Custom Design

Now this? This is more like it.

Earlier this week, we documented a rare Nancy Gonzalez misstep with the Nancy Gonzalez Crocodile and Whipsnake Floral Tote. It lacked the easy simplicity of most of Gonzalez’s designs, and it also went without a bit of the luxury for which she’s known.

Luckily, I found the Nancy Gonzalez Pleated-Trim Croc Satchel to wipe that from our memories and remind us all why Ms. Gonzalez is the biggest croc designer in the business.

What Gonzalez does best is take a super-luxe material and keep it ultra sleek. The only interruption to the beautiful exotic skin in this bag is some restrained pleating at the sides that looks almost like gills, and other than that, someone obviously used a keen editing eye when designing this bag. It’s both functional and luxe, and I don’t think that normal use would destroy it – what else could you want in an exotic? Buy through Saks for $3800.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Maybe I’m just feeling curmudgeonly this morning, but does a black and white Judith Leiber Peacock Clutch seem beside the point to anyone else?

It seems to me that the main draw of a peacock made into a bag should be all the wonderful colors – blues, teals, golds, greens. There are so many opportunities to build something really striking and colorful that it’s a shame to eschew all of that opportunity in favor of something almost completely colorless.

As it is, the clutch is attractive enough, but it looks more like a snowflake than a peacock when you look at it quickly. Usually Leiber goes all-out with color when she makes an object clutch, but this one just seems a bit dreary. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $5295.

Original post by Amanda Mull

‘Tis the season, you guys. For gifts and days off from work and family togetherness, of course. Oh, and also for sparkly clutches for use at holiday parties. Don’t forget that one, it’s important.

It’s pretty obvious that the folks at Judith Leiber know what season it is, because the Judith Leiber Cherish Minaudiere has Christmas written all over it. And by “written all over it,” we mean that the thing is covered in cheerful, shiny goodness, just like the holidays should be. To make the clutch’s purpose even more obvious, it’s shaped as a wrapped gift, and the crystals give it a depth that is really compelling. Hopefully someone out there will make it a very early Christmas present to themselves. Buy through Bergdorf Goodman for $3995.

Original post by Amanda Mull

‘Tis the season, you guys. For gifts and days off from work and family togetherness, of course. Oh, and also for sparkly clutches for use at holiday parties. Don’t forget that one, it’s important.

It’s pretty obvious that the folks at Judith Leiber know what season it is, because the Judith Leiber Cherish Minaudiere has Christmas written all over it. And by “written all over it,” we mean that the thing is covered in cheerful, shiny goodness, just like the holidays should be. To make the clutch’s purpose even more obvious, it’s shaped as a wrapped gift, and the crystals give it a depth that is really compelling. Hopefully someone out there will make it a very early Christmas present to themselves. Buy through Bergdorf Goodman for $3995.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Some of my personal favorite handbags are ones that so accurately capture a bygone era that they could probably be passed off as really fantastic vintage finds. So much in fashion is predicated on what has been done in the past that a designer deftly recreating the mood of a time period cans how a great deal of skill, if done correctly.

And with all the glitz and glitter that’s popular for winter, I can’t help but think that the Judith Leiber Sunburst Clutch is totally disco-tastic.

Can’t you just see someone at Studio 54 wearing this with a super sleek Halston dress back in the day? I totally can. But I can also see a stylish woman carrying it today with a biker jacket over a minidress, tights and booties. And whether the piece is actually vintage or just vintage-inspired like this one, the test of how good it is if it can easily blend into looks from two different eras, and I think that this one accomplishes just that. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $2995.

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

One word for you: GORGEOUS. VBH handbags and clutches have captured my attention since day one and I’ve never looked back. I can’t remember the last time I came across a VBH handbag where I was disappointed. Can you? I didn’t think so. I was perusing Browns today and almost fell off my chair when I saw the VBH Python Clutch with Crystal Detail. This bag is beyond breathtaking.

VBH handbags have been causing handbag lovers, especially exotic handbag lovers, to drool since 2001. These amazing bags have been designed with the idea that the luxury handbag market needed a face lift. Since 2001 leaps and bounds have been made and you aren’t as likely to see every woman in the grocery store carrying the same designer bag. However, just because this need has been met doesn’t mean VBH is going to veer off course. This bag is a perfect example of this.

Pewter colored python skin is adorned with crystal detail. This detail resonates throughout the clutch in singular lines. Beyond the lines themselves, I am thrilled to see that the lines chosen were well thought out. As you carry this clutch the light will hit the crystals with every move and you will sparkle. There is a fold over flap which is secured with a magnetic closure. Open up the flap and find luscious grey suede lining. This bag is timeless and worth investing in. Buy through Browns for £1,695.

Original post by Shannon Mahoney

Do any of you guys watch Dexter? I’m utterly obsessed with it. I can’t recap it because it’s not at all fashioned-related, but if I could, I would. Also, I would marry Dexter and I wouldn’t be nearly as annoying and self-righteous as that a-hole Rita. Ahem.

I also really love the aesthetic that they have for their advertising and promotional materials – a bit minimalist, a bit comic book, a bit blood-spattered macabre – and when I saw the Giuseppe Zanotti Red Sequin Clutch, I couldn’t help but be reminded of America’s favorite serial killer.

For the uninitiated, Dexter is a killer than only kills other killers, and his day job is as a blood spatter analyst at the Miami Metro police department. The red-on-white, scattered visual that this sequin clutch creates remind me a lot of the blood spatter pictures that you see throughout the the series, although I’m sure that that probably wasn’t the inspiration for this clutch.

It’s merely a coincidence, but it makes me like this clutch a lot more than I probably would otherwise. It would be the perfect thing to wear to a Dexter-themed party, were you to have hundreds of extra dollars sitting around to spend on your themed outfit. Buy through BlueFly for $712.

Original post by Amanda Mull

I kind of love this bag, and I fear I may be the only one.

The Donna Karan Chaos Leather Messenger Bag is not something I’d normally embrace. First, I hardly ever like any of the bags from Karan’s eponymous line. Second, I usually hate multicolored bags. Third, this bag really shouldn’t work. But for some reason, it kind of does.

It might be because the colors and dye patterns remind me of my much beloved zebra print, or because the distressed neutral look reminds me of my much beloved Alexander Wang – I’m not sure. But the dye pattern gives the bag texture and depth that I don’t think a solid color bag could muster, and the slight distressing keeps things young and hip.

Multicolor bags are often difficult to work into a wardrobe, but the style and colors used in this one would probably lend itself to easier incorporation, as long as you’re not much of one for patterns. And even if you are, this would probably still work as long as the other patterns had the same mood. Or maybe I’ve been smacked in the head today without my knowledge and I’m having visions. Who knows. Buy through Nordstrom for $1395.

Original post by Amanda Mull

It looks like Christian Louboutin might finally be getting the hang of this whole handbag thing, finally. Christian, if you’re out there: it’s perfectly fine to do your best bag work right now in clutches. Once you start producing reliably in that arena, we can move on to bigger bags and concepts.

I believe in you, really I do, despite the fact that I’ve criticized many of your bags in the past (love your shoes though, natch). The Christian Louboutin Loubiday Nappa Clutch, for example? You’re showing tons of potential.

The whole look is just so pleasantly art deco. The soft, creamy nappa leather contrasts perfectly with the shiny black patent, and the inky black dots on either side of the center stripe provide a unique, restrained addition of visual interest. Plus, I really support the whole tiny-red-soled-shoes-as-a-clasp thing you’ve been doing for the past couple of season, Christian. It’s totally adorable. Buy through Luisa Via Roma for $1548.

Original post by Amanda Mull