New York Fashion Week (or, more accurately, New York Fashion Eight Days and Some Presentations Before and After) is, to be blunt, never the best place to spot excellent luxury handbags on the runway. (That …
14 posts tagged with Red Valentino
Sometimes in life, you find yourself really wanting to love something for which you ultimately cannot muster all that much enthusiasm. That’s how I feel about the RED Valentino Studded Shoulder Bag; I find it …
When it comes to adding novelty to high-end luxury, shoe designers have found the most recent success; shoes have relatively little surface area and are far away from the natural line of sight, so they …
accessorize appropriately.
If you’re not a person who keeps a tidy handbag, skip this post entirely – you don’t want the world to see the various and sundry receipts, loose change and tampons you have floating around …
If you followed along with your Spring 2014 runway roundups, you already know what I’m about to say. Pale bags, ranging from ivory to blush, are the biggest trend going for spring by far. …
After a couple weeks of lull between the hardcore summer sale season and today, we’ve got some fresh markdowns to share with you once again. Many retailers, especially in the contemporary market, have started putting …
The heat broke! The heat in New York finally broke. While we’re sitting here writing this, it’s actually quite pleasant outside, maybe even unseasonably cool, and we’re celebrating sweet relief in the same way that …
Now that May, glorious May, has finally arrived, things around here seem to be heating up for good, finally. That also means we’re inching ever closer to summer sale season, and although it’s not here …
Not long ago, it was hard to find a good, modern floral print. Flowers felt a bit old-fashioned, and most bands passed them by for more futuristic-feeling geometric designs. Stripes, in particular, had a moment …
If ever you doubted that the 90s are back, I give you: backpacks. Fancy ones, made by everyone from the likes of The Row and Jason Wu to contemporary stars like Alexander Wang and Tory …
Valentine’s Day! If my informal research is any indication, you probably think of it as either your favorite holiday or the worst day of the year, but no matter which you choose, it still comes …
Valentino Bow Flap Bag, $1695 via Neiman Marcus. RED Valentino Bow Shoulder Bag, $495 via Saks.
The similar aesthetics of the Valentino and RED Valentino handbag lines have always surprised me. Sure, a main line and its little sister should have some things in common, but sharing signatures – like Valentino’s bows, for example – always runs one of two risks. First, the less-expensive bags are too similar to the originals, which could mean that the “affordable” line cannibalizes some of the main line’s sales. Second, the comparison of the two might make the diffusion bags look incredibly cheap or childish, which could hurt sales and undermine the purpose of a diffusion line (to capitalize on the cache of the originals to provide an influx of easy cash.)
In the case of the Valentin Bow Flap Bag and the less expensive RED Valentino Leather Bow Shoulder Bag, we’re dealing with the latter issue. Sit them next to each other, and suddenly one has to wonder why anyone would pay $500 for the less expensive option. (more…)