Designer Handbags

A while back I mentioned that unsymmetrical objects nearly drive me up the wall. I was recently at a work meeting and my co-worker set up our ‘props’ so to speak. The set up was not symmetrical on the table and I felt an awful twitch and sense of OCD come over my body. Nevertheless I fixed the ‘props’ and we won the client. Yes, it was all because of me

But for some reason this D&G Dolce & Gabbana Multi Tonal Leather Weekend Bag sports asymmetrical pockets on the front of the bag (a long zipped pocket on the front paired with a snapped ouch pocket) and I can handle it. I must be overcoming my OCD because I am handling the pockets quite well. The multi tonal grained leather and aged brass hardware makes this bag casual. I am not sure about the color- from my end online it looks fine- but in person these lighter brown and darker brown combo has the chance to resemble something we would never want out bag to look like. On the inside there is floral cotton lining. This bag measures 20″ x 14.5″ x 10″. I’m not really excited about this bag (or color combo) but I am excited that I am handling the pocket combo. Via eLuxury for $625.

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Hermes signifies classic style and elegance. Yet on the Paris runway, I was thinking that JCrew was there rather than the iconic Hermes. The Hermes Spring 2007 collection hit the boardwalk-like-runway of Paris and delivered a less-than-stellar line up of beachy wear, and casual kickbacks, along with tracksuits. Yikes. What I paid attention to closely were the bags of course, and these bags were collapsible Kelly Bags that were strapped together to look more like a large clutch than a bag. Upond first glance, I like the bag looking this way. Then it occured to me that this bag is so impractical all tied up that it now officially has no use. Our Hermes enthusiasts can be the judges of these bags, a big Yay or over powering Nay?

{via Style}

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John Galliano toned it down in Paris with the Christian Dior Spring 2007 Collection. While his line was nothing flashy, the simplicity and clean lines worked for me. Sometimes it is nice to look at something that is not too noisy or busy. The Dior Handbags were “gimmick-free chain-handled handbags” that sported the same shape but different materials and colors. Overall, this line makes my life a bit easier and makes it look easy to be fashionable. {via Style}

While the hair styles fit the feel of the collection, I must say that I would not smile if I was wearing this sort of boyish up-do either.

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Hermes bags are among the most sought after, most exclusive handbags in the world. Prices in the 5 digits and customer waiting lists with years in waiting time are both common alike. Needless to say, it’s absolutely exhilarating to see some of our forum members who are proud owners of some very rare pieces that take your breath away. For me, it’s particularly the sheer beauty of these timeless Kelly and Birkin pieces… and the excitement to know that our site plays host to some of these wonderful collectors. Enough talking, let’s see the goods:

shopmom’s Hermes 28cm Vintage Combo Kelly

aspenmartial’s Hermes Orange Ostrich Birkin (30cm) and Turquoise 27cm Bolide

duna’s Hermes Family

including:

40 Courchevel gold Birkin G/H

35 black Clemence Birkin G/H

40 Ardennes Birkin Marron GlacГЁ? G/H

32 black box 32 Kelly G/H

32 courchevel gold Kelly G/H

32 box vert foncГЁ Kelly G/H

37 Bolide Rouge H Clemence Pall/H

32 Pullman croc miel (vintage)

32 box Rouge H Plume G/H

Masai PM Etoupe Clemence Pall/H

theITbag and Chanchan’s Hermes Collection

including:

35 Birkin Fjord Palladium Rouge H

35 Birkin Togo Ruthenium Indigo/Blue Jean

35 Kelly Epsom Palladium Raisin/Cyclamen

32 Kelly Fjord Palladium Black

addicted’s Hermes Collection

including:

32cm Black Box Kelly

35cm Rouge H Chevre Kelly

32 cm Gold Togo Kelly

32 cm Potiron Chevre Plume

This is obviously just a small selection of the stunning bags that many members have posted. Many thanks to all that contributed to the Hermes Reference thread. For much more information on Hermes bags and items, please visit our Hermes Forum.

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Hermes here, Hermes there, Hermes everywhere! With the help of our fantastic members, a comprehensive Hermes catalogue is in the making, with pictures and informations on just about every color/style/shape of bags that Hermes released in the recent past. If you’re a fan, or want to become one, I suggest you head over there and check it out yourself. I suggest putting on a bib though, heavy drooling is guaranteed.

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We have all done it — that pointless “I gotta have it” purchase, and then wonder what we were thinking later on. But a Hermes leather lipstick/gum case? You have got to be kidding me.

Available in yellow, kelly green, and black at I-Global Mall for $199, a little piece of the HermГѓВЁs dynasty can be yours. Someone enlighten me on gum cases please. Since when did they exist, and since when did a name like HermГѓВЁs care about gum?

Hermes’ new designer Jean Paul Gaultier on the helm has redesigned the infamous ‘Birkin’ bag for spring/summer ‘05. This is no small innovation, given that the original is in such demand that there is a wait to get on the waiting list. But JPG’s changes work — now you can actually get the bag over your shoulder.

Due to its shortened height, the bag seems as long as an eighteen wheeler semi! Like Luella with her Baby Gisele, the logic step to an already successful handbag was to adding a shoulder design and appeal to a wider audience. Among the large variety of carry-alls that we’ve seen, this new shoulder Birkin sure is in contention for the throne. So damned appealing!

As shown on the right in the new “pumpkin orange” shade, the bag will go for ВЈ4,000 (~$7,500). Stores around the globe hesitated with the large orders for the bag, unsure about how the new low profile would appeal to the customer base. In addition, a limited production is running on these treasures as well. Hence, the new Hermes Shoulder Birkins are even more scarce than the legendary regular Birkins.

However, since Jean Paul’s line had been intro’ed last fall, US sales for Hermes went through the roof. Coincidence? Me thinks not.

For tonight we’ve saved up a delicate snack that is so high in calories you may want to cut back on the Tostitos and salsa for the next few days. Further reading may also cause high amounts of stress and as a result thereof, hightened blood pressure, sudden queasiness and uncontrolable sweating. In addition, you may start drooling like a Pavolian dog at ring bell and tears may roll down your cheeks for no apparent reason.

Actually the reason is very apparent, because the purse blog duo had worked its way into the lion’s den, the molten, glowing hot core of the Big Momma of all handbags - the Hermes Headquarters in Paris. Being nearly paralyzed of awe, we stood in front of the wide store front and stared for literally 20 minutes at the carefully selected exclusive goodies resting in the display cases. Jealous eyes scanned those that came out of the enormous store with one of those highly sought after orange shopping bags, being proof of obvious financial wealth or willingness to dive into debt. Eventually, reality settled in and we figured that it was still yet another store that was offering goods, and that there was nothing to really be afraid of. Another reality settled in rather quickly once the heavy black doors swung open, we stepped in and the aura of perfection slapped us in our faces like a soft velvet glove.

Yes, perfection. The layout of the store, the incredible variety of items, outstanding in both price and quality, the overall flair of the three story store all just added additional weight to the already lowered jaw, like Mr. Universe was fishhooking you personally. Absolutely breathtaking. Did we mention variety? From watches, card games, to towels, jewelry, perfumes, pen holders, from tables to evening sweaters, Hermes seemed to have it all. It was quite the task to even find a handful of items, no matter how seemingly insignificant, whose prices went under the 3-digit Euro mark. There is no use to talk about the upper boundary, since there really didn’t seem to be one. And then the bags… sigh.

Strategically placed right around its main entrance, a great selection of handbags, small clutches or large totes, were presented to us in a wonderful fashion. Our eyes ran across the glass vitrines, unknowing which bag to look at first, because they all seemed so pretty, so perfect. The green tote below was one of our favorites (if any of our readers know its name, please let us know), and fortunately it happened to be showcased to the outside world. We also took a snapshot of two barrel bags that just looked plain delicious, too. At a price of over EUR 4,600, the deliciousness wore off a notch though. We ended up spending almost a good hour in the store, leaving it behind with a really sad heart, and a motivation to work harder and earn more money to buy us some Hermes goodies. Because afterall, who does not want to be one of those people with the orange shopping bag for once too?

We do apologize sincerely, but there is a very good reason things have been slow this week here at the purse blog. After 2 months of separation, the resident love birds Megs and Vladi have finally been reunited in the central European country of Germany. Yay! Weather’s nothing to be excited about, but emotions certainly are on the high side — things are just fabulous. Aside from all the time spent together, we also felt highly compelled to pursue our passion in fashion and do some shopping slash browsing through Europe’s major cities to check out the latest trends and goodies in the handbag market. First stop on the journey: Cologne, Germany.

Aside from its monstrous, intimidating and impressive, almost 760 year-old Koelner Dom (left) and the beautiful Rhein River, there also appeared to be quite enticing shopping opportunities, potent enough to pull a whole lotta moolah out of foreign (and local) pockets. Getting off the ICE, we immediately found ourselves in the very center of town, right by the gorgeous Dom. After a quick detour into its chilly, ginormous nave, we headed right for two of our favorite, exorbitantly pricey Parisian Haute Couture fashion shops: HermГѓВЁs and Louis Vuitton. Despite having forgotten to shoot pictures of evidence, you can believe us that those two stores are placed within one store of each other (seperated by a Chopard store), conveniently located right on the plaza facing the Dom. This venue does ensure exposure to heaps of international visitors, either dropping by to get presents for the loved ones at home, or willing to indulge themselves with high-class goodies.

We first strolled into the LV store. What had already captured our attention from the store front was Louis Vuitton’s seemingly different Monogram Cerises line of bags. The colorful cherries exemplify a fresh and intriguing homage to Louis’ traditional signature monogram canvas — right in time for the fruity and fun spring. While the two of us don’t seem to agree on much at times, we both found the Louis Vuitton Sac Plat completely over-the-top — it seemed to lose LV’s sophistication in the cherry tree. However, Megs immediately fell in love with the $355 Louis Vuitton Pochette Accessoires for two reasons: first off, rather than taking away from the classic monogram that everyone seeks, the cherry only added a zing to make the pochette unique, and secondly the cherry came just in time to add a spring fling to an unwavering Louis Vuitton simple-style. Other than this new Monogram Cerises line, the store seemed a little small and showed a large focus on travel gear, like the Annette travel bag we previously featured. You think you are paying a lot for Louis bags in the US? Thanks to the lousy exchange rate, buying a bag in the US is a bargain, considering that you’d pay 25-35% more in Germany.

Saving the best for last, we then set foot into none other than the creme-de-la-creme Hermes store. Although my girl was dying to buy a bag, she couldn’t — for obvious reasons. What is remarkable about this store was the overall feeling of the sophisticated and high-class ambiance. Within the two floors, we did check out the vast variety of one-of-a-kind couture clothing and accessories, ranging from ashtrays to jewlery and beach towels. For a mere $450 you can get the towel wet, sandy, drained in sun screen and splattered with seagull droppings.

Just like Samantha on the infamous Hermes Birkin Bag search episode on Sex And The City, my girl immediately scoped out the hardware to see first hand the bag that even people who are rich and famous are only privy to purchase. To our disappointment, the Birkin Bag really is that rare and you really do have to be put on a waiting list if you’re approved to buy one. We still fell in love with the HermГѓВЁs Kelly Bag, that went for a modest EUR 14,000 — gasp. Like Samantha, we felt empty without the Birkin Bag, but Hermes still managed to impress us and prove that they are in a league of their own.

On a side note, we did run into a local aution house, that happened to sell 100% authentically fake Gucci bags for a mere 15 Euros a pop, leaving us extremely tempted to buy all five of ‘em. Just kidding.

Overall we had much fun doing what we do best — tracking down the handbags that leave every shoulder unempty, every wallet a little lighter and every girl happy. Stay tuned for next week’s report from Paris, the fashion capitol of the World.