com’s review really nails it – the last days of the Raj are a fitting metaphor for the current political and economic climate, not to mention that the inspiration is a relevant comment on how fashion manufacturing has changed in recent years. Or, if you just want to see the bags already, hurry up, geez – they’re after the jump.
We’ve been diligently working on putting together Holiday Gift Guides that should help everyone figure out what handbag to give or receive this season. Somehow, though, I didn’t find the right gift guide to add this little number to, but it is worth its own post.
It’s no secret that I am a BBag admirer and carrier and while I love the classic-sized City bag, the Balenciaga Arena Giant Hip is too hip to pass up. I’m always telling you how I love a crossbody bag, and more often than not, I go out and don’t need to carry that many items. For days like that, a small bag with a long strap is as perfect as it gets.
