Custom Design

My Balenciaga fangirldom is by now common knowledge around these parts, and despite Megs’ ongoing inability to find her perfect Balenciaga bag, I just keep discovering things from the brand that I need in my closet with a fierce urgency. Funny how that works, eh?

The latest object of my lust is the Balenciaga Giant City with rose gold hardware, and although I’m late to the rose gold party, I hope that I still get bonus points for earnestness. I brushed off the rose gold color choice as too “niche” when I heard about it, but after encountering this very bag in person, I can ignore it no longer.

At first I assumed that rose gold hardware would clash with most of my jewelry and my general sense of style, since I mostly associate the metal with expensive, gaudy jewelry that is very much not my style. In typical Balenciaga fashion, though, the designers behind the hardware gave it a weathered, gritty appearance that transforms it into something that fits right into my wardrobe.

Only the front zipper has a bit of shine to it, and the contrast is an interesting before-and-after demonstration of what the studs and buckles used to look like. It might prove more difficult to match rose gold hardware with Balenciaga’s famous bright leathers, but the rose and black combination works just fine for me. Buy through Matches for $1551.

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

Dolce & Gabbana, the perennial providers of bustier tops and leopard print, is probably not the first brand that springs to mind when you think of wear-to-work accessories. When I think of wearing the brand’s clothes, the kinds of situations I picture usually involve skintight pencil skirts and very posh VIP clubs.

With the Dolce & Gabbana Cervo Doctor Bag, the signature sexiness is hidden on the inside in order to provide an exceptionally functional and ever-so-slightly conservative bag for a working woman. Save the leopard dress for nighttime, but this bag is just as comfortable in the daylight as the brand’s sexiest clothing is after dark.

At first, this bag reminded me of some of Prada’s Saffiano totes, but the doctor’s closure and multiple compartments not only make it more interesting as a design, but also more functional. Many women dislike having to throw all of their possessions into a single dark compartment, and this construction would be ideal for people who want to stay more organized. Plus, the leopard lining gives you a little reminder of who you are when you’re off the clock every time you open the bag. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $1945.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Despite any fun that I might have had at Versace’s expense in the past, I really, really want the brand to get through its growing pains and come out the other side making beautiful accessories. Few labels have the kind of global name recognition that Versace enjoys, and it would make the accessories market as a whole much richer for Versace to find its voice and become a real player in the handbag game. If it keeps making bags like the Versace Hilary Satchel, there’s hope for the brand yet.

Instead of the over-the-top, mismatched styling that we’ve seen from the brand in the past, this bag’s design has been edited down to just the parts necessary to keep some of the Versace attitude. Most of that comes by way of the round hardware motif that dots the front of the bag, but it doesn’t distract at all from the beautifully textured and glazed purple leather underneath. Instead of having multiple colors, patterns and types of hardware compete with each other, this bag’s elements all work work together.

It’s not often that I see a Versace bag and think, wow, I would totally be able to work that in to my wardrobe, but that’s exactly the reaction I had to this bag. Medium-to-dark purple is a rich color that looks great against black and grey for winter, and it provides a bit of color to an outfit without looking season-inappropriate during colder weather. The abundance of hardware is typical of the Versace aesthetic, but in this iteration it doesn’t take away from the beauty of the leather or compete with the overall design. It fits.

The bag also seems to be at least reasonably functional. I wish it was a tad deeper, but as it is the design should still offer plenty of interior room for your everyday stuff without getting too bulky or heavy. The only problem, of course, is the price. If Versace wants to spark renewed interest from skeptical bag buyers, they need to consider a significantly different price point. There’s no way that this bag costs over a thousand dollars more to manufacture or market than your average Chloé bag, and most buyers know it. Buy through Nordstrom for $3250.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Most of the shock value of Coach releasing a bag with a four-figure price tag wore off years ago, but the disparity between the prices of the Coach Madison Calf Hair Brynne Satchel and the Coach Madison Ocelot Sabrina Satchel truly caught be off guard.

The Brynne, left, is made of printed calf hair with leather trim and is 14 inches wide. The Sabrina, on the right, is nylon with leather trim and measures 12 inches across. If you had shown me the bags and asked me to guess, I would have pegged the Brynne at about $700 – one of Coach’s pricier offerings, but not out of the brand’s normal range these days. The Sabrina would have been much lower, probably about $300. On one count, I would have been remarkably close (not much of an accomplishment, considering that this is my job); on the other, not so much.

The nylon Sabrina, as I had guessed, is priced at $298. On the other hand, the slightly larger Brynne, rendered in calf hair, rings up at a whopping $1400. Surely there’s a large difference between the wholesale prices for calf hair and nylon, and likely increased difficulties in processing, dying and sewing calf hair, but an $1100 difference for a brand whose bags normally cost far less than a thousand dollars is a bit quizzical.

Coach has many, many loyal fans who love the brand’s bags (not to mention the many other products it now offers), and I can’t help but think that those enthusiastic Coach customers have to be the primary audience for such an expensive bag. For $1400, I’m running straight to Balenciaga. Then again, that’s my favorite brand, so I can understand the why Coach fans feel the way they do about their label. For that amount of money, though, I’d suggest they buy the Sabrina (which would even be useful in the rain!) and save the other $1100 for two or more other future Coach purchases.

$1400 via Nordstrom.

$298 via Nordstrom.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Recently I took issue with some of Chloe’s Fall 2010 runway bags, but the brand has somehow managed to redeem itself in my eyes in one fell swoop. Get on the bandwagon now, because the Chloe Cary Satchel has a ton of it-bag potential.

Because of the distinctive detailing around the bottom zippers, I could see this satchel being turned into lots of other bag shapes – hobos, totes, maybe even a mini crossbody. Since that appears to be a prerequisite for Chloé to continue making a bag in multiple season, I think we may be seeing the Cary bags for quite some time. I, for one, wouldn’t mind that at all.

It’s been a little while since I found a Chloé bag that struck me as both aesthetically pleasing and supremely functional. Usually the brand’s bags embody one virtue or the other, and finding them in the same bag makes me want to whip out my American Express and head directly to Neiman Marcus. For the sake of my job, I’ll try to finish my post before that happens.

Obviously the bag’s color and leather look divine (and the grey version is no different), but functionality concerns me most when I’m thinking about spending money. Nothing about this design gets in the way of being able to use the satchel for practical, everyday tasks, no matter whether you prefer to carry your purse on your shoulder or in the crook of your arm. It would look equally lovely in both locations and hold everything that a casual luxury bag needs to hold for jaunt to the mall or even everyday office duty. And for Chloé, the price isn’t exactly terrible. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $1565.

Original post by Amanda Mull

Last week, we saw Chloé’s moderately unsuccessful attempt at handbag minimalism, so to brighten up your Tuesday morning, I thought it would be nice to talk about a bag from a brand that does minimalism far more successfully: Jil Sander.

Sander long ago ceased contact with her eponymous line, but her preference for minimal, modern design lives on in pieces like the Jil Sander Gray Manga Madame Bag. Competitors, take note: this is how you do chic minimalism.

Photo via Style.com. Price unavailable because my Googling skills have failed me. My guess would be around $2000.

Original post by Amanda Mull

I don’t mean to be glib, but it’s been a while since I can remember seeing an interesting Dolce & Gabbana bag that wasn’t a Miss Sicily Satchel. That particular model has seen a lot of success for the brand, but it seems as though the various Miss Sicily satchels have cannibalized most of Dolce’s bag line for the past couple of seasons. They Italian label has released other bags, of course, but I’d be hard-pressed to name any of them off the top of my head.

Finally, it looks like they’ve come up with another design worthy of our focused attention: the Dolce & Gabbana Miss Charlotte Satchel. I don’t remember seeing this one in the past, so if it is indeed new, then I’d like to offer it a hardy welcome and express my sincere hope that it sticks around for a while.

The beautiful elephant grey that the designers chose is a perfect way to launch this shape: it’s a well-liked neutral that a lot of women could incorporate into their wardrobes, but it’s not so boring that no one notices the color. The details of the bag are also great: gold hardware and tassels make the bag a little bit special without diminishing the design’s functionality, which should be paramount for any bag of this size. Given the opportunity, I’d love to make the Miss Charlotte my new everyday bag. Buy through Nordstrom for $2225.

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

One thing that I’ve always appreciated about Marc Jacobs is the sheer breadth of aesthetic choices that can be contained within his eponymous line at any given time. His clothes and accessories range from the somewhat classic and conservative to the utterly wild, often in the span of a single season, and I suppose that this is the point where I should say “variety is the spice of life” and all that.

Fresh off the metallic parachute bags and foot-long fringe from last season, Jacobs has decided to make a 180-degree turn and go for something entirely different: retro, ladylike handbags. The Marc Jacobs Gene Satchel in particular is strongly reminiscent of the accessories from the Louis Vuitton fall line, which is also under Jacobs’s stewardship. Is that a good thing? In this case, absolutely.

At one point in the not-so-distant past, I wasn’t a big believer in bicolor bags, but this one in particular is a great example of why my feelings have changed. The cream and greige colors compliment each other beautifully and the juxtaposition of the two shades helps bring out the richness in both, as do the differences in texture. Because of the relative neutrality of both shades, there are few outfits that would clash with the bag purely as a result of the use of more than one color, which is usually a concern that I have with bicolored bags. As it is, I have no concerns at all, only lust. Buy through Saks for $1195.

Original post by Amanda Mull