The Bags of the Season: The Clutch

The Alexander McQueen answer to this season`s clutch.

Trends to watch for on this season`s It clutches:

• Super simplicity
• Extra long lengthhhhh
• Gothic or baroque detailing
• Retro glitz (anything covered in sparkly stuff, from crystal to rhinestone!)
• Conceptual kitsch (over-the-top and unique ideas)
• Elegant feathers
• Ribbon-entwined chains
• Scarlet reds

Remember: this season's evening wear and accessories is all about old school Hollywood GLAMOUR.

3.1 Phillip Lim makes a clutch almost as simple and elegant as his fashion line's name/

This Bottega Veneta clutch is reminiscent of a McQueen- but very much toned-down.

This awe-inspiring piece of clutch-art is a Judith Leiber creation- with a subtle back-drop this piece could steal the show at any cocktail party or dinner!

If you just can't handle having a miniature zebra in your palm, there's also this more reasonable (but no less glamorous) fan clutch by Leiber. 

This Lanvin clutch captures more than one of the season's trends- ribbon-entwined chain, elegant feathers, and a gothic feel.

Who could resist this classy yet playful Louboutin stunner-of-a-clutch?

Maison Martin Margiela produced this clutch- a lesson in how stunning minimalism can be.

OH MY GODDD: Why is this Miu Miu clutch SOO cute?!

The limousine of clutches, by Nancy Gonzalez.

A sexy Marilyn Monroe-esque clutch from Valentino

One heck of a gothic clutch from McQueen- love the finger holes.

The Bags of the Season: The Tote

Alaia Tote- the poster-child of this season's tote.

Tote trends this season:

• Retro or animal prints
• Ladylike detailing, such as ornamental flowers
• Subtle and utilitarian look
• Aviation or equestrian influence
• Quilting
• Chains, skulls and other gothic detailing

You probably will not (or should not) find all these trend in one tote, but you may be able to double up on some. For example, animal prints + chains, or quilting + ladylike detailing. 

Below are some more notable designer totes to base your tote-buying decisions on:

Lanvin quilted + ladylike tote

Marc Jacobs animal print tote

Marni subtle and utilitarian tote (love the bowling bag look!)

Marni utilitarian + aviator bag (the inside is shearling!)

Proenza Schouler equestrian + utilitarian tote

Stella McCartney animal print + subtle tote

Valentino ladylike tote

The Bags of the Season: The Messenger

DKNY Messenger- this one's got it all, cream colour, bad-boy detailing and retro quilting.

Oh the messenger bag! Perhaps the most back-friendly of all the fashionable bag options, with the ability to be quite a handsome addition to any outfit, but it has never achieved the wide-spread appeal it really should have.

My theory about this lack of popularity is that most women consider messengers too masculine a look, and most men feel they're too feminine. This leaves a rather small legion of fans comprised solely of very fashion-forward ladies, gay men and college professors (who are attracted to worn leather and heritage emblems like moths to a flame).

The messenger has never achieved popularity because it appeals to both demographics, and as a result, neither. Everyone is just too self-conscious to make the unisex stand of wearing a messenger bag.

Well, I've got a memo for everybody: WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT GENDER YOU ARE.

Besides, in these 21st century days, with Lady Gaga, the pop super-star of our time, bending preconceived gender ideas and stereotypes, isn't it time for us all to get a little more cool?

In addition to being cool, messengers are distinctly classy as well. Why? Well firstly, it shows you're not overtly frivolous, and that you understand the reality of needing a medium-sized bag for you belongings as well as a shoulder-strap in case you are required to do a bit of running or biking or the like. Secondly, the classic and subtle features of the messenger bag let on that you like looking good, but not in an ostentatious or over-the-top way. Lastly, the messenger bag gives you a bit of intelligence cred through its collegiate look and reputation.

Besides, messengers are so hot this season they are literally starting fires in high class department stores all over the world. You don't want to be left in the stylish dust do you?
No? Good.

So go forth, purchase. My tip? Search vintage men's wear first. That's where you'll find the styles that are most in vogue today, for comparatively cheap prices. Below are some designer favourites from Net-a-Porter, including the now-famous Raspberry Proenza Schouler messenger. But before that, some things to look for in your messenger:

• Worn leather
• Tall bags (the extra fabric flops over to close the bag)
• Zippers and chains
• Minimalist simplicity and utility
• Retro quilting
• Pops of rich colour (in some cases)
• Neutral colours (for the most part)

J. Crew Messenger- this bag could potentially be taller then me.

The famous Proenza Schouler raspberry messenger- the colour is integral.

The functional Mulberry messenger- it has a classic beauty, doesn't it?

Sara Berman's punky little take-off on the trend- wait, it's studded AND has quilting? She is blowing my mind.

The Marni messenger- neutral yet a bit rebellious, looks like a runaway's dream satchel.

The Bags of the Season: The Handbag

One of the season's handbags- vintage, sadly.

FASHION LOG, August 11th, 2010-

5:26 PM: I begin writing the first installment in my bags of the season series. For several minutes I fail to do this and watch an 80s fitness video on the TV instead.

5:30 PM: I return to writing. I drag the table my laptop is on towards myself several times, now the lamp cord is all taut and fraught with potential danger.

5:31 PM: I eventually get back to work because I happen to point my staring at the computer screen where the handbags I am supposedly talking about are in full view. I admire them all over again. They are too cute.

Yet they also have a business-like side. It looks like they're saying "We hold important things too! We're just very selective. Not just anything gets in this bag."

They're "directional" as Net-a-Porter would say, and the direction they're pointing in is Fashionville, along Route 101 Style, with a turn-off on to Haute Couture Avenue.

5:34 PM: I snack lightly on some crackers and mozzarella (or, as I call it, "Pizza Cheese"). I hear "Way to work guys!" issuing repeatedly from the TV. I am proud.

5:40 PM: The thing that I love about these bags, I think to myself, is that they can cover so many of your necessary fall trends in one fell swoop. Let's see:

Retro: CHECK

Ladylike: CHECK

Simplistic/Minimal: CHECK

And, get one in a camel or scarlet and that is another big CHECK!

5:46 PM: I wonder when dinner will be ready and stare into the kitchen forlornly.

5:49 PM: I get back to business. The thing is, though this IS the handbag for the season, you won't find one in mainstream stores, not yet. But that's what fashion is about, isn't it? Being several season ahead of everyone else?

5:55 PM: Dinner. Vast enjoyment is had.

6:20 PM: I continue. I have nicknamed this particular item "The Short-leashed Wallet" because of its small, compact nature and its short strap, below are more pictures of some finds, all of which remind me of snappy 60s career women, stepping out in style. Ending on this point I add some more pics of the "SLW" and am finished in time for Coronation Street!

Such hard work and so much genius goes into these posts, clearly.

A pretty vintage number meant for going out!

A simple, utilitarian handbag, but gorgeous nonetheless.

A simple chic black short-leashed wallet.

A new spin on the old style by Anya Hindmarch.

A larger-sized Fendi version currently on the market.

The Bags of the Season: Intro

Handbag: Vintage short-handled

I know what is going on everyone's minds at the moment in their fashion lobes (the area of the brain located between the parietal and occipital lobes) (that's right, I just googled "brain diagram") (that's right I just made two successive parenthesis, now three in total) ANYHOW I know what it is that is going around and around your fashion lobe:

"I need a new bag, I need to find a bag, what's the bag of the season? I need to find my fall/winter bag"

And that sort of stuff, along those sorts of lines.

My message that I do issue forth upon you: here they are.

In a few different posts I'll outline the best of the best this season, and what traits to look for in your 2010 fall/winter bag. I'll show you the clutch, the handbag, the tote, the over-the-shoulder messenger. Whatever style you need, there's a fashionable update this season. A few basics must-have traits are:

• Soft, beaten leather
• Minimalism in features
• Gothic features or aspects
• Neutral colours
• 50s-60s era inspiration

Below are the poster children of each type of bag for the 2010 fall/winter season, with more detailed posts on each to come:

Messenger: DKNY cream-colured with chain piping

Tote: Alaia 60s style leopard

Clutch: Lanvin metallic red gothic-style