Custom Design

Hold on to your hats, ladies, it’s time to get into the PurseBlog wayback machine and take a trip to 2005. The world economy is still humming along, I’m still in college, and It Bags rule the world – none more so than the Chloé Paddington. In its wake, however, was another bag that the brand managed to convince a lot of women that they wanted – the Chloé Silverado.

I haven’t seen or thought of a Silverado since approximately 2007, although I don’t know when the brand officially stopped making the model. Not that it matters now, however, because the bag is back, presumably to remind us all of the need to keep searching for the next must-have accessory. I don’t know about you, but that’s just not a message of which I’d like to be reminded.

The Silverado, always the Paddington’s second banana, was just never a good enough bag to make a comeback necessary. Sure, it had some python iterations that looked pretty nice, but it didn’t have the design flourishes that really made stars out of bags from that era – the Paddington’s lock or the Fendi Spy’s secret compartment and thorny woven handles. The Silverado is a leather satchel with a lot of whipstitching, which is all well and good, but doesn’t merit a special comeback in the average brown iteration that we see here.

I don’t remember how much a Silverado went for back in the day, so I can’t say if they’ve raised the price or not, but if they did it probably wasn’t by much. That’s nice, but the bag just doesn’t seem current or interesting anymore, particularly considering the tailored midcentury looks that showed up on the recent global runways – would any of you consider buying this bag? Buy through Saks for $1495.

Original post by Amanda Mull

The more I see of the Fall/Winter 2010 shows, particularly the ones from Milan, the more I become certain that the fashion industry glitterati have clandestine meetings after the season has been presented to decide what the trends for the next season will be, just so everyone else is on the same page. That, or it’s secretly just one supergenius (or supercomputer?) behind every major collection, and that’s why everything from Gucci to Fendi to Ferragamo this season has been so cohesive – not just within each collection, but across much of what has been shown at Fashion Week as a whole.

So, this is what we know: the 60s and 70s are being brought back, this time in a conservative and subdued way to match the mood of the culture. Classic shapes, particularly in accessories, are as classic as they’ve ever been. Brown is officially a thing, as is suede. The look of sueded croc is also gaining favor, after being embraced for the past few season by the bag designers at YSL.

Ferragamo’s collection hit most of the high points of fall trendspotting, and the materials were lush and beautiful. A few of the shapes were too plain for me, but high points like asymmetrical croc clutches with tortoise shell closures made me forget all about them. That’s probably a good metaphor for how fall is shaping up, in fact – the key will be finding the bags that take tradition to the next level.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Allow me to make one of my personal biases clear: I look forward to seeing the bags on the Gucci runway more than almost any other bag-including show at fashion week. The brand’s notorious sense for modern glamor and sexuality often comes through best in their runway bags, and seeing them is almost always a pleasure.

I wasn’t as excited by this season’s offerings as I was for last season’s technology-influenced collection, but they were still as luxurious and detailed as you could reasonably ask. Much of the collection, which was heavy on ostrich, was also sporting a slightly modified interlocking G logo that I’ve never seen before – could it be a vintage revival, as is popular with the brand, or something completely new? I’m not sure which, but whatever it is, I think its slightly curvier lines work well for the direction that the brand is going.

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Photos via Style.com.

Original post by Amanda Mull

If you love the Valentino aesthetic but can’t justify shelling out two grand (or far more) for one of their plush, ladylike bags full of bows, ruffles and flowers, I may have a viable alternative for you.

The Villador Carpetto Bow Bag has a couple of Valentino’s most obvious signatures – drool-worthy leather and an oversized bow placed proudly for all to see – without being a ripoff. It’ll also run you about half of what Valentino’s most basic bags usually cost, and who can’t get behind that?

I don’t love the seaming around the edges of the leather “ribbon” (I think it looks a bit cheap, in fact), but I’m willing to overlook it because the leather itself, which is goatskin, looks so soft and touchable.

Other than the bow and the texture, the structure and color remind me a lot of another designer – Chloe. It has a boho feel and attitude to it, and the slouchy look is perfect to wear with boyfriend jeans or a flowing sundress. Buy through Luisa Via Roma for $1054.

Original post by Amanda Mull

One thing that a lot of designers seem to have a very hard time doing is creating a bag that is both expensive-looking and covered in animal print. It’s not surprising since animal print is historically “tacky chic” at best, and at worst, just plain tacky. Getting past the initial “eww, is that zebra?” thought is a difficult sell for a lot of handbag customers in particular, since most people prefer their expensive bags to be neutral and timeless.

Somehow, though, the Roger Vivier Zebra Tote manages to look luxurious and chic in a traditional way, while still being boldly and obviously animal print. How did the designer pull it off? I have a theory, of course.

The folks at Vivier did two things very, very right with this bag: first, they kept the materials high-end. Most designers resort to non-leather materials when they want to make animal print because leather is difficult to dye in precise patterns. Choosing something like cotton canvas automatically downgrades the look, making the print look cheap by association. Instead of making that mistake, the designer used calfskin, giving the bag a richness that it would likely not have otherwise.

The second thing that the designer did correctly was not assume that simply using a pattern would be enough attention to detail. If the goal was to make something modern and minimalist, that would have been fine, but in this situation it probably wouldn’t cut it. Instead, the fine color variation in the dye makes the bag look well-crafted and beautifully wrought, increasing the style quotient exponentially. Vivier should teach classes in this sort of thing. Buy through Luisa Via Roma for $2451.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Hey, Jimmy Choo. Listen and listen good. You’re trying too hard.

The Jimmy Choo Conti Snakeskin Shoulder Bag is…how to say this…a bit confusing. Also, it’s a bit gimmicky, and gimmicky and good design are, sadly, mutually exclusive.

One of the biggest rules of writing is “show, don’t tell,” and the folks at Choo violated a similar design rule in making this bag. Instead of creating something that is so painfully cool that it oozes “rock star” out of its little bag pores, they merely chose to slap an animal-print lighting bolt on a snakeskin bag that would have been gorgeous otherwise.

In doing so, they created a bag that screams, “Look at me, I’m so EDGY,” on the owner’s behalf, and that’s too obvious of a statement for any truly stylish person to want to make. In fact, the design almost comes off as insecure or self-conscious; it appears to be so nervous that other people won’t find it cool enough that its entire existence seems to be predicated on reminding people of that fact. Of course, when something has to broadcast how cool it is, the effect is totally lost. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $2095.

Original post by Amanda Mull

With the popularity of animal print this season, it stands to reason that before long, someone would make a bag that is actually an animal-print animal. And of course that person was Judith Leiber – who else could it have been? And she’s really the only one that could get away with it; she has a gimmick and she sticks with it. Even if you don’t like her bags, you’ve got to give her that. But I can’t exactly decide how I feel about the Judith Leiber Jaguar Clutch.

I know that youth and modernity have never exactly been Leiber’s thing, but for some reason, this clutch is feeling particularly mumsy. Maybe it’s just because women of a certain age are often prone towards whimsical brooches, many of them sparkly, and often, a reasonably sized subset of that brooch category is safari-themed.

But then again, it’s probably the case that only well-established women have the cash on hand to be purchasing bejeweled jungle cats, so I may have missed Leiber’s point entirely. Couldn’t you see someone a bit sassy but still totally elegant like, say, Helen Mirren carrying something like this to an awards show? Buy through Net-a-Porter for $5495.

Original post by Amanda Mull

I’ve got to say at least one nice thing about this bag: Dolce & Gabbana, I like your enthusiasm.

No, actually, I love it. Because the kind of chutzpah it takes to put together seven (that I can count) types of fuzzy animal print onto one bag is the kind of chutzpah that it takes to occasionally create a stinkin’ awesome bag. But at this point, ladies and gentlemen, I have but one caveat: the Dolce & Gabbana Miss Martini Flap Bag is not that bag.

Oddly enough, I think that what this bag suffers from the most is not that there are too many patterns, but that all of the patterns are too similar. Instead of creating contrast and visual interest, they all sort of meld together into one big tan animal print glob, and the result is decidedly “craft store.”

Not that it would have been any better had they added in, say, zebra print or snake print. This idea was more or less dead in the water from the get-go, but if it takes making a thousand ridiculous bags to finally get to one that’s genuinely great, then I’m okay with that. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Buy through Nordstrom for $1075.

Original post by Amanda Mull

MCM (Mode Creation Munich) is making a comeback. The renowned European luxury brand has taken major strides recently in the accessories market. Our take on it all: Bravo. We are really digging what MCM is doing. Quality, luxury, and craftsmanship goes a long way in a handbag. Best part is the price point for most MCM bags stays on the affordable end of the spectrum.

Take the MCM Notte Large Leather Hobo for example. The leather is exceptional in the soft shape while the double chain-link strap gives an edgy and current touch. What is not to like about this bag? As far as classic black bags go, this is an ideal buy. The inside is lined in suede and there is a zipper and two open pockets. Dimensions are 15″W X 10″H X 5″D.

While I have never seen an MCM bag in person, this week that will change. There is a MCM store in our hotel in NYC that we are planning on stopping by to see the bags in person. Once we get to touch the bags and see the quality for ourselves, we will report back with more information. Buy this MCM hobo via Saks for an affordable $925.

Original post by Megs Mahoney Dusil

Ever see a handbag you like, and then realize it has one thing so egregiously, terribly wrong with it that it almost makes you palpably upset? Like you were so close to finding a handbag oasis in the desert, and then it turns out that, by a single cruel twist of fate, that it was all just a mirage?

Yeah, I kind of feel like that about the Marc Jacobs Frame Wallet Sequined Purse.

This bag was so close to being the cute, 80s, glam rock evening bag that I so wanted it to be. I can almost taste it. But then it looks like someone stuck your grandmother’s mauve billfold wallet to the back of it, and it’s ruined.

Not only is it ruined, but it’s basically a bag mullet, but in reverse. The party is in the front, the business is in the back. And since that idea doesn’t work for hairstyles, I’m not sure why any designer would think that a similarly-structured bag is a good idea. Pry the wallet off the back, and I’m absolutely sold on the high-wattage sequin clutch that would be leftover. As it is, I wouldn’t touch this with a ten-foot pole. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $595.

Original post by Amanda Mull