Christian Louboutin Cleo Sequined Satin Clutch, $2095 via Net-a-Porter

I miss a lot of things about college, and the crossword puzzle from the University of Georgia student newspaper is probably a lot higher up on that list than you’d expect. It was the perfect level of difficulty – I could finish it in about 45 minutes and feel challenged while still ultimately being victorious. Related: 45 minutes was approximately the length of one lecture class period at UGA. Over my four years there, I did hundreds of them.

Getting your news online brings with it a noticeable lack of crossword puzzles, which has left a sad little gap in my procrastination habits since 2008. The Christian Louboutin Cleo Sequined Satin Clutch isn’t literally a crossword puzzle in the same way that Louboutin has made literal tape measure shoes, but when I squint, it’s close enough for me. (more…)

We all know that this time of the summer is basically nonexistent in the fashion world. Megs and Vladi are on vacation, emails slow down to a trickle, it’s impossible to get ahold in anyone who works in an office after noon on Fridays. And here I am, plugging away, trying to conjure a blog out of thin air. But sometimes, the absolute stillness of the industry allows you to notice some things you might otherwise brush off.

Today, that means I noticed both the Dolce & Gabbana Miss Romantique Dome Satchel and Dolce & Gabbana Miss Sicily Tiger Sequins Satchel are, well, both made my Dolce & Gabbana. In the same season. Most brands certainly have a range of bags that goes from safe to flamboyant in order to satisfy a range of customers and purposes (some bags need to do the heavy lifting at retail, some need to garner editorial attention from magazines, still others need to get noticed by blogs like this one), but these two designs constitute about as wide of a range as I’ve ever seen from a single collection. (more…)

When it comes to buying accessories, beaded evening bags can be some of the most criminally overpriced options on the market. Sure, there are a few brands out there who take the time to hand-set their crystals into some amazing patterns in order to create tiny works of handbag art, but mostly what you see are bags that are machine-made and marked up because consumers expect to pay for sparkle. With an inventive option like the Tasha Mesh-Covered Sequin Evening Bag, though, you won’t have to break the bank for a formal event.

The cool thing about this bag is that even though the sparkle comes from sequins instead of rhinestones, the tonal mesh overlay prevents the bag from getting that overly sequined look, which can sometimes read as cheap. In fact, the neat little rows that the mesh creates mimic the look of rhinestones quite well. (more…)

Ethical questions aside, “ethnic” prints are still a hot commodity in the fashion industry. Whether they’re from African, Indian, South American or Native American extraction, it seems as though designers are having an absolutely gleeful time splashing the fun, often colorful patterns across everything from ponchos to evening bags such as the Cleobella Nikko Envelope Bag.

I always encourage people to seek out native sources for their “ethnic” fashion goods, but if you can’t find something exactly like this bag, it’s cute enough that I wouldn’t begrudge you its purchase. The colors on this particular piece might be subtle and neutral, but when you look closely, the design is anything but. (more…)

Valentino bags are expensive. And they’re not regular-person expensive, either. Coach bags are the bags that normal people think are expensive; Valentino bags are the bags that normal people don’t even realize exist. Sometimes I wish I was one of those people who never got bit by the fashion bug, but sadly, I’m hooked and that won’t change. Not soon, not ever.

Luckily, Valentino’s diffusion line Red Valentino has started selling several handbags exclusively through Saks, and I think that we can all agree that the Red Valentino Sequin Bow Crossbody would make a pretty good alternative to one of Valentino’s regular four-figure options. (more…)

Every band that goes for the gusto when it comes to sequins makes a misstep here and there; the line between chic and tacky is so precarious when it comes to a material as shiny and in-your-face as sequins, and the statistical probability of an occasional screw-up is high when you make as many paillette-covered bags as Coach does. Luckily for all of us, the Coach Poppy Sequin Mini Field Bag isn’t a mistake at all. (more…)

In general, I think that phrase “too much is never enough” is useful when trying to explain certain sectors of fashion, particularly to those who aren’t interested in the industry or in understanding the genius of fabulous fashion eccentrics like Anna Dello Russo or Daphne Guinness. Rococo is always alive and well somewhere within the style world, even during harsh economic times, and its exuberant resilience is to the industry’s credit.

Sometimes rococo runs headlong into a wall, though, as with the Marc Jacobs Large Sequined Stam. I like the Stam bags (I even have one from way back in the second season that they were around), I like sequins, I like the blush-nude color that we have going on here. But unfortunately, the end result is less than the sum of its parts. (more…)

As the holiday party season starts to get into full swing, the question of what to wear hangs heavy in the minds of almost all party-goers. Particularly if the festivities are office-related, you might not want to wear things that are too obviously showy or expensive. Workplaces breed resentment, and in most industries, being seen as flaunting one’s wealth can be looked at as gauche.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to shy away from a glitzy little holiday clutch, though; you just have to find a way to do the look in an unexpected and fun way. The Rafe New York Erin Clutch provides precisely that opportunity: it’s little and sparkly, but it’s not over-the-top or obviously a designer bag. (more…)

Did anyone watch Sports Night back in the early 2000s? It was the show that Aaron Sorkin did before The West Wing, and it was an excellent, if short-lived, peek behind the scenes of a SportsCenter-type broadcast. In one episode, the taken-for-granted wardrobe girl went off on one of the show’s hosts about how her job was important because if dressing was left up to him, he’d never figure out which undertones went with what colors and he’d end up looking like crap.

Well, whoever designed the LeSportsac Blue Steel Small Crossbody Bag probably should have borrowed my DVDs of the show and listened to her rant, because this bag is kind of adorable…except for the out-of-nowhere gold hardware and trim. Although if the bag’s name is a Zoolander reference, I’m willing to forgive the designers. (more…)

I tend to have a soft spot for bags that are ever-so-slightly on the wrong side of the fabulous/tacky divide, so when I see something like the Halston Heritage Carla Studded Flap Bag, I have to check myself for a moment. Is this bag actually cool, or is that my bad taste talking?

Despite the simultaneous presence of both sequins and studs, two trends that are about to find themselves visited by that old-fashioned giant hook that yanks people off stage, I think that the color palette and various textures might work together to make this bag a winner. At least on a certain level. (more…)