Phoebe Philo in Fall 2005

Phoebe Philo is back, but not to bring smooshy leather idealism again to Chloé, but as the next creative director of fellow French fashion house, Céline.

LVMH Moët Hennessy confirmed to WWD exclusively on Sept. 4th. The magazine immediately published the news, but in short, almost byte form - so here you get a detailed reaction with enough information to match…

Despite creating arguably the world’s favorite IT bag with the company, Philo left the design world completely 2 years ago to stay home with a new baby, who’s now 3 with a younger sibling of 18 months*. The deal with Céline that appealed to the new mom is that she would be allowed to stay and work in her home town of London, and not the headquarters of both houses, Paris, France. (*Source) Why the success her Paddington and other beloved purses being responsible for Chloé’s clout of today didn’t cause Phoebe to merely take temporary maternity leave, with parent company, Richemont, offering this same compromise is beyond me. Click for more (story, photos, etc.) »

Seen on Rihanna, an Olsen and Rachel Bilson…

DO wear your bright accessories with more neutral clothing.

DON’T wear them with equally bright clothing.

DON’T turn 80s by pairing bright with too much black!

Now have fun shopping!

I begin a new year of content, coming back from technical and then personal problems, with a reflection upon the greatest hand styles from the last. Without further ado…

#10: Red Jersey Roxanne Bag by Mulberry for Gap

When an IT bag goes discount and it’s legit, there must be huge hype. Not only is that true for this Roxanne bag by Mulberry and Gap, but 50% of the proceeds go to a charity fighting AIDs. What could be hotter than this product Red bag, then? Made out of jersey fabric, it still looks just as haute. Watch out though, it’s only available in one store (a Gap flagship) in London. Burned?

Garbage Bag of the Week:

Jay McCarroll Bowler - Fred Flre $60

Is this how the winner of Project Runway makes a bag? See, this is what we get when the rules for the contest are as such; “the designers must sew” and “they must design women’s-wear” instead of the important things, like talent in aesthetic design. I mean of course sewing is an important factor with how the competitions are run, and sticking to ladies’ fashions keeps the show running more consistently, but with the popularity of purses, and the presence that handbag designers bring to the scene, where is the TV show for those aspiring to design bags?—Huh?!

Really, how does someone who won a major, famous contest for fashion design then make a bag that disregards color combination and basic knowledge of modern strap attachment? There is no talent in this cheap POS. Why make something for fabbingMy F-ing word Fred Flare, wih fugging vinyl trim?! No respect for you, McCarroll.

You’re out!

This is partly why I don’t like the show.

I’ve thought up a feature for the blog of posting videos of blogistas inspecting authentic and fake bags to educate fellow shoppers.

The first video is not by me, but you will see me do some (thanks in part to me just joining Bag Borrow or Steal, so even though my budget restricts me from buying many bags even at the COACH level, I might be renting some occasionally!), although I have limited access to counterfeit purses to vid. This really is a practice all designer lovers should try to follow, if you can take a vid that is - post it on YouTube - just like those bad products videos that caused such a stir!

Today’s video features a fake Prada, a replica of a gorgeous Prada indeed. I hope you learn something, although it’s hard not being able to touch it (it always is), but I figure that seeing it in video-dimension will add something to the education process! (Let me know if you agree, and contact me if you make a video like this!)

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=BH406dfPhWY[/youtube]

There will be more to come, and if you’d like to see similar videos or send me one of yours, check out my new YouTube account: LippedMedia (I still need to flesh my page out [and of course make some vids!] - any tips on using YouTube? - I’m a little behind in the whole thing!). Also, we could connect as friends on there! (I didn’t know YouTube was social - geez I AM behind!)

Anyway, the real point to these posts are to help you shop smarter on places like eBay; so best of luck!

Combining a few of the hottest trend aspects of the season: unique closures, gathered leather and … maybe a high price point; is the new range by little-known Smythson; the Nancy bags.

In the styles of clutch, small satchel and large, and standard colors of white, tan, black and dark brown; there’s almost something for every fashionista this Fall with the Nancy collection … except that these bags are propelled into the IT race with a price range of $1,032 to $1,981. Somewhat much for a little-recognizable status bag, but the purses really are nice. And did I mention trendy? They have a lot of the appeal of a Stam, plus the more practicalities of a medium size option and no heavy hardware. The gathered leather is done in a sophisticated and unique way; sort of appearing like a diamond quilt pattern but not - and the clasp is not only fresh, but covered in luxurious leather - the same calf skin the entire exteriors are made of.

Besides the major minus of toting your new prize causing some to think you merely have a brandy inspired bag, is the lack of a fun color - which to me is the most important trend of today. A punch, some jazz! Still, these are purses meant to display elegance, maybe they need only be subtly beautiful.

And who knows what we’ll see in the future if the Nancy catches fashionistas’ fancy!

Consumers are cutting back, even fashionistas, even bag ladies - yes, even I am. Are we maturing? singularly, most of us (and me!). Is there a higher cost of living? Of course. Perhaps, it might be due in part to a growing awareness of “right” and “green” and all that. Does the American public have more of a conscience with spending?

I for one have cut back on my IT bags because I’ve gotten my own apartment, am struggling to work hard enough to keep my income rising and fit it in with managing a home. As a first-time parent-free lass, I have a boom of immediately worse costs, as well. Most of that will get better, but responsible times are ahead. It’s today, it’s the future.

But one blog, Luxist, suggests maybe designers’ efforts to produce drool-inducing must-haves in fact brought upon a terrorist attack on arm fashion beauty. Case in point: Louis Vuitton’s “explosion” of popular styles all in one tote. The LV Patchwork Tribute bag may have been the eye-opener to strike some sense into accessory fetishists everywhere. Maybe it’s caused us to see ornate handbags as sillier, or perhaps designers’ creativity (and sense of aesthetic sanity?) was lost or temporarily damaged in pursuit of dollar signs.

It’s something to think about. But rest assured, or perhaps the opposite: the handbag is here to stay of some importance to modern, stylish women. Everything goes in cycles, so if IT bags have either lost their appeal or there just aren’t worthy gorgies to satisfy and salivate us — it’ll come back big time again. The market rises and falls, economies change, budgets are balanced and blown — and presidents swear in and lame duck-tail it out. Fashion is a vicious world of the wild, and it too follows the laws of the circle of life.

Or … perhaps the IT’s still got IT. I mean, handbag always trumps shoes as the iconic symbol of women’s true sinful desires .. doesn’t it?

When does the phrase “hand made” really mean something? “Designer bags” are “hand made”. Yeah, right — we can’t actually know the level of strictness that label really means for most brands (below Hermès). And then there’s the hand made for which straight stitching means it’s, well, “cute” straight - if-ya-know-what-I-mean. And that’s great! Nothing wrong with a little amateur purse making.

But when we get something hand made, and not in China, that appears to be the same creativity and quality as any high end brand, like Coach or higher perhaps?—and then .. it’s the same price point as those Coach bags. Well -

It’s certainly SOMETHING Special!

Take the bag above; look at the lines, the uniqueness, the leather, the hardware (and the symmetry, thank you)! This bag was made by an Etsy seller, and it sold (yes, it’s sold) for (only) about $200.

They’re not all bags this spectacular and luxe over at Cha Cha’s shop, but there is a nice demi flap purse going for $145. If you fell in love with the bag above, though, one other great aspect of indie design and shopping is that you may ask the designer to make another - and she probably will!

Sorry for not posting really last week; I’ve been depressed because of Virginia Tech. I’m trying to get back to normal, but I also am in a very busy period with other work right now. 

Thanks Saks.com! They’ve shown us how Jimmy Choo’s Foldover Clutch is convertible - and I gotta say I now really love it and .. I think I need it! Check it out below:

That second look is oh-so fetching .. and just unique enough! With a removable wrist-strap, this stylish bag can be toted upright & tall or with the top folded to the front and secured by a magnet.

The metallic-toned Foldover, at 11″ x 7″, is a bit smaller than the regular (a whopping 15″ x 8″ x 3″), but it also goes for a better price: $825 compared to $1,250. Overall, it might be a bit less day but it’s so much cuter than plain black. Would I miss the size? Is that great cost reduction worth it (especially when I’ll probably still bargain hunt)?

If you’re wondering, too, well - we can check it out in live action carried by Hilary Duff (5′1 / average-slim):

She’s about my height, and it’s not bad at all. (Here’s a full-body photo.) It would even look slightly larger on moi. Now compare that to the regular on 5′3 (*disputed) / skin & bones Victoria Beckham here and this 5′11 skinny mannequin here. Super-huge, and would be even larger against my frame. Now note, this does matter in this case, because clutches are assumed to be smaller—ergo oversized clutches can dwarf a petite girl.

Close-up:

I really like it! I also like to carry a lot of *important* stuff with me, and want to use this more than just on dates/for evening. (For a designer IT bag at that price, I want to use it!) So what should I do?

You can order for yourself the Metallic clutch from Saks and the Marin Oversized Clutch from Net-a-Porter.

Pictured here is an actual handbag for sale by designer, Marni. It’s huge, it’s design-less, it’s shape-less, it’s detail-less. Oh but it has a pricetag! $1230 for a sack of leather is fabbingMy F-ing word ridiculous. I would expect to see this at Target for $49. And only that much for the size and being genuine leather. And I would never expect something that looks like this to be actual leather. Or even a handbag, because this obviously is the closest thing we’ve seen lately (or EVER) to a bag just being a container for old food you don’t even want to give the dog. The ginormous size helps this image. There is nothing about this “bag” that warrants a price nearly like that, not even the Marni name (no one buys for the Marni name). I hope the brand sells 0 of this unit and they learn the hard way that the designers need to wake up in the morning and actually work at what they do, not just nap all day and be so proud of themselves that they’ve almost learned how to sketch a circle (it was a pretty shaky ellipse, the sketches of this style). Seriously, the one lone detail of the hanging plain fob just makes a bigger mockery of this whole charlatan of a purse. F for Effort for Marni on this one. You’d better do make-up work over the Summer, and when I see you again in the fall, try to be most improved.

More pictures of Spring 2007 Runway shots of Marni fashion and fuglyfabulously ugly bags.