We’re all conditioned to pay a certain amount of markup for exotics, particularly ultra luxe skins like python. If you’re careful and choose correctly, though, you don’t have to. More and more small brands keep popping up to give us python without the premium prices, and Abaco is my favorite of the moment.

The Abaco Python Dana Crossbody is similar to the larger bag that we featured over at PurseBlog recently, but it’s a mini crossbody and the price is even better than you would expect. (more…)

Texture might be the most underrated way to make a handbag special and interesting. Regular leather can only be dyed so many colors and sewn into so many shapes – after a certain point, a plain leather bag, no matter how nice the leather, can feel boring and repetitive.

Jimmy Choo has been trying for the past season or two to find ways to add texture in just the right way, and the results have been (to be blunt) mixed. Some of it has been great, some of it has been pretty terrible, but I appreciate that they’re trying to find a way to make their offerings really unique. Which brings us to the Jimmy Choo Cristina Pleated Leather Bag – are you feeling it, or is this another unfortunate sacrifice in the battle for good design? We’ve got an up-close shot of the bag’s texture after the jump. (more…)

I’ve heard that turquoise is the color of spring this year. Ok, well, I heard it from something that Megs said on Twitter, so maybe I can’t claim any original research in the “color of the season” category, but turquoise sounds just about as likely as anything else. I have seen a lot of hot pink bags for spring, though, so I’d like to nominate that for second place.

Anyway, turquoise: perfectly lovely, glad to hear that it’s going to be big in the next few months. I much prefer it to orange or an alternative that looks equally terrible next to my skin. So, time to find a good turquoise handbag, I suppose, and the Jimmy Choo Rahmyn Snake-Embossed Hobo is one of the strongest contenders that I’ve found. (more…)

If ever there was an excellent example of why almost no one can pull off the intricacy and texture that has become a hallmark of the Valentino accessory aesthetic, it’s the Nancy Gonzalez Crocodile and Whipsnake Floral Tote.

I’m not say that this bag is bad, because I really don’t think it is. It’s also not great or particularly inspiring, in the same way that Valentino bags usually are. A poor choice in coloring has sacrificed some of the bag’s visual texture, and despite the fact that I respect where the designer was going with all of this, I don’t think she ever got there. (more…)

Before we go any further, does Chanel‘s website make anyone else sort of dizzy and motion sick, or am I just way too sensitive to that sort of thing? Websites where brands make their bags run frantically from side to side make my head spin, and that website structure makes me find something else to look at almost immediately.

In this case, however, I persevered in order to find the Chanel Rubber Effect Python Signature Tote. Was my nausea worth it? I think it was, but then again, I do have an unnatural affinity for everything black. (more…)

I’m not sure if it’s Lady Gaga’s influence or what, but I’m sure that I’m not the only person that has noticed sequins everywhere for the past few months. High-end handbag designers have largely avoided the trend, but Jimmy Choo has been embracing some rather fly-by-night trends as of late, so the Jimmy Choo Sequined Snake Pattern Tote doesn’t really surprise me.

It’s difficult to see the sequins in this picture since they’re clear, but I assure you that they’re there and they appear to cover the entire bag. As much as I love sequins (and really, I adore them), I just can’t support their inclusion on an everyday tote for a variety of reasons. (more…)

Sometimes buying the bags that we NEED rather than the bags that we want can be a little boring, but when a basic black evening bag is as well-done as the Rebecca Minkoff Snake Fling Clutch, buying what you need is anything but boring. (more…)

This isn’t the first time that we’ve covered the Helena De Natalio Sofi Leather Hobo but I have to say this is the version I like the most! We’ve seen the bag in black and another one in a sea green color. Both gorgeous in their own way but when I saw the latest version I said to myself, ok, I really need to get this! (more…)