I first fell in love with Anya Hindmarch's handbags a few years ago on a trip to Los Angeles. A friend and I went shopping on the famed Robertson Boulevard where we saw Lindsay Lohan (a story for another day). Anyway, we visited the Anya store and my friend wound up buying two bags and has been in love with Anya ever since. I didn't buy any that day (what was I thinking?) but I also fell in love with her bags that day. She is one of those designers that never disappoints while continuing to make innovative yet classic styles that you always lust over. Hobos have always been my favorite handbag shape, and I especially love the slouchy kinds - they give just the right bit of edginess and a not-too-structured feel. The Anya Hindmarch Cholet Bag is a hobo with timeless appeal - everything from the neutral grey color to the simulated gem detail - it is definitely a bag that I would carry for years. It has a magnetic closure, studded exterior flap pocket and multiple interior pockets, and lined in suede.
Celeb Spotting: Kimora Lee Simmons with Versace Quilted Snap Out Of It Bag
July 19, 2008
Diva Kimora Lee Simmons was spotted after causing commotion on a passenger flight looking angry but stylish as always. The Baby Phat / Phat Farm President claims to favor her own brands but she's always spotted with some other luxury designer bags. Though Versace clothes are a fave of mine, their handbags are less than desirable, but Kimora seems to love her Versace Quilted Snap Out Of It Satchel. (I mean really, she has about a million Louis Vuitton bags but she chose to carry this instead?!?!) Anyway, the bag is made of Italian calfskin leather, has braided double handles and a signature quilted 'Greek Key' pattern. FYI: This bag is also a fave of Britney Spears, which makes it even less desirable...ugh!
Check out more Versace Couture handbags at the Designer Shop at NORDSTROM.com.
Celeb Spotting: Blake Lively with Loeffler Randall Bedelia Satchel
July 17, 2008
Blake Lively, star of my favorite show, Gossip Girl was spotted on set with co-star and cutie Penn Badgeley filming the new season. Though I love the show's accurate portrayal of catty, spoiled rich high-school girls, I really watch for the fashion. This show is like a mini Sex and the City, with almost as much sex but just as much in the fashion department, particularly between Blake (Serena) and Leighton Meester (Blair). Anyway, Blake's carrying the luxe Loeffler Randall Bedelia D Ring Satchel in nude. It's a gorgeous bag - so much so that you can dress down like Blake and let the bag be the highlight of your entire outfit!
Devaney/WireImage
Haute or Not: Louis Vuitton Monogramouflage Speedy 35
June 30, 2008
As much as I love Louis Vuitton, I have to say enough is enough! The hideousness that was the camouflage fashion trend was over long, long ago. So why do designers insist on bringing it back to the masses and why do celebrities think it's ok to wear on the red carpet? This limited edition (thank goodness!) Louis Vuitton Monogramouflage Speedy 35 satchel was designed by Takashi Murakami just in time for his exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. If Murakami wasn't such an artistic genius, I would bash him for this multicolored green mess of a handbag. Rihanna manages to make it look more edgy...or maybe it's just the latex leggings and feathered skirt(?). Trina sports the bag in it's worst form - on the red carpet next to a bright yellow dress. She manages to make the bag look less tacky.
What do you think of the Monogramouflage print bags? Haute or not?
Celeb Spotting: Janice Dickinson with Le PetitPas Wilm bag
June 23, 2008
Despite her self-proclaimed title "The first supermodel. Ever!", Janice Dickinson is not who I look to for fashion inspiration. However, she was spotted on the streets posing with carrying a Le PetitPas handbag. The brand has an odd manifesto - it only produces one new, exclusive handbag every six months to a year so that every bag "is always new, never more of the past". Only 500 are made in a true limited edition fashion. It's an odd concept but it caught my attention. Anyway, the bag itself is satisfactory. The design is not particularly spectacular or unique, but the concept is and the bag is nice and well made. It's made of red Italian leather with bronze plated hardware. The brand boasts "precision dual stitching to ensure robust handling conditions" as well as a "hand-stitched/thronged handle" which sounds pretty sturdy. It has a bunch of pockets - on the front, inside, etc. and just enough hardware on the exterior. It's overpriced at $1,270 but since it's a limited edition, you might think it's worth it.
Image: Starzlife.com
Celeb Spotting: Rihanna with the JT Italia HB Satchel
June 18, 2008
My boyfriend has a celebrity crush on Rihanna so I secretly despise her. But I have to admit, I really love her style. The edgy haircut, B-girl fashion and trendy accessories make her a true modern fashionista. She was recently spotted at the airport looking cute from head to toe, of course, but it was her haute red handbag that really caught my eye. I covered Rihanna's handbags before but this one was a new one I'd never seen. After a bit of research, I discovered the bag in question was the
There's a lot going on with this bag but it's simply stunning. There's draping, pleating, and leather wrapped around the handle. The bag is made completely by hand which makes it even more amazing, and consists of contrasting leather and buffalo skins. It's pricey (I mean c'mon, would Rihanna carry a cheap bag?) - $3,400, but it's one of those rare bags that's incredibly well made, the perfect balance between classic and trendy, and offers celebrity style. In short, it's the perfect bag!
Here's some background on the designers from LuxCouture:
After 14 years of working for household names like Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, as well as several top emerging talents, Jeff Parker and Tony Ta launched their handbag line JT (a combination of their first initials). Made in Italy using the finest materials, artisans and producers, and owing to the designers’ constant attention and continuous quest to harness old-world craftsmanship, JT bags raise the bar and redefine luxury. Driven by their instinctive passion for things inherently chic and sophisticated, the designers' sight as inspiration their love of everything from dark chocolate and Gewürztraminer from the Alto Adige, Florence, to Caravaggio paintings and Brancusi sculptures, to all things "horsey", vintage glass and the look of old alligator bags. It is easy to see how their designs reflect this depth of sophisticated sensibilities, as well as have a charming nostalgic aura to them. Yet, it’s the unique way they translate these beloved inspirations into bag-form – each design is exceptionally unique and cutting-edge – that makes us marvel at the designers' brilliance.
"Celeb" Spotting: Vanessa Bryant with the Timmy Woods Eiffel Tower purse
June 13, 2008
As far as Sex and the City goes, I think most women want to dress as fashionably cool as Carrie Bradshaw. I guess that's why Vanessa Bryant (Kobe's wife) channeled her inner Sarah Jessica Parker and pulled out this interesting look to wear to her husbands Lakers playoff game, complete with the Timmy Woods Eiffel Tower purse from the Sex and the City movie. I love Vanessa's outfit - the puffy-sleeved tweed-look jacket (even though it's June, Vanessa...), the leggings and blue Manolo Blahniks. The purse is kind of a throw away...it doesn't really match, it's more of a "I'm just as stylish as Carrie Bradshaw" accessory. But I guess if you're young, beautiful and rich, there's nothing wrong with that.
Celeb Spotting: Serena Williams with Valentino Nuage
April 30, 2008
Source: TheYBF
When I think of Venus and Serena Williams, I have to admit that high fashion is not the first thing that comes to mind. But Serena was recently spotted out shopping looking casually chic in Nike sweats and carrying a black patentValentino Nuage bag. The bag is a large hobo with a big patent bow on the side. It's overly girly and cute and very un-Serena like, but I love the pairing of casual wear with a luxury, haute off the runway bag.
$1,195, Bergdorf Goodman
Only one more month until the Sex and the City movie - woohoo! There have been movie spoilers all over the web and I've been trying to ignore them all and just focus on the fashion! Sarah Jessica Parker has been photographed on set wearing all of her fabulous Patricia Field-styled outfits, shoes, jewelry and handbags and this one in particular has received loads of attention - the Timmy Woods 'Eiffel Tower' Limited Edition Clutch. Woods is known for her handmade wood, cheeky-chic clutches and this one is perhaps a snub at Alexander Petrovsky - remember Carrie's French lover?
Anyway, the bag is made of acacia wood with a black bengaline shoulder strap. While Carrie's bag has 6,300 Swarovski crystals and costs a ridiculous $2500, the non-crystallized version is only $415. But you have to either be a die hard SATC fan or lover of all things French 'cause this is no everyday purse!
Check out more of Sarah Jessica Parker's handbags.
Celeb Spotting: Camila Alves with her own Muxo Handbag
April 14, 2008
Are the girlfriends of celebs now celebrities themselves? It looks that way. Camila Alves (girlfriend of Matthew McConaughey) is a fashion model turned celebrity girlfriend turned handbag designer. She was spotted buying leather for her line, Muxo, (which she designs with her mom) that is full of handmade, imported Brazilian leather handbags which she describes as "ready for the beach as they are 5th Avenue."
I'm not particularly a fan of fringe but I do love a sturdy fashionable bag and the Muxo collection is full of them. Camila's carrying the Soho, a large shoulder/bucket bag with a front pocket embossed with the Muxo logo and bottom fringe detail. But my favorite piece is the Broadway clutch. The Aztec-style print on the leather looks rich and sumptuous and the whipstitching detail on the edges gives it a handmade feel.
Check out MyMuxo for more bags!
Everyone's buzzing about the alleged wedding between power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z. Did they or didn't they tie the knot? Who cares! We just want to know who she was wearing, what she was carrying, and the size of the 'roc' on her engagement ring! Word has it that the bride wore a white, Parisian-designed wedding gown. As we've seen on the red carpet, Beyonce favors mermaid- and Cinderella-style full-length gowns so we're pretty sure that's the look she replicated on her wedding day. And as far as what she was carrying, it was probably a custom designed clutch from the likes of Giorgio Armani, likely covered in diamonds! The pair already has matching 'IV' tattoos on their ring fingers, but we're sure Jay-Z pulled out all stops to grace Beyonce's finger with the biggest, brightest diamond ring ever seen! We're anxiously awaiting the (leaked) wedding pics which are sure to surface soon...
Women love Michael Kors, especially his handbags since the styles are classic and clean, much like his clothes. The Michael Kors Sutton Clutch is the 'It' clutch for summer, already having been carried by celebrities, including Eva Longoria (pictured above with friend, rapper Eve with her Zagliani Flash Python Clutch). The clutch comes in a variety of colors, including the color for summer, yellow, along with royal blue, white, red, and black patent leather, and gold metallic and coral kidskin. It's fastened with an oversized gold buckle that adds some flash while staying simple and understated. At $395 each, you can pick up a few for the Spring and Summer! Paired with a dress, suit or tank top and jeans, the Sutton clutch adds class to any look.
I've been drooling over all of Zac Posen's bags...I mean really, what woman hasn't? But when bags hit price points over $1,000, I start to get really selective and picky and can't decide what ones to invest in. Because at $1,000 or more, they are truly investment pieces. So lucky for me, and you, Zac Posen bags are now on sale at Bloomingdale's! I especially love the Zac Posen Abbey Satchel that Rihanna also shares my love for. It's been marked down to $899! This bag, like all of Zac Posen's bags have the feel of old school glamour but with a modernity that makes them wearable and not old lady-ish. The Zac Posen Austyn and Aurora Frame Satchels share the same structured classic look as the Abbey, and are regularly priced under $1,000. What a steal!
Ooh la la, I think I'm in love...
No, not with Pharrell Williams (though I do love his beats). But I'm in love with his (man?)bag, the huge, highly coveted Hermes HAC (Haut Au Corrois), aka the original Birkin. Pharrell had two of them custom made at the Hermes factory in Paris, one in orange/tan, and the other the purple crocodile version. Katie Holmes was recently spotted with the red Hermes HAC...(new 'It' bag alert?) Though it's much more appropriate for women, it takes a big man to carry a purple handbag, and an even bigger man to carry a purple crocodile bag. Kudos Pharrell, you're a big man. With a really big bag.
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Keith Richards - the New Face of Louis Vuitton? New Bag Alert!
March 04, 2008
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Apparently in an attempt to reach the rock-star, alcohol-soaked, grungy luxury-lover, Louis Vuitton has chosen Rolling Stone-r Keith Richards to model for its 'Core Values' campaign. Shot by Annie Leibovitz, the ad features a somber Richards with a guitar and LV luggage case with the tag line: "Some journeys cannot be put into words." Um, yeah.
In other Louis Vuitton news, the line just launched a new and affordable(!) bag, the Monogram Canvas Montorgueil GM. The bag, inspired by "a lively pedestrian street in the center of Paris" is a rounded satchel with double handles, a top zip closure, and full of Louis Vuitton charm. I have been thinking about buying a Speedy but didn't want to lug around a bag with short top handles, so the Montorgueil is a nice alternative. It's roomy (16.5"x 9.4"x 7") and luxe so therefore perfect!
$805 at eLUXURYlouis vuitton
Fashion Inspiration Comes From Everywhere: Yves St. Laurent
February 19, 2008
Is it just me or does this YSL tote closely resemble Mariah Carey's spray-painted abs? Just a little fashion food for thought...
Yves Saint Laurent Overseas Medium Leather Tote, $1,895, Saks Fifth Avenue
louis vuitton
