Custom Design

It might be a bit early to declare box bags as a trend, but the sight of Victoria Beckham carrying one a little while back and now the appearance of fall’s Alexander Wang Tai Dopp Kit Bag make it seem as though more such bags will come out of the woodwork in the near future. Boxes certainly fit with the emerging trend of petite, streamlined, slightly retro handbags, and if you want to hop on this look before all of your friends know about it, we’ve got a few suggestions – one that plays up the bag’s grey tone, another that accents the creams and beiges.

The Bag

Alexander Wang Tai Dopp Kitt Bag – It comes in both embossed natural python and black leather, but since mixing patterns is also a fall trend, this seems like a perfect time to wade into those waters a bit and see how things go. The black version, of course, could be mixed into a wardrobe in a similar way to a large black clutch.

The closure and structure of this bag make it easily more interesting than any clutch in my closet, though, and I’m betting the same is true for you. That the short handle must be held by hand will make it unwieldy in some daytime situations, but it’s such a cool, different bag that it would be worth the tradeoff. Buy through ShopBop for $795.

Daytime – Edgy

Helmut Lang Raven Top – This silk and jersey asymmetrical top is full of color inspiration for any number of different outfits, but pairing it with neutrals in different textures allows the subtle pattern and draping to shine. The traces of cream and beige tie in with the bag, and combining the two gives you a relatively safe way to mix prints without looking like a crazy person. Buy through ShopBop for $320.

Vince Oversized Pocket Sweater – In a temperate climate or during the part of winter before it’s gotten truly cold up north, a sweater like this is absolutely key. It can go with boyfriend jeans and casual shoes or be sexed up a bit with silk and leggings, and the charcoal grey color gives the knit a bit more dimension and versatility than black would. Buy through ShopBop for $345.

Plush Liquid Faux Leather Leggings – I’m not much of a fan of fake leather in general, but in some situations, it just makes sense. Leather leggings cost hundreds of dollars and don’t have much season-to-season staying power, and this faux version is priced perfectly and isn’t too shiny to be worn during the day with a casual outfit as an interesting, textured alternative to basic black leggings. Buy through ShopBop for $70.

Elizabeth and James Coli Suede Flats – Winter is all about mixing textures, and choosing suede flats for daytime is just another way to do it. The medium grey color pulls from the greys in both the bag and shirt, and it provides some softness at the end of the leather leggings. Buy through ShopBop for $285.

Dannijo Coco Ring – For an ensemble with this many textures, jewelry can be kept to a piece or two. When wearing sweaters, I stay away from bracelets because of snagging, and earrings would compete with the huge collar. A statement ring is therefore the perfect option, and this one adds just the right amount of shine while still keeping with the mood of the clothes. Buy through ShopBop for $216.

Nighttime – Feminine

Foley + Corinna Asymmetrical Party Dress – Nude and cream tones dotted the runways for the past two seasons, and this frilly dress gives a girly look to a trend that can become boring quickly. I’d be a bit afraid to crush the frills if I sat for too long, but this is the ideal dress for standing at a bar or dancing at a club while still looking flirty and pretty. Buy through ShopBop for $390.

Anna Sui Faux Fur Cropped Jacket – Fur is noticeably huge for fall, and the always-reliable Anna Sui has created the perfect (faux!) night-out topper. It’s cropped to show off as much of your dress as possible, and the plush, glossy black fur will keep you warm and dressy-looking simultaneously. To go tough instead of glam, layer a cropped, draped leather jacket over your party frock instead of fur. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $350.

Jeffrey Campbell Clara Mesh Platform Pumps – These shoes ride the fence between pump and booty admirably, and the black suede with mesh insets will mirror the dress well once a foot is inside. The design anchors a floaty ensemble without being too heavy, and they would be a versatile nighttime option to have in your closet in case of random fabulous parties. Buy through ShopBop for $136.

Rachel Leigh Zelda Cluster Drop Earrings – Nothing accents an asymmetrical neckline like a pair of good dangly earrings, and since most necklaces don’t work with this type of dress, go for big and sparkly. This pair provides a little color variation for a very neutral outfit. Buy through ShopBop for $188.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Any regular reader of this blog knows that I’m drooling over a whole lot of bags for winter – Celine, YSL, Mulberry, Alexander Wang…my list is long and expensive, just as it always is. We can go ahead and add the Carlos Falchi Gathered Crocodile Tote to it, although I’d need a bit of a windfall to make it a practical option.

Since this blog is clearly not about practicality, however, let’s pretend for a moment that we can all afford to spend over five grand on this beautiful bit of grey crocodile loveliness. This satchel is certainly more affordable than, say, a crocodile Hermes Birkin, and in my mind, that gives me a little bit of hope. Or perhaps it merely strengthens my delusion…

Because the bag is so simple, it’s beautiful in a really obvious way. Gorgeous exotic leather + neutral, nuanced color = drool, in what may be the easiest equation this side of remedial algebra. In fact, Falchi’s nuanced dying techniques are usually what makes his bag’s a cut above. Exotic leather deserves a treatment that accents its natural variations and texture, and this bag does exactly that in a neutral shade that can be paired with literally anything. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $5295.

Original post by Amanda Mull

In our never-ending periodic quest to find stylish options at a variety of price points, today we have a reasonably priced alternative to the Nancy Gonzalez Hand-Held Croc Clutch that I wrote about last month. I liked it so much that I went on a search for a budget-friendly alternative to add to my wardrobe, and the best contender I’ve found is the Rebecca Minkoff Lovers Clutch.

To me, the most important parts of the Nancy Gonzalez clutch to replicate the look were the contrast between a bright body and a dark handle and the exotic texture. Since detailed clutches in real exotic skins don’t come around very often at the price point I was hoping to find, embossing will have to do. The magenta of the Minkoff clutch provides a reasonable alternative to Gonzalez’s bright blue, and the color’s contrast with the wood trim is similar to the contrast with the dark crocodile.

Exotic embossing almost always looks a tad cheap even on nice leather, but this example of it seems better than most. Either of these clutches are choices that would likely garner you a lot of compliments, but the Rebecca Minkoff version will run you a reasonable $240 (on sale from $325) compared to Gonzalez’s much steeper $3200 price point.

You can buy the Nancy Gonzalez via Neiman Marcus, or the Rebecca Minkoff via Luna Boston.

Original post by Amanda Mull

After five years of running PurseBlog, it is rare that I run into a brand new designer that I feel absolutely amazed, excited, and captivated by. That is precisely what I feel when I look at Peter Nitz Zurich designs. His designs captured my attention from the very first glance and have yet to let me go. Peter’s dream was to own an atelier where he would shape and stitch the finest available skins entirely by hand and accent them with beautiful jewelry to create unique and precious handbags. And this dream has come true in his namesake company. Most of the designs from the masterpieces collection are custom made to order. The prices vary depending on the combination of the type and size of the skins used along with which piece of jewelry is used.

On using brooches in his designs Peter told me,

“I am a collector and lover of all things vintage and antique. I was always drawn to these amazing antique brooches that just do not get the attention they deserve because brooches are not really that fashionable these days. Bags on the other hand are! So I thought it would be a great way to bring these incredible pieces of jewelry back to life again.”

On his favorite combination he has designed Peter said,

“My personal favorites have to be the spider and fly, which is fun because you can play around with the placement and they have a little bit of movement when you carry the bag. Also the Victorian moonstone moth which is simply an amazing piece of antique jewelry. I have a nice little collection of brooches waiting to be used on the right bag and some of my very favorite jewelry pieces are still in there”.

I love a well-crafted exotic bag for a dressed up look. These clutches not only fit the bill, but also clearly show high quality skins being used. On top of that, the added ribbon and jewelry detail is the perfect touch to help these bags stand apart from others. I am sold!

Make sure to inquire via Peter Nitz online for more information and pricing!

Annalena clutch in vivid blue matte alligator with Victorian moonstone bee | $14,000

Ribbon clutch in slate-gray matte alligator with silk velvet ribbon in salmon | $14,000

Annalena clutch in ivory natural matte crocodile with diamond and emerald frog | $9,000

Burgundy matte alligator clutch with grey grosgrain ribbon and spider/fly | $9,000

Annalena clutch in black matte alligator with diamond and pearl bee | $10,500

Ribbon clutch in natural ringed lizard with a plum colored grosgrain ribbon and pearl and gold insect | $3,200

Lillie envelope clutch in fuchsia shiny lizard and large bee with diamonds/sapphires | $9,000

Ribbon clutch in grey matte alligator with a hand-dyed silk velvet ribbon in pink and antique diamond brooch | $14,000

Original post by Megs Mahoney Dusil

After five years of running PurseBlog, it is rare that I run into a brand new designer that I feel absolutely amazed, excited, and captivated by. That is precisely what I feel when I look at Peter Nitz Zurich designs. His designs captured my attention from the very first glance and have yet to let me go. Peter’s dream was to own an atelier where he would shape and stitch the finest available skins entirely by hand and accent them with beautiful jewelry to create unique and precious handbags. And this dream has come true in his namesake company. Most of the designs from the masterpieces collection are custom made to order. The prices vary depending on the combination of the type and size of the skins used along with which piece of jewelry is used.

On using brooches in his designs Peter told me,

“I am a collector and lover of all things vintage and antique. I was always drawn to these amazing antique brooches that just do not get the attention they deserve because brooches are not really that fashionable these days. Bags on the other hand are! So I thought it would be a great way to bring these incredible pieces of jewelry back to life again.”

On his favorite combination he has designed Peter said,

“My personal favorites have to be the spider and fly, which is fun because you can play around with the placement and they have a little bit of movement when you carry the bag. Also the Victorian moonstone moth which is simply an amazing piece of antique jewelry. I have a nice little collection of brooches waiting to be used on the right bag and some of my very favorite jewelry pieces are still in there”.

I love a well-crafted exotic bag for a dressed up look. These clutches not only fit the bill, but also clearly show high quality skins being used. On top of that, the added ribbon and jewelry detail is the perfect touch to help these bags stand apart from others. I am sold!

Make sure to inquire via Peter Nitz online for more information and pricing!

Annalena clutch in vivid blue matte alligator with Victorian moonstone bee | $14,000

Ribbon clutch in slate-gray matte alligator with silk velvet ribbon in salmon | $14,000

Annalena clutch in ivory natural matte crocodile with diamond and emerald frog | $9,000

Burgundy matte alligator clutch with grey grosgrain ribbon and spider/fly | $9,000

Annalena clutch in black matte alligator with diamond and pearl bee | $10,500

Ribbon clutch in natural ringed lizard with a plum colored grosgrain ribbon and pearl and gold insect | $3,200

Lillie envelope clutch in fuchsia shiny lizard and large bee with diamonds/sapphires | $9,000

Ribbon clutch in grey matte alligator with a hand-dyed silk velvet ribbon in pink and antique diamond brooch | $14,000

Original post by Megs Mahoney Dusil

After five years of running PurseBlog, it is rare that I run into a brand new designer that I feel absolutely amazed, excited, and captivated by. That is precisely what I feel when I look at Peter Nitz Zurich designs. His designs captured my attention from the very first glance and have yet to let me go. Peter’s dream was to own an atelier where he would shape and stitch the finest available skins entirely by hand and accent them with beautiful jewelry to create unique and precious handbags. And this dream has come true in his namesake company. Most of the designs from the masterpieces collection are custom made to order. The prices vary depending on the combination of the type and size of the skins used along with which piece of jewelry is used.

On using brooches in his designs Peter told me,

“I am a collector and lover of all things vintage and antique. I was always drawn to these amazing antique brooches that just do not get the attention they deserve because brooches are not really that fashionable these days. Bags on the other hand are! So I thought it would be a great way to bring these incredible pieces of jewelry back to life again.”

On his favorite combination he has designed Peter said,

“My personal favorites have to be the spider and fly, which is fun because you can play around with the placement and they have a little bit of movement when you carry the bag. Also the Victorian moonstone moth which is simply an amazing piece of antique jewelry. I have a nice little collection of brooches waiting to be used on the right bag and some of my very favorite jewelry pieces are still in there”.

I love a well-crafted exotic bag for a dressed up look. These clutches not only fit the bill, but also clearly show high quality skins being used. On top of that, the added ribbon and jewelry detail is the perfect touch to help these bags stand apart from others. I am sold!

Make sure to inquire via Peter Nitz online for more information and pricing!

Annalena clutch in vivid blue matte alligator with Victorian moonstone bee | $14,000

Ribbon clutch in slate-gray matte alligator with silk velvet ribbon in salmon | $14,000

Annalena clutch in ivory natural matte crocodile with diamond and emerald frog | $9,000

Burgundy matte alligator clutch with grey grosgrain ribbon and spider/fly | $9,000

Annalena clutch in black matte alligator with diamond and pearl bee | $10,500

Ribbon clutch in natural ringed lizard with a plum colored grosgrain ribbon and pearl and gold insect | $3,200

Lillie envelope clutch in fuchsia shiny lizard and large bee with diamonds/sapphires | $9,000

Ribbon clutch in grey matte alligator with a hand-dyed silk velvet ribbon in pink and antique diamond brooch | $14,000

Original post by Megs Mahoney Dusil

It’s so rare that Nancy Gonzalez makes a misstep. Her handbags may not be revolutionary, but it’s nearly impossible to go wrong with exotic materials, beautiful colors and simple shapes. It appears as though she has handbag design nearly down to a science.

The Nancy Gonzalez Hand-Held Croc Clutch is merely the most recent in a long line of sartorial successes from the brand, and as always, I’m drooling over it. Bicolor bag design is difficult to do well (as we’re also discussing over at PurseBlog Savvy currently), but I have absolutely no complaints about this clutch. Well, other than the fact that it isn’t in my closet, of course.

The slouchy finish of the blue croc attracts me to this clutch more than anything else. Crocodile is usually a material reserved for structured, rigid bags, and I always enjoy seeing it used in a soft and touchable way. And if you purchased this clutch, you’d be touching it a lot – not only is it beautiful, but at 16 inches wide, day-to-night transitions would be effortless. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $3200.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Not long after the annual summer release of a new iPhone comes an inevitable parade of ways to personalize and protect your new gadget. Those options range from rubber cases that can be had for $19.99 at your local Best Buy to Louis Vuitton monogram sheaths that cost more than the phone itself (with a two-year contract, of course), and the prospect of choosing one can be quite the task indeed for style-conscious gadget-lovers.

Since it seems as though the iPhone 4 is making a case more of a necessity than ever, now is a good a time as any to talk about the odd submarket that has opened up for designer tech accessories. Would you spend a couple hundred bucks on a case for your phone, or are such things absolutely frivolous in your mind?

In many ways, the purchase of an iPhone or iPad is a style-conscious decision from the outset. Not only are Apple products notorious for excellent industrial design, but the company actively markets itself to people that value aesthetics in everyday life. It only makes sense that some of those people also enjoy significant expendable income, part of which they’re willing to expend in order to make their favorite gadget as pretty as can be.

Are you one of those people? Surprisingly, I’m not. I don’t have an iPhone (I have philosophical issues with AT&T), but my Blackberry is eternally covered by a boring black case, mostly because I’m convinced that I will one day drop it in a toilet (I worked at Best Buy for three years in college, it’s astonishingly common). If that happens, I don’t want to be out as much as a couple hundred bucks for a ruined case as well as a phone.

(From left: Nancy Gonzalez, $385 via Net-a-Porter; Fendi, $60 via Net-a-Porter; Rick Owens, $150 via Net-a-Porter.)

Original post by Amanda Mull

When you get down to the details, it’s no surprise that Nancy Gonzalez’s bags are so successful. First, the brand keeps costs down by sourcing most materials from its own farms, which means that Gonzalez’s crocodile and python bags are among the most well-priced exotics in the mass-market luxury business. Second, Gonzalez & Co. let the rare materials take center stage, as you can see so well in the Nancy Gonzalez Python Satchel.

Multicolored python can become cheap-looking very quickly if the designer doesn’t take care to maintain the integrity of the skin’s natural pattern, but the blue and cream combination that we see here only enhances the python’s inherent beauty.

The color scheme makes this bag look a little bit like a map of the world (well, at least a map of some islands) when I glance at it very quickly, but I’m not entirely opposed to that effect. In fact, I’m not opposed to it in the least – the colors work together to create a sunny, summery bag with an elegant finish. If only every designer worked with exotics so well. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $2600.

Original post by Amanda Mull

I’m not the kind of person who’s prone to inappropriate effusiveness or quick superlatives, but I’m not sure what other way to approach the Bottega Veneta Uniform Cocco Lave Briefcase. Superlatives were made for this bag.

I’m not sure exactly what I could say that isn’t already clear from looking at the picture; you won’t see crocodile skin so pristine anywhere else this side of Hermes. This is the sort of bag that I would want to keep in my closet and take out every morning to lovingly admire it before work, just to remind myself of what a splendid life I lead. Bottega Veneta has priced it roughly the same as a new Volkswagon, so life would have to be splendid indeed to own one. Buy through Bottega Veneta for $25,700.

Original post by Amanda Mull