On my way back from Florida to Columbus I was in dire need of reading material to pass the 4 hour journey without suffering of boredom. normally I’d be picking up a automobile magazine, one on the newest tech gadgets or even a celebrity trash pamphlet. this time however, the fortune magazine caught my attention. The cover boasted stories on Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and the Brooks Brothers. working in the field that I do, I couldn’t possibly pass that up.

While the articles on Lauren and Jacobs were equally interesting and educative, it was an post titled Mass vs. class that I found to be the best read. Basically, the post by Peter Gumbel goes over the accessibility of luxury to the masses, standard fashion brands breaching out to the lower cost markets and its naysayers. I’ve scanned and uploaded the post in PDF form here (right-click, save As…), I apologize for the lousy quality of the scan ahead of time. Do yourself a favor though and pick up a hard copy of the magazine, it is well worth it.

I would like to encourage a weekend debate. What is your opinion on the matter? has the perception of luxury become dilated in recent years? Do you feel like your pricey designer items have become banal?

Louis Vuitton first released the Onthego tote early last spring and almost right away it was sold out. The bag became a hit very early on, and unsurprisingly Louis Vuitton released other versions of the bag, which captured fans due to its eye-catching, oversized monogram print. Not to mention, the size of the bag was refreshing at a time when mini and micro bags are the norm.

At the same time, the thing that drew consumers in also turned some customers off, and many of you referred to the tote as over the top and too much. While this new version does feature Louis Vuitton’s iconic monogram print in its giant form (just like prior versions of the bag), the all leather monochrome version is a bit less “obviously Louis Vuitton”.

Featured in Louis Vuitton’s stunning embossed leather, the monogram Empreinte Onthego is currently available in two colors—Creme and Noir. This super-stylish oversized tote is perfect to take you from work to play and beyond. and for the first time ever, monogram Empreinte is offered in Louis Vuitton’s new giant Monogram.

The Onthego is loosely designed after the iconic Louis Vuitton Sac Plat, which was initially launched in 1968. The Onthego is essentially a hybrid design, that also pulls inspiration from the House’s large shopping bags. designed with enough space to hold a laptop or work files, the new leather version makes the perfect classy and sleek weekday companion. The original canvas Onthego retails for $2,480 while the new leather version is $2,950.

Limited quantities are now exclusively available online for pre-launch. as with most other pre-launch styles of late, this new release is sure to sell out fast so if this bag caught your eye, snag one now.

As you may well know from following the blog, I adore bags that have hints of veritable hippie-chic to them. but with this Rebecca Minkoff Loveletter morning After tiny Bag, I’m getting the unique sensation that the bag is hippie-glam, as in, glam enough to be worn by those who don’t don trailing skirts and braided headbands. As I’ve pointed out before, there’s that Rebecca Minkoff girl, carefree and glam and slightly hipster; she’d be quite at home with this in her fist.

The color, aptly named “antique white,” recalls of that old, beautifully knarled white metal table in the local mall tea shop (oh, I guess that’s just me). but even if you didn’t have a tea shop, don’t you see it? The color’s just like that of vintage bird cages sitting prettily in a shop window.

The leather topstitching and strategically placed studs only add to the appeal. and the colorful inside, printed with neon birds, kind of makes me ecstatic at how well a brightly colored ensemble would work with this bag. and let’s not forget, it’s the classic MAM shape. At this point, fellow handbag lovers, there’s not much more to say about this shape because we all know and love it. buy through Shopbop for $550.

I know it’s been quite some time that I’ve actually contributed anything to the front page, I’ve been occupied with school and other side projects that kept me busy. miss me? I betcha did.

Last sunday was absolute mayhem in the mid-size city of 150k souls, called Darmstadt. located about 30km south of Frankfurt, this nest was where I spent a lot of of my childhood and adolescent life trying to grow up… which I don’t think I still did. Anyhow, in the past few months, the mayor of Darmstadt made a decision that it would be good for the local economy to have open Sundays once in a while (note: in case you didn’t know, German Sundays are normally reserved for church, family time and recovering from nights out clubbing til 6 a.m. – not for shopping). This would give small stores the opportunities to draw in the curious crowd, offer specials and give the buyer the advantage of having another day of the week to dash out their hard-earned monies in exchange for terrific goods that our socialistic society has to offer. However, the actual result looks not quite as bright as the smartasses that govern that barn had initially anticipated. thousands of mindless shopaholics stream into town from 1pm til closing time at six, clogging the inbound streets to an extent that they had to let the traffic lights run at longer intervals, as they do on weekdays, in buy to cope with the traffic flow. I kid you not, I saw automobiles parked from no less than 50 miles into either direction, packed with whole families and their entire entourage of cousins, pals and so and so forth. absolute amuck. Terrible.

Yet, I happened to go back home that weekend and my mother convinced me to go to town to look for a new wintertime jacket, considering that my old ones, though still in good shape, were just too old and needed replacement. So we actually managed to find a vehicle parking spot a little outside of the city center and then hiked straight into the devil’s lair. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was, although my mommy ended up apologizing for dragging me into the chaos. Still, I was successful, dashing out 500 bucks on a Burton Ronin snowboarding jacket, so I considered the day to be a success. but the reason for my lengthy intro was not to rant about the stupidity of sheepish herds of idiots who can’t get their shopping done on the (already extended hours of the) day before, but to tell you about a swiss company called Freitag bags. I happened to see a few samples in the store I got my jacket from, and had to share it with the PurseBlog community.

What struck my eye in the line to the checkout, were these used-up looking wallets that were conveniently placed on the large desk at the registrar. I grabbed one and stared at it, and couldn’t believe my eyes. would someone seriously sell a used coin purse for twenty Euros a pop? There had to be something else behind it. before I could decipher the carton in which the wallets were folded in a row in, the valuable person behind the counter pointed out that all those wallets were made from the rubbered nylon curtains that were once used on trucks (German: “LKWs“) to covered their trailer.

See the grey cover on the truck above? That’s what I mean. All the wallets are hand sown in Switzerland, stitched together with all recycled spare parts, such as old bike tire tubes and the pointed out trailer covers, and airbags. Air-whaaa? Damn straight, the new Freitag Mancipation F-Bags use airbags that were once deployed and undoubtedly could not be re-folded into the device that sticks behind the steering wheel and saves lives:

No worries though, as odd as it may seem to be carrying a bag or budget with someone’s face imprints… it’s not. The materials are very carefully cleaned before hand crafted into the large variety of bags that they offer. Don’t like the nearly thousand different bag styles in dozens of shapes? You can build your own. and considering that the materials that are used in production are one of a kind, and considering that the cut patterns on the materials are never in the same place, each and every bag that leaves their production company will be unique. I’ve seen some odd sh*t before, but this absolutely tops it.

Another quick note before wrapping this up. I observed a rather strong smell from the bags and wallets that I saw in the store, a smell that can be characterized by… uhm… new rubber blowup boats. C’mon, everyone of you folks knows what that smells like. The sales person though insured me that the smell does go away in about 2 weeks – it was just residue from the cleansing process they use to recycle the covers before cutting them into the shapes used for the bags.

Did I spark your interest? check out Freitag Bags and let me know in our forum if you decide to get one for yourself. Heck, let me know what you think even if you don’t get one. Verdict: terrific idea, very strong and enduring bags, and an excellent use of recycled materials that would just poison the soils on a dump – if they didn’t end up looking good on your shoulder.

The Dior runway Bag was the first big accessory debut of the post-Raf Simons era at Dior (on the runway, as the name would suggest), and I was, admittedly, a little suspicious of it. That was at least partly because of my immense affection for the bags created during Simons’s tenure at the legendary French design house and sadness over his voluntary departure, but it was also motivated by the bag’s proportions and how out of place it seemed with current trends. A couple months on, it’s starting to grow on me.

The bag, as you can see, is essentially a lady Dior Bag made squat and long, which is similar to how Jean-Paul Gaultier changed the proportions of the Birkin to create the JPG carry Birkin during his time at Hermès. instead of converting the top handles into longer carry straps, though, the runway Bag employs a separate, large carry strap that is long enough to make the bag a true carry bag, but not long enough for carry carry. That strap, and the fact that the top handles fold down entirely to the bag’s sides, are what have brought me around.

The shape still feels a little awkward to me, likely because no one else is doing it ideal now, but there’s something to be said for a willingness to get away from the saddle bags and chain-strap flap bags that have dominated store shelves for seasons. often a new thing only feels odd until your eyes get used to it, but often that apprehension persists forever–the only way to know which way I’ll ultimately go on the runway Bag is to wait and see, but the ultra-embellished versions available now are stunning to look at.

In this case of love It or Leave It, I’m unable to take a side until I have additionally information. Which way would you go?

Is instructor trying to emulate the Power Puff girls? perhaps I’m missing something, however this mini collection within Poppy is truly rather awkward, unless if you’re thirteen. I mean, I’m sure this instructor Poppy Pepper Slim carry might be used ironically à la Japanese Harajuku woman style, however it’s not the kind of bag you want to clomp into the office with on Monday morning. You’d get looks.

Coach makes as well many great bags for me to let this slide- it’s constructive criticism, my friends. I mean, the instructor website states the complying with about this doubtful tote: “Spice up your fashion profile this spring, as well as provide the world a understanding wink.” Really? Really. perhaps people passing you on the street would provide you understanding winks, a understanding wink just meaning a sympathetic wink accompanies by a somewhat terse smile. I got one of those simple minutes by a fellow computer lab individual just for looking at this tote.

Oh guys, let’s not fail to remember that you can get a whole set of these totes! That’s right: there’s the cherry, the Pinky (and the Brain?), the Lemon, as well as the Minty. exactly how nice. You can truly develop a well-rounded collection with these! however if you’re truly into these totes (and are thirteen years old) then get with Nordstrom for $198.