Christian Louboutin Lou Trash Bag, $895 via Neiman Marcus

Or, I suppose, already calling your bag “trash” is one way to set accurate expectations of what it will look like for your customers. That’s the optimistic take, I suppose.

Christian Louboutin has long been making “trash” shoes, which are traditional pumps or slingbacks made out of the patent-covered material that you see here. Because the shapes are classic and there’s not a great deal of surface area, I’ve always thought that the shoes worked, at least for a certain customer. The Christian Loboutin Lou Trash Bag, on the other hand? Not so much. (more…)

Alexander Wang Raphael Crossbody, $680 via Neiman Marcus

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself eating lunch in Soho with a friend while the Alexander Wang sample sale was in full swing. When we walked by and saw that there was no line, we could help but go in and poke around. I found a pair of amazing black brocade leggings from Resort 2011 that I can’t wait to wear once the weather is cold enough, but the thing that caught my eye the most was the Alexander Wang Raphael Crossbody Bag.

Sadly, since this is a Fall 2011 piece, it wasn’t for sale. Instead, it was being carried by some of the girls working the sale, presumably to hold the tasers they surely need in order to keep an unruly sample sale crowd under control. It took all the self control I had not to snatch one off of an employee and sprint as quickly as I could for the Spring Street subway station. (I never would have made it. I would have been taken out by running into a tourist group standing absentmindedly in the middle of the sidewalk. It’s Soho, after all.) (more…)

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. (more…)

Fair or unfair, whenever I think of Cole Haan, I think of middle-aged women. There’s nothing wrong with middle-aged women, of course, but since I’m not yet part of that group, handbags that bring them to mind usually aren’t relevant to my personal style, which tends to be very urban and a bit trendy. I don’t think I’m the only one who commonly associates Cole Haan with a more mature clientele.

I’m not sure if the brand is trying to purposefully combat that association with bags like the Cole Haan Cape Town Camille Crossbody Bag, but if they are, a kicky little minibag in a fun finish is a great way to start. (more…)