My Chloe
There’s a lot to be said for French fashion, and nowhere is their superiority more evident than with the Chloe winter line of shoes and purses.
Chloe has been a long-time favourite - I love the mix of romance and beauty, the unashamed femininity of their designs. Chloe have been around awhile, yet they have done what many other labels fail to do in terms of consistant quality and fresh design.
And they have had a line of designers any fashion house would be proud of — Karl Lagerfeld, Martine Sitbon, and last but not least, our very own Stella McCartney and the ever-lovely Phoebe Philo. They’ve all made the Chloe name what it is today — synonymous with grace and poise, and cutting edge fashion.
I love those purses above because of the mer-princess factor — they look delicate but not weak, with incredible detail (especially that delicious clutch). The purses below are the much-coveted Chloe Paddington style (I love those signature locks). Charming to both the eye and the touch, there are few more gratifying purses to own. 
So lovely, so French, so Chloe.
Back To Burberry
I have a little bit of history with Burberry.
For the longest time, I wanted a Burberry purse. I’m not sure why exactly… whether it was because they look nice, or because they are so English, or because Kate Moss was the company’s face for such a long time… I just wanted one.
Actually, what I wanted was a Burberry scarf, but I ended up buying a purse. It was special to me because it was one of my first ‘real’ purses — meaning one that I bought for myself, that was not a gift from someone else.
Problem was, when I got it, it didn’t take long to fall out of love with it. This may be in part to the bashing it’s image has taken recently (I’m talking about the Noveau Riche Chav-scum cap-wearers and the Madonna endorsement. not the ridiculous Kate Moss coke thing), or it may be that Burberry is one of those labels you start off with, then you mature to bigger and better. Kind of like a first kiss, if you will.
But I may be biased. After all, they are very, very beautiful purses. There’s no doubt when you carry one of the quality on your arm. They’re cute and classy and hey, does it matter that they’re made in Italy and not England?
Of course not.
I think that every girl should start off with Burberry, because it teaches you about quality and class, as well as helping to form individual taste and preference. It should be the beginning of a life-long affair with purses, a catalyst for change and progress.
What happens now is that I’ll wait until I’m thirty-five, then I’ll probably start wearing Burberry again. For the time being, I am content to have it be a first love.
Mr Jacobs, I Presume
"I love that reaction of love or hate. It’s indifference that bores me to death." - Marc Jacobs
That right there is your perfect introduction to Marc Jacobs, and crucial to understanding his design concepts. Of all the new wave of designers, he is most famous for his bright, edgy, grungy-ish designs. Somehow, he manages to hit the right point each time.
The first thing I always look at with a Marc Jacobs purse is the number of pockets on it… he loves his pockets, and I love him for it because it keeps all the keys/phone/make up stuff in it’s place.
Then there’s colour… material… check out the purse up there. What colour would you call that? I bet whatever you say, your friend would say different, and their friend would say something different as well. It’s so much fun, and the design is always incredibly classy — while still keeping that unique edginess.
You could be the most well groomed New Yorker in the world and carry this bag with pride… its extremely feminine and youthfully girly… and there’s almost a schoolgirl satchel element to it, which is just adorable.
Clearly Marc Jacobs is another designer who ‘gets’ women. Lovely lovely lovely.
Romance, Italian Style
Sometimes, I see a purse that just makes me just sit back and sigh with delight. Delight and intense longing, but mostly delight. Thi
s is usually what happens when I see a Ferragamo purse. The slight intake of breath, the biting of the lower lip… oh, this is romance, alright.
They’re just so incredibly charming… so cute, so special. Ferragamo have always been famous for their shoes, but I think their purses deserve just as much praise. The leather is what you would expect from the long-term experts in Milan, ad it’s <i>just</i> the right side of decadent, too. You can tell this range is made by people who genuinely love fashion and understand what women look for in a purse.
The purse pictured above… I love that shade of green, but even more I love that it’s roomy enough to carry all my junk (and I do tend to carry a <i>lot</i> of junk). It’s just perfect for Saturday afternoon shopping… in some gorgeous jeans and high heels… adorable.
It’s a signature piece, and if you love receiving envious looks from other women, you simply have to own at least one.
Coach Love
Right up there in my top five, Coach will always be a firm favourite.
When it comes to consistent quality and style, you just can’t beat them — among other things, they prove that you don’t have to be ridiculously expensive to be a great label. How many girls bought a Coach bag as their first ‘real’ purse? I’m guessing a hell of a lot.
So what do we have? Everlasting style — Coach bags never go out of fashion! — and wonderful durability. Anyone who owns vintage Coach will tell you about how years and years later the purse is still in great condition — yes, even the inner lining. You can match a Coach bag with near enough anything, totally depending on your mood. And there’s so much to choose from…
Guys, if you want a fail-safe gift option, go for a Coach bag. They just get better and better.
For the people in London, check out Mitsukoshi’s in Piccadilly for a lovely range of Coach — it’s not New York, but this department store is one of London’s best-kept secrets. Go there just to admire.
When all else fails, there will always be Coach. x
Fendi, Fendi, Fendi
Another day, another reason to get ever-so-slightly mad at Fendi. If Fendi were a person, they’d be in need of a good hard slap across the face right about now. See, Fendi is like that one friend you have who treats you like gold 99% of the time — but every once in a while they will do something so mind-bogglingly mean or stupid that you resolve never to speak to them ever again. Then all of a sudden they’re wonderful again and you’re left confused — <i>do I like this person or not?</i>
That’s me, right now. Confused. Take a look at the purse below…
Yeah, take a good hard look. This is from Fendi’s autumn/winter line, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say it’s one of the most disgusting things ever created. I mean look at it. I know black lace is back in this season, but my god. Lace AND fur AND red shiny handle? What the hell is going on?
See, this is what I mean when I say it takes a great deal of skill to be different and still somewhat tasteful and classy. This purse does not cut it. Fendi, I am mad at you. I don’t want to be your friend anymore. Stop calling me.
But… but… ok… look at <i>this</i>…:
This is also from Fendi’s fall collection, although you wouldn’t believe it from the example up there. Just look at that… soft white rabbit fur, perfect for the Russian look that is coming back in. Yes, white is not the most practical of colours, especially not in winter… but isn’t that what’s so gorgeous about it? It’s pure luxury. Luxury is what we expect from Fendi.
And just like that, I am head over heels in love with Fendi again. And this is it, true love… until the next time we fight.
I <3 Balenciaga
Ah, Balenciaga…
Remember when the Le Dix bag was sold out absolutely everywhere last year? Because I sure do. I went through hell trying to get my hands on one and came within seconds… seconds! of owning one before getting cruelly outbid.
Oh well… check out this baby. Acid pink Le Dix. Acid pink Balenciaga at the start of the fall and winter season, when we’re *supposed* to be drowning in blues and greens (which I *love* this season, especially the blues) and blacks and browns and tans.
It’s funny because usually when a certain label gets that popular that fast, it fizzles out and all of a sudden there are thousands of women with outdated bags they no longer know what to do with. This hasn’t been the case with the Le Dix; if anything it’s getting more popular (I remember an issue of Heat a few weeks ago where they gently chided Nicole Ritchie for appearing in public with two — the show off!).
Point is, this purse is not going anywhere anytime soon. You take away all the hoo-ha and the publicity and waiting lists and what are you left with…?
… Classic Balenciaga, which means, among other things, quality distressed leather so soft you could butter your bread with it, durability, style, expert craftsmanship and… oh, hell. It’s just so goddamn pretty I want to cry.
Oh, Asprey
"Nothing very bad could happen to you there, " says Holly Golightly about Tiffany’s, and so say I about Asprey’s of London. A short walk from Green Park tube station, it’s one of London’s most famous jewellers. They also have a beautiful range of luxury goods, including leather purses.
Asprey’s has caught my attention of late simply because of the new advertisement campaign with Keira Knightley (see this month’s Vogue, Tatler et al). It’s always nice to be reminded of them, just as it’s always nice to be reminded of Molten Brown. These are English designs which will never go out of fashion simply because they exist beyond fashion, on a pedestal where they can’t be touched. It’s not often I throw the word <i>timeless</i> around, but here you go. Asprey = timeless.
Classic English luxury, with classic English luxury pricing. But oh, you get your money’s worth, it might be worth saving for years and years just to own something like this… assuming you have the right doggy (and even if you don’t!)…
Louis, Louis
Remember that episode of Newlyweds when Jessica insisted on taking "Louis" camping with her and everyone made fun?
Well, look at how pretty it is. Can you really blame her for not wanting to be too far from it? Designed by the godlike Takashi Murakami for Vuitton, it’s a candy-lovers dream purse — canvas rather than leather, with cowhide handles and trim. You could take this camping and not worry about it coming to any real harm — after all, it’s not like it’s leather or suede, right? And what else are you going to carry around mosquito repellent in?
Exactly, see, Jessica isn’t so silly.
I’ve always been slightly unsure about Louis Vuitton… probably because I don’t think it’s quite kosher to have your monogram ALL OVER the purse. A tiny little label somewhere would suffice, but then again, this is Louis Vuitton we’re talking about here: the most conspicuous of conspicuous consumerism. It simply wouldn’t be Louis Vuitton if they were all subtle, and let’s face it, if anyone can get away with such blatant look-at-me-ism, they can.
Luella
Former fashion journo-type Luella Bartley clearly deserved her Young Designer Of The Year at the Elle awards 2000 — this range of hangbags is absolutely positively gorgeous.
We have the classic Baby (see below)/Jazzy Gisele designs which will last a lifetime in anyone’s closet thanks to their extremely cute vintage charm, but there we also have really vibrant, fun colours (like the Mini Gisele in Prune up there). The colours really are good enough to eat — and it’s usually really hard to get away with those shades without looking tacky… yet she pulls it off.
So, I love Bartley’s range. She clearly doesn’t take a po-faced approach to design — she has great imagination and feel for colour which yes, she should have seeing as she’s a designer but so often, especially with newcomers, there’s this pressure to not go outside of the box, just in case it all goes to hell.
Quality is as excellent as you would expect… fine leather and lovely stitching, kind of like Lulu Guinness crossed with Hermes with a hint of Marc Jacobs… this is the kind of purse your little sister would steal from you to take to school and show off to her friends.
Luella’s bags can be bought from Browns in London, or net-a-porter etc.
