The London Handbag Shopping Centre

When Apple floods the market with another ingenious mainstream product, the launch guarantees two things. Firstly, it will be tremendously successful. Over 300,000 sold on the first day attests to that. Secondly, a plethora of accessories is going to follow very closely. The mobile device accessory market pulls in massive millions in sales annually and it is only logical that the big fashion houses will try to get a piece of the pie.

Louis Vuitton is usually very quick to follow suit with their own line of luxurious tech accessories. Like with the iPhone, LV now released their own variety of cases for the popular iPad. The Louis Vuitton iPad Cases are available in classic Monogram and Damier canvas flavors at a price of $366.

Personally, I am going to stick with the light $30 Apple case for my iPad. I can not justify paying nearly as much for a case as I paid for the hardware it is supposed to protect.

Running an online fashion magazine about handbags can be tricky at times, since handbags are only a sliver of the fashion world. Luckily, women (and men!) love handbags as much as we do and designers continue bringing us new purses to talk about. Even with the vast array of designs, there are slow slumps when we wait for more new bags to arrive and we must scour the internet looking for something different.

That is why I am happy to stumble upon the De Couture Chain Strap Hobo. The brand has only been covered three times on our site, the last post being from a year ago. There may not be many bags from the brand, but this is one that I want to cover.

It is simple why I like this bag. It is large, slouchy, and has a funky cool metal chain strap.

Some handbags have so much going on that I can review them for paragraphs. This, however, is not one of those bags. All else I can tell you is that the soft frame is made with calfskin and the shoulder strap is actually a leather strap covered with chains. All I hope for is the leather to be as soft and supple as I imagine, and then I can say that this bag is a great buy. You all know how I love a slouchy bag, so really, what more could I ask for? $963 via Luisa via Roma.

Everyone remembers my Alexander Wang Rocco love and letdown story. My returning this bag still haunts me a bit, as I rarely *rarely* return bags and this one held such a special place in my heart but fell short when it came to my expectations. Either way I will not ignore this bag or stop showing support for a design and idea that I love.

What I don’t love is this version of the bag. I don’t know why designers attempt to add luxury to PVC. It is like adding nice a set of $10,000 rims to a barely functional beater car.

Alexander Wang, why did you do this to a bag that we all adored? The this that I am referring to is the Alexander Wang Rocco Duffle in PVC, a small clear PVC body bag with leather accents and studded bottom. Let me give credit where credit is due: this is one of the least appalling PVC designer bags I have seen. At least the leather accents break up the PVC and at least this isn’t a super oversized bag.

But really, PVC bags on a classic design that has already made a name for itself is entirely unnecessary. And while the price comes down $300, paying over $500 for a plastic bag is absurd. Of course there is the entire discussion of who wants their handbag innards to be shown to the outside world. This discussion could just go on and on. If you like it, go for it via Alexander Wang for $525.

I think it’s important to look at this bag for exactly what it is: a novelty item, designed to get attention and make people talk, and also a good collectible for those that love Fendi and want to add something really unique to their stash. Evaluating it like a regular bag is sort of besides the point.

The Fendi DIY Baguette Bag is exactly what it sounds like – it’s a woven, unfinished Fendi Baguette with everything you need to embroider your own bag. It’s sort of an opportunity to have your own one-of-a-kind designer bag, which is kind of cool, when you think of it that way.

But realistically, it’s a bag that’s unfinished and sold to the consumer in parts, which is a little weird. Or maybe genius? I suppose it might be genius if, uh, you know how to embroider. Which I don’t. But it comes with everything I would need to get started – multicolor thread, needles, thimbles. It doesn’t come with a “How to Make Your Own Fendi Bag for the Low, Low price of $995″ instructional DVD, but maybe next season’s version will. Something to think about if you’re listening, Fendi. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $995.

Fendi pairs sassy with classy for a powerful and super chic bag. In fact, it speaks to me so much that I seriously want it. The last time I seriously wanted a Fendi bag was a long time ago, I actually have not purchased a Fendi bag since my Spy, which was a good 4 years ago. But now I am sitting here finding myself looking at a massive array of Fendi Peekaboo bags and getting a true and serious handbag itch. I assure you we will cover many more of the Peekaboo versions, but the one I want to share with you all right now is the Fendi Leopard-Lined Peekaboo.

I only have one qualm with the bag that will hold me back from buying it (aside from the fact that I have been trying, without avail, to cut back my bag shopping habit). The faded tan stripe down the center of the bag distracts me. It almost appears like the bag was folded over and the crease got dirty. I have seen Fendi use this on a few of the Peekaboo designs and I personally just do not get it. But if we took that stripe out, I am sold.

The body of the bag is made of milk (off white) leather. I love that hue. It is white, but not. More of a creamy, warm hue of white, hence it is called milk. And then the peekaboo part of the bag is the leopard-print haircalf lining. How wicked is that?! Fendi found a way to incorporate the inside of this hit bag to the outside world. And rather than overpower you with a total leopard print bag, Fendi just has it peeking through and set against milk leather. This is so me. So me minus that stripe. Maybe if I saw it in person I would be more forgiving, but I just find it distracting. Pre-order through Saks for $3,500.