Valentino Small Loop Hobo Shoulder Bag
I like to cuddle. Even from a young age, I’d fall asleep with a stuffed animal and would hold it tight! I didn’t really drag around a blanket, but a stuffed animal (”Bear Bear”) went with me everywhere. Long story short and many years later I still have a soft spot in my heart for things that seem smooshy and soft. Thus, you can see why I am one who continues to love soft, smooshy and downright touchable handbags. Sure, there is a time and a place for everything, but certain bags catch my eye instantly!The Valentino Small Loop Hobo Shoulder Bag boasts gorgeous color as well as leather that I can’t help but wanting to touch! First of all, I love the lack of structure here. There is a fine line between lack of structure and sloppy and this bag hits the nail on the head. This bag says no nonsense and fashionable all in one swoop. Pair the bag with your newly purchased boyfriend jeans and a t-shirt or a more form fitting outfit and the bag will still stand out. Without much effort, this Valentino bag just made itself onto my “bags worth saving up for” list.
Valentino Bow Hobo
In stark contrast to my enthusiasm for embellishment of all types (and of the industrial type in particular) for fall and winter, I can’t help but swoon upon seeing the Valentino Bow Hobo. It’s incredibly simple, monochromatic, without external hardware, and conspicuously lacking some of the outer intricacies for which Valentino handbags are so often known. And despite all of that, or perhaps because of it, I think I’m in love. Of all the bags on display to molest at fine department stores, Valentino bags are my favorite to pick up and feel. The quality of materials used in their bags continues to surprise and delight me, even after eight solid months of writing about handbags for 40 hours per week. And when you combine their obscenely soft leathers with a design so deconstructed, so slouchy, so irresistibly French-looking (despite the fact that the brand itself is Italian), you come up with a bag like this: gorgeous, casually elegant, and not trying too hard in the least. The amount of style contained in this simple hobo clearly adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
Nancy Gonzalez Crocodile Striped Tote
I both love and hate the Nancy Gonzalez Crocodile Striped Tote. I love it because it is, without a doubt, pretty much gorgeous. The color is listed as tan, which would normally be boring, but the subtle olive green undertones that run through it are enough to make the color something that you don’t see everyday while still maintaining its neutrality. The pale, unobtrusive color does wonders to highlight what’s really important about this bag – the structure. This is the second bag we’ve seen today that has juxtaposed exotic leathers and suede, and the effect here is simultaneously just as successful and totally different. The crocodile mixed with the softer, tactile suede gives the sewn-together strips a depth of visual interest and texture that is absolutely brilliant; I really can’t say enough about it.
What bothers me, though, is that the beauty of the crocodile skin is somewhat lost in the strips of leather and suede. My feeling, as I have explained before, is always that a bag made out of an exotic leather should use that leather’s natural texture to its greatest advantage. In tiny strips, it’s basically impossibly to do that. Stamped croc would have probably been a more cost-effective and appropriate material to use here, even though I’m not generally a proponent of stamping anything on high-end handbags. The price is somewhat reasonable for a bag that does use a great deal of exotic leather, though, so when that’s combined with the bag’s sleek beauty, I can’t hate it too much.
Fendi Two-Tone Baguette
In the past, I’ve been critical of this particular type of Fendi bag. And I still stand by that – in glazed black leather, this bag is boring, plain and simple. But there’s something about the color combination in the Fendi Two-Tone Baguette that makes me enormously fond of the bag, and it just goes to show you what good a small tweak can do.
The juxtaposition of the blush leather with the black trim and light gold chain handle gives the bag a more authentically retro look than just a solid color by itself. At the same time, the combination is positively Parisian, giving the bag an obvious audience in fashion’s many Francophiles (and probably not staving off any of the nagging Chanel comparisons any time soon). The proportion of the bag is petite enough to be worn to a fancy dinner or cocktail party, but I could also easily see it paired with dark denim and a cashmere sweater for fall and winter. I think you can get something more interesting for the price, but if you like this look, the bag is indeed pretty cute.
