Kim Kardashian spent $100,000 on handbags at Hermes Paris

We’re sure to bring out the haters with this news, but hey, it’s Friday!

Above is a picture of Kim Kardashian (you may have heard of her, yes?) exiting the Paris Hermes store, a trail of signature orange shopping bags behind her (and carrying a $1795 Christian Louboutin Kathena Leopard Clutch, in case anyone was wondering). According to Gawker and TMZ, rumor has it that she dropped in, bought six regular leather Birkins at around $10,000 each, and then bought another handbag (although the article does not stipulate which one) in crocodile to the tune of $30,000.

Depending on sizes and leathers (and on what we know about Ms. Kardashian’s sometime extravagant taste), the prices sound approximately accurate to me. I guess we’ll find out if this is true in the coming weeks, since Kim loves to parade around a particularly good purchase for all to see (not that I can blame her, certainly – I used to make my roommate sit and look at all of my new stuff when I would come home from the mall).

What’s perhaps most interesting about this item, though, is that Hermes Paris had six Birkins in stock to sell and they were willing to sell them all to the same person. I don’t know the ins and outs of that particular location, but it looks as though the days of the year-long waiting lists really are over for good, as Hermes had announced previously. The Birkins may not always be sitting on the shelves at your local boutique, but odds are that they’re in the back. For the right customer, of course.

If money wasn’t an object and you had a hundred grand to spend on bags, which ones would you buy?

Via Gawker and TMZ.

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RHDC: “While you’re at it, why don’t you just legalize marijuana?”

This was another week of Real Housewives of DC where nothing really happened, and I came to a conclusion: I’d rather watch these housewives not do anything than perhaps any of the other housewives except those from New York. The crazy is so strong in this bunch that they don’t actually need activities for me to be amused and delighted.

That was particularly convenient last night, since other than one little party, some sage-burning and a trip to look at houses that Michaele and Tareq can’t actually afford, our ladies didn’t do much at all. Real Housewives of DC may not be a bonafide hit yet, but they’ve hooked me and reeled me in pretty good at this point.

This week started with a Mary/Cat get-together over some wine (and next to a Louis Vuitton that had seen better days), and Cat admitted that she struggles with worrying that she’s a bad mother and that she doesn’t do enough. For part of this portion of the show, the producers saw fit to subtitle Cat, which seemed kind of passive-aggressive and nasty. She speaks English. As a first language.

Mary talked about being in therapy, needing a lock for her closet, and having a sister who’s the same age as her daughter. Mary had Lolly when she was 20, and she had to live at home with her parents (and also, with her husband) for a little while after she was born. None of this conversation appeared to connect to any particular storyline that we’ve known about so far, and I’m not exactly sure why it happened now. We already knew about the lock and Lolly’s borrowing habits.

Next, Michaele called Stacie to ask for some help finding a house, which had trouble (and entertainment!) written all over it. They met up at the Four Seasons with Tareq and talked about budgets and options. Michaele just wants to stay at the Four Seasons for the rest of her life (that open-mouthed, wide-eyed thing she does when she’s trying to have a thought about the Four Seasons is the same look my dog gets when someone’s scratching her belly) and Tareq wants a condo where they can park 200 cars for a party, and they, uh, don’t have a price range. At least not a price range that’s in any way connected to how much they can actually afford spend on a house, that is.

Tareq said that he’s willing to spend up to eight million dollars on a house and that they’d finance it through the company, which Stacie isn’t buying any more than I am. He might as well have said he could spend up to eleventy zillion dollars in Japanese yen for all it matters – he doesn’t have the money. The winery is clearly not operational, and other than owning it, it’s not clear exactly Tareq and Michaele do. Well, I mean, I guess we know what they do – they’re grifters, they scam people and swindle money and take advantage. But what do they claim to do?

Speaking of moving, Lynda met with a dog trainer to get a German Shepherd for her new house because she had a break-in the last time that she lived in McLean. Because she doesn’t want to be married ever again, apparently a dog is the key to her safety. I’m not sure why she seems to think she can beat an intruder to death with a marriage license, but whatever. Her choice. And is this going to be a new Housewives thing – at least one cast member in each city has to have a security dog? Didn’t Caroline do that in New Jersey?

Anyway, in Cat’s corner of the world, something terrible had happened. A dear friend of hers had committed suicide back in England, and her husband was out of town. Only her kids were around to comfort her, which thankfully Cat didn’t force them to do, which may be the first and only noble thing that she’s done all season. She did seem genuinely bereaved, and as always, genuine emotions that don’t involve jealousy or rage are always uncomfortable to watch on this show.

We didn’t spend much time with Cat, though, because out in McLean, Lynda was being crazy again. This time she had moved on from the security dog to an astrologist, and she had Mary help her sage the new house. Lynda also read a Jewish blessing over the place, a faith to which she converted when she was 20 (clearly, there aren’t a whole lot of people being raised Jewish in South Georgia). Then she sprinkled some holy water on the steps and…isn’t that Catholic? Do Jews have holy water? Or sage, for that matter? I know the sage part can’t be a Jewish thing.

From the blessing of a house to the search for a new one, Stacie went out with Michaele and Tareq to ride around and point at houses from the back of a car. They couldn’t actually get out and tour at any properties because Tareq had failed to supply the bank information or proof of income that Stacie had told him was necessary, and if you couldn’t see that coming a mile away, you haven’t been paying close attention. Tareq got awkward and shifty when finances were brought up, sort of like he did at the winery before he dropped the bomb about Mary’s kid, but luckily he couldn’t think of an attention-diverting lie quickly enough and they arrived back to the Four Seasons.

Back at home, Stacie and her husband spoke about her situation with her biological mom, and things are still not going anywhere, largely because her mom has said that she will never reveal her father’s identity. Jason thinks that they should reach out to her mom’s son via Facebook, which sounds like an idea that’s simultaneously terrible and necessary. Her kids don’t know about Stacie, but if her birth mom refuses to work with her at all, I guess she really doesn’t have a whole lot of other options. If the birth mom’s son is over 18, I think he’s fair game. Jason seems to think so as well. Her mom can’t hide from this enormous part of her life forever, and she should have been honest with her family to begin with. Her inability to admit the life she’s had shouldn’t prevent Stacie from living hers.

Next up was a party, because we can’t have an episode of this show without one, it’s in the contracts or something. This one was a charity men’s fashion show organized by Lynda, who forced her assistant to get down on the floor and buckle her shoes for the event, causing me to think that secretly she may be the craziest person in the entire cast (when you consider that incident alongside her repeated mentions of weed throughout the episode, I think I have a pretty strong case). The party itself looked like fun, although Mary seemed to have mistaken the male models for strippers. For a moment, I thought she might run up to the runway to stuff a couple dollars in one model’s pants, and if she had been a few more sheets to the wind, she probably would have. As it was, she just made faces at Lolly across the room, who was wearing one of her dresses. Drat. Left the closet open again. As it turns out, the biometric lock doesn’t work unless you close the door.

Cat had gathered herself up to attend the party and was holding things together until a man approached the table who dressed like her recently-passed friend, and then she started crying in front of everyone and was clearly quite embarrassed. I felt bad for her but also had some sympathy for him – he had no idea what he was walking in to, but to his credit, he was very nice. Cat decided that she wouldn’t be going to her friend’s funeral, which I wonder if she’ll regret later.

On a slightly happier note, all of the best people on this show (Stacie, Jason, Mary and Mary’s husband, who doesn’t have a name) got together to have dinner and discuss the nastiness that went down at the vineyard with Tareq and Michaele. It also came out that Mary and Tareq have a lot of mutual friends from way back, and apparently he has a track record since childhood as troublemaker who takes advantage of people and doesn’t pay his bills (although I’m not sure exactly what type of bills a child might accrue). Surprising? Not so much. People don’t just suddenly become Tareq Salahi. They’re like that forever, like serial killers.

Speak of the devil, we next saw the Salahis at their “winery,” which seems to only be a winery in the most charitable definition of the word, complaining about Tareq’s mom and how much of a meanie she can be. Momma Salahi apparently isn’t much of a fan of Michaele, and while they were talking about such things, the sheriff’s department showed up to have them escorted off the property at the behest of his mother. Tareq acted like that happens all the time, but Michaele cried and said that she doesn’t leave because marriage is for better or for worse. When you’re quoting your marriage vows as the only reason that you stick around, perhaps it’s time to consider breaking them.

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Did you buy anything at Fashion’s Night Out?

In it’s second year, the Anna Wintour-created Fashion’s Night Out seemed to find its footing as both a social and media event. Capital-F Fashion people were sharing their experiences and photos all over Twitter, from Olsen Twin-anchored cattle calls at Barneys to velvet rope, guest-list-only fetes at Ferragamo and Madewell. The crowds were huge this year, bigger than last year by a wide margin, and nary a luxury brand or retailer with a New York outpost sat out the festivities.

By all of those metrics, Fashion’s Night Out was a roaring success. But as an event that drives sales and gets people shopping, many critics still have their questions about its efficacy. During a rather awkward Late Night with Jimmy Fallon appearance alongside uberdesigner Marc Jacobs, Wintour bristled at Fallon’s question of whether or not the event included discounts – it does not, or at least it’s not supposed to. So we’re curious – if you attended a FNO event in New York City or elsewhere, did you buy anything, or did you go to enjoy the crowd and the event (and maybe also the free cocktails)?

Several recaps of last year’s inaugural outing provided anecdotal evidence that consumers didn’t see Fashion’s Night Out as a buying opportunity, and that makes sense – crowds are too big in stores that are too small, and no one is focused on shopping when there’s free booze to be guzzled and celebrities at which to gawk. I can go to Bergdorf’s and buy the same bag for the same price any day of the week, and since I don’t particularly enjoy crowded shopping (you’ll never see me at a mall in December unless it’s a Tuesday morning or some such), there’s practically no buying incentive at Fashion’s Night Out.

Alcohol’s uncanny ability to lower purchasing inhibitions notwithstanding, the intent of FNO is supposedly to remind people that shopping is fun. I question whether or not anyone who would show up to one of the evening’s many events needs any reminding of that fact, but you have to give Wintour and the other organizers credit for savvy marketing. It’s rare that mainstream media covers fashion so intently, and the event certainly managed to get people within the industry talking as well. Whether or not that will turn into increased revenues remains to be seen, but we’d love to hear any and all observations and hypotheses in the comments.

Photo of Fashion’s Night Out milieu via AliceInNYC

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Bag Bargains: Marc by Marc Jacobs goes minimalist chic

Usually our coverage of bags priced under a thousand dollars is centered over at PurseBlog Savvy, but sometimes a bag from a “contemporary” designer so far exceeds expectations that it more than earns a spot among the much more expensive bags at regular PurseBlog. The Marc by Marc Jacobs Save the Birds Lenny Day Bag is one such high-achiever.

I’ve owned a not-insignificant number of Marc by Marc Jacobs bags over the past few years and observed a great many of the company’s other bags in person, and this design may top all of them. MbMJ tends to skew young and a bit retro, but this bag has a modern, sleek quality that not only sets it appart from the line’s other offerings, but also makes it potentially appealing to a very wide customer base.

The bag is available in two colors, but I prefer the light tan over the rich chocolate brown because lighter colors tend to better showcase design details and leather variations. MbMJ uses better leather in its bags than the company’s usual prices would often indicate, and the easy droop of the side folds that the luxe leather creates is the main attraction with this design. They provide a bit of texture without interrupting the bag’s functional purpose or making it difficult to carry, and accomplishing both of those things without shooting minimalism in the foot is a difficult task indeed. Not only does the design team at MbMJ pull it off, but they do so at a downright reasonable price. Buy through Saks for $528.

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Tory Burch Spring 2011: Totally and Completely Wearable

Since we’ve been noting a clear move from monogrammed cute to sleek and chic in Tory’s shoes and bags, it’s no surprise that the Spring 2011 presentation was nothing short of gorgeous. It also confirmed that the 70s really are going to be in style next spring – I know, I know, Marc Jacobs confirmed it too but Tory Burch has the power of mass appeal. Plus, her 70s-inspired pieces were paired with other items that gave them a decidedly modern twist. For example, bell-bottom pants were paired with things like a fine-knit sweater that reminded of Peruvian striped styles or just a simple long-sleeved tee. The shoes were pretty high, yes – giant-heeled espadrilles or high wedges – but there were easy sandals as well.

Of course, the bags moved even more into the realm of minimalism. All of them had but a tiny logo, instead allowing the bright color and shape of the leather to stand out. And the colors were perfectly modern while still preppy: think classic white, orange, bright jade green, and softly vibrant yellow. A striped and woven tote bag fit in with the more globally-inspired pieces, like the Peruvian-style sweater mentioned earlier, while a teeny straw and leather basket purse was just plain cute.

Not only that, but Tory figured out how to make calf-length skirts flattering and wearable. In one of my favorite outfits (in case you’re wondering, yes, I did pick my top five favorite outfits, to be exact) the stunning model wore a calf-length white chiffon skirt spotted in orange with a loose orange top. The outfit was cinched with a glam gold belt with corset-style ties; slim gold hoop earrings finished off the outfit.

On the subject of wearability, the models actually looked happy and comfortable, despite the fact that they had to stand for quite awhile in massively tall platforms and heels. Perhaps it’s because they talked and laughed and joked with one another throughout the presentation, but whatever it was, their pep made me adore the clothes that much more.

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Reed Krakoff alligator tote back in stock at Net-a-Porter

When we discussed Reed Krakoff’s Fall 2010 handbag line last week, many of you mentioned that your favorite was one we had omitted: the Reed Krakoff Alligator and Felt Boxer II Tote. The bag’s omission was intentional: I think it’s beautiful enough to deserve its own post.

When it first appeared on Net-a-Porter two weeks ago, it managed to sell out before I even woke up (which, admittedly, was later than a real adult should be waking up for work), but a second shipment has come in. So, you know, gather up that extra seven grand you have laying around, because this thing doesn’t come cheap.

Whether or not the bag is really worth $6900 is up for debate – some brands charge far more for any brand with alligator elements, and although this one isn’t entirely alligator, the trim is pretty significant. The color variation of the skin is perfection, and the juxtaposition with the neutral cream felt adds a richness to the bag that is hard to resist, even for someone like me who has a more hard-edged personal aesthetic. For anyone worried about durability, the bag’s gusset and much of the back panel are made of caramel leather, so the felt is in many ways as much of an accent as the exquisite alligator. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $6900.

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Enjoy your weekend with some Celine eye candy

Another brilliant bag moment from photoblogger Tommy Ton, covering New York Fashion Week for Style.com. He caught an Alexander Wang attendee carrying a Celine Classic Box Bag, and you get a gold star if you can tell me who she is. Have a great weekend!

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Rachel Zoe Project: “All the recipes say I have to stick my hand in a cavity.”

It looks as though our lovely relationship with The Rachel Zoe Project is breaking up next week, but we should enjoy it while things last. After all, with awards season ending, we should have seen this coming. The writing was on the wall. I blame myself.

The thing is, we won’t be able to enjoy our last days with this show if the relationship contained therein keeps trying to alienate us. We just want to love you, Rachel and Rodger! Why won’t you let us love you??? Also, if you promise to show us more clothes next week than you did last night, we promise not to make you talk about that whole uncomfortable baby thing again. We swear.

Remember last week when Brad was irritated that Ashley took a few days off because she was sick? Well, she’s getting “fired” for it. Now that awards season is over, they don’t really need her any more, and the decision to not continue to pay her seemed to be made pretty quickly. Poor girl – she was verbally dismissed while not even being present, and then she was never spoken of again.

Conversation quickly went from firing Ashley to cooking seder dinner for Rachel’s entire family, and then from cooking seder to babies because The Rodge wanted a decision on having kids before Rachel’s family arrived for a visit. All Rachel was concerned about was making sure she didn’t have to stick her hand up a turkey’s hoo-ha to cook dinner, and also that if she were to get pregnant, she would be allowed to wear Chanel in the delivery room. She has the perfect cape for it. It would be a moment.

But before any turkeys could be stuff or babies made, we got to meet a comedian named Amy Phillips who has earned a reputation for impersonating Rachel on the internet. Rodger had some kind of bright idea about shooting a viral video with Rachel and this comedian lady, during the filming of which The Rodge threw a marker at Rachel, cussed at everyone who was having a good time, and generally fumed, scowled and whined his way through the afternoon. Good to see that he managed to be consistent from the last episode to this one. Perhaps I’m just biased because I’ve wanted to throttle him so badly for a few episodes now, but his reaction seemed entirely unprofessional.

He was able to gather up his manhood and apologize to Brad for cussing him out in front of a room full of people, though, and then the flood gates open. The Rodge has never seemed to like Brad all that much, but he more or less let loose about his relationship issues while talking to him in private. I am sympathetic about the lack of work that Rachel seems to be doing in the relationship, but perhaps discussing it on a reality show with your wife’s employee isn’t the best course of action.

Speaking of poor courses of action: next, instead of having a rational conversation with Rachel like he had with Brad, Rodger yelled and cussed at Rachel when she said that she’d rather he didn’t yell and cuss at the employees that way. To me, that’s a totally reasonable request – no matter how stressed Rodger is, there’s no reason to blow up like that and make a fool out of everyone. Rachel needs to show him more respect while at work, but The Rodge also needs to act like someone who deserves professional respect.

Next on the agenda was picking dresses for Rachel’s new client Beau Garrett, who is apparently an actress in a film called Tron that I’m already not interested in. Beau was beautiful and needed very little to make her look great (which Brad was very excited about), and she also had an adorable dog. She was also very agreeable, which helps, as does being tall and thin and looking great in everything. Uh, plus she has a great actress name. Beau might be so cool that I hate her a little bit.

A fashion emergency is never far away, though, and suddenly the team had to style a yoga photo shoot for Molly Simms. I’m not sure where Brad and Jordan were supposed to get yoga clothes, but I’m pretty sure Chanel doesn’t make that stuff. Or maybe they do. They make skis, after all, and yoga is a thing that rich people do as well. Jordan pulled stuff from Lulu Lemon (duh, should have thought of that) and Brad approved. Since Rachel was had gotten stuck inside of her seder turkey and was nowhere to be found, Brad’s approval was the only thing that was needed.

Except, well, it wasn’t. Brad had been told no white, and all the photographer (or creative director? Who was that guy?) wanted was white. Oops. A wardrobe “powwow” was required and Brad felt terrible, and I’m not sure why they couldn’t just put her in a solid-colored outfit and Photoshop it white afterward. I mean, I can do that. It’s not difficult, and it probably would have been faster than sending an intern to navigate the Los Angeles freeways in search of a pair of skintight white shorts.

While all of this was going on, Rachel was at a grocery store of all places. As you might have guessed, Rachel is not a frequent visitor to a grocery store and never cooks, so her shopping methods were…inexact. She wanted to buy challah for Passover, which is kind of brilliant in its airheadedness. Rachel and Rodger continued to snipe at each other throughout the grocery trip, and it became more and more clear that they both need to take a timeout and probably go on vacation far away and without Blackberries, as Rodger had suggested. Awards season is over, Brad and Jordan are capable, why not take a few days to themselves? Not that The Rodge gets a pass – calling Rachel a retard in a decidedly nasty tone of voice is not constructive, particularly not in public and in front of cameras.

Rachel and Rodger managed to get the groceries home without killing each other (with the help of Rachel’s assistant Marissa), at which point a soda exploded and Rachel and her Hair Gay discussed whether or not turkeys have hair. In Rachel’s defense, raw turkey is totally vile, not to mention heinously smelly, and I don’t like handling it either. She had managed to forget latkes, brisket and kosher gravy, though, so she sent Marissa to secretly procure those things from a, uh, “reliable source.” She also outsourced “bowl options” from Jordan.

Someone had the nerve to bring a baby to the seder, so we had to have the Rachel Baby Conversation again, this time with the Hair Gay. Rachel insists that her clothes and bags are her babies and she doesn’t need anything else, which I think is a perfectly reasonable stance, but they finally sussed out the source of Rachel’s fear – she doesn’t want to carry the baby because she thinks it’ll be too hard on her body. I’m not sure why they don’t hire a surrogate if that’s the thing stopping Rachel from wanting a child, since it seems as though they have the financial resources to do so.

Rachel’s also scared that she would have a miscarriage or other medical emergency with the baby, which is a valid concern – she’s toward the end of normal female fertility, and the risk of miscarriage rises when you get that close to 40. Surprisingly, when the Hair Gay (whose name I genuinely do not know, or I would use it) asked her if she was afraid of getting fat, she said that she wasn’t without a moment of hesitation or any break in eye contact. I believed her, and I didn’t expect to.

Thankfully that conversation only lasted a few minutes and we got straight back to the food to take our minds off of the difficult issues of fertility and health. I’m not sure exactly how much of the dinner Rachel “cooked,” but the seder looked not only delicious, but warm and familial. Even Rachel’s parents were there, and her dad did perhaps the realest thing that a dad could ever do on reality TV – he pressured Rachel to get pregnant during the toast. It was all very cute, except that the episode then ended with Rodger threatening to divorce her during a spliced-in interview. It must be fantastic to hear your husband say that on television, huh?

In the end, this episode was short on clothes and long on relationship drama, which is a wonderful demonstration of why seasons of this show only last eight episodes and always take place during awards season and fashion month. Next week Rachel is styling the Met Ball, though, so hopefully we’ll have more clothes porn for the season finale.

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Chanel can make even an all-denim outfit work

I don’t dig the all-jean look that some people in fashion have embraced over the past six months, but it’s hard to argue with any outfit that includes a giant Chanel Flap Bag in one of the dusky military colors favored by fall’s trends. Photoblogger extraordinaire Tommy Ton, working the events at Lincoln Center for Style.com, managed to capture just that on the street in New York City.

You can find Ton’s Fashion Week coverage at Style.com, or visit his blog at Jak & Jil.

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Ladylike Styles Reign at Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2011

By far one of the best parts of my first week back at school was Fashion Week – I jetted (well, ok, I took the subway) to shows before and after class. But I was highly anticipating the Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2011 show, and now I can say with full confidence that it exceeded my expectations.

Not only did it to showcase the new collection of clothing and handbags, but it marked the unveiling of Rebecca Minkoff’s first shoe collection. Plus, famed fashion blogger Rumi Neely of Fashiontoast modeled in the presentation, wearing the Rumi dress inspired by her. You can pre-order the dress and the Quilted Affair bag, which Rumi carried during the presentation, via RebeccaMinkoff.com.

All of the look were lovely – while they were still edgy, they had a ladylike quality to them that was only increased by the elegant bags on display. There was a classic black MAC clutch, but that was only the beginning. There were quilted shoulder bags and clutches, and a black patent-trimmed cream MAB that was so gorgeous that the model herself took a closer look whilst modeling. My favorite bag, though, was a more offbeat white Lust bag with black spots. What can I say – even faced with an amazing red exotic evening clutch, I still adore Dalmatian-styled bags.

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Marc Jacobs takes us on a 70s vacation for Spring 2011

Marc Jacobs is almost inarguably the king of New York Fashion Week, and his Marc Jacobs Collection show is always the most sought-after invitation of them all (at least stateside). This year, the show livestreamed online to thousands of fans while the editors and buyers looked on in Manhattan, and what a splendid show Marc created to kick off the digital age at his company – if you like a good 70s reference in your spring wardrobe, that is.

Jacobs will also join us in the 21st century by launching online retail at MarcJacobs.com today, but you’ll have to wait until next year if you want to scoop up the collection’s fabulously wearable printed dresses and (slightly less fabulous) shiny pantsuits in a palette of plum, pumpkin and raspberry. While you wait patiently, we have photos of the best looks to entice you, after the jump. Oh, and the bags! How could I forget the bags? Jacobs took a refreshing turn back to normalcy this season, and the richly hued day clutch seems to be his bag of choice for spring.
From his runway to God’s ears, as they say.

Photos courtesy of Style.com.

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Fendi gives us a horse of a different color, literally.

Perhaps some of the black dye from my hair appointment yesterday has seeped into my brain, but I find the Fendi Seleria Zucca Horse Tote almost…charming. It has chutzpah, and I respect that, even if I don’t necessarily want to spend money on it or carry it around town.

Some leather-goods brands tend to be so self-serious about their origins in equestrianism and saddlery, and it seems as though Fendi is deliberately poking fun at that kind of slightly stodgy traditionalism and humorlessness. And a giant leather horse head on a logo bag, from a company which largely has no such origins? That’s hilarious, if only to people who spend far more time thinking about bags than is healthy.

I’m not sure how many points any of you are willing to award to a brand for having a witty design sensibility, but I think Fendi deserves at least a few here. Not only is the bag irreverent, but it’s fairly well executed – the leather looks to be the typically high-quality material that graces most of the brand’s bags, and I’ve found zucca to be far more durable than you might guess. For the size of the bag, I think that the price is pretty fair – it just depends on how willing you are to wear your sense of humor on your arm. I’m betting most people will pass, and I probably will too. But I’m still highly amused. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $595.

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Hermès releases short film starring handbags, Constance Jablonski

Short films as seasonal promos have become the thing to do in fashion over the past few seasons (we probably have Karl Lagerfeld to thank for that), and Hermes is the latest brand to jump on the bandwagon (or, by the looks of this video, jump on the horse-drawn cart) with “La Vie Comme Un Conte” for Fall/Winter 2010. The video is under two minutes and focuses largely on handbags and accessories, which seems like the perfect way to begin the weekend to us.

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In inclement weather, be prepared with Valentino

When I first saw the Valentino Primavera Water-Resistant Tote, I was really surprised. Not that the bag existed or was being marketed for rainy days – no, that made perfect sense – but that we don’t see a lot more of the exact same thing.

Chanel in particular has released a number of flap bags that come with their own rain coats in recent years, but other than a nylon tote here or there, most brands don’t take on the challenge of designing for bad weather. I live in a city that gets more inches of rain per year than Seattle, and I, for one, appreciate Valentino’s effort on behalf of those of us who experience real weather from time to time.

There’s one notable problem with this design if it’s supposed to be used in the rain – the top doesn’t zip shut, it merely has a magnetic snap in the middle. That won’t be of much help if there’s more than a little precipitation, but at least the exterior of the bag won’t permanently spot from the moisture like many similarly colored leathers.

The flowers that adorn the bag’s exterior are signature Valentino and very well done, but for the price, I’d just buy one of the brand’s many beautifully detailed leather bags and carry a collapsible nylon tote in the bottom to shield it from sudden precipitation. Hopefully, though, more designers will take on the rain-resistent challenge and we’ll soon have more options when the weather forecast isn’t perfect. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $2145.

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Chanel Fall 2010 handbags hit the internet

Remember that time when Karl Lagerfeld imported a chunk of glacier for the Chanel show in Paris and then showed a collection full of faux fur and what can only be described as yeti costumes? That seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it? Well, it was just six months ago, and now the bags from that collection are available for perusal on Chanel.com.

Some of the collection already popped up in the form of Pre-Fall 2010, but now the entirety of the line has landed and we’ve collected the pictures on your behalf. The designs range from useable, reasonable caramel-colored leather bags to wacky faux-fur-tufted creations that are only for fashion’s, uh, boldest individuals. My personal favorite is the ice cube clutch – let us know which ones you like in the comments. As always, photos are after the jump.

Pictures via Chanel. For price and purchase information, please contact the company at (800)550-0005.

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Azumi and David Channels Chanel with a Shoe-Pouch

I try to always be open-minded to new ideas. There were times when I went for a run (granted that was about, erhm, a good 10 years ago) and had no where to place my money. My under my foot in my shoe would take the money, which always seemed to keep my money secure but not overly dry. And really, that isn’t the best idea. I remember a handful of shoes that were designed with a pouch of sorts then, but none came near to this much of a pouch + shoe look.

Welcome the Azumi and David Pouch Shoes to your screen. All that I get when I see this bag + shoe combination is a Chanel feel. There is quilted black leather and a very Chanel-esque turnlock closure. In fact, Chanel did make an anklet for Spring/Summer 2008. But this is not Chanel, it is Azumi and David, a duo known to push design boundaries at times.

But WAIT A MINUTE. At first I was certain these were indeed shoes, shoes that had an oversized pouch integrated with them. But it is the other way around. These are not shoes with a pouch, rather a pouch with a shoe. Am I making sense? Meaning, this is merely a clutch of sorts that has a shoe as part of its design aspect. Well that is… pointless? I want to be accepting of this idea, but I just feel like this would surely be awkward to carry. Imagine taking this to an event and people staring saying, “There is a heel on that bag…”. And that heel may jab you. Imagine putting the pouch under your arm and having the heel dig into your rib cage, OUCH! When I first saw this bag, I was silently rooting for it to somehow work, but it simply is not for me. Is it for you? Buy via Colette for $385.

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