Judging by the date on the calendar and the state of my email inbox, New York Fashion Week is upon us. Like everyone else in the industry, this is about the time when I look at my wardrobe and whine pathetically about how you guys, I just don’t have anything to wear. While my lack of sartorial options is objectively not true, not even a little bit, it sure does feel that way when you’re staring down the barrel of a week of nonstop industry events.

Given the part of the industry that we focus on over here, having good accessories is always the first priority on my list when planning an ensemble, particularly for a fashionable occasion. I’m more satisfied with my bag collection than any other part of my wardrobe, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love a new bag, particularly a Reed Krakoff Atlantique, to debut at Lincoln Center in February.

The Atlantique is one of a number of wide-gusseted north-south totes to pop up in the wake of the popularity of the Celine Luggage Tote, and it might be my favorite of the group so far. Although I know that this bag shape doesn’t work for my lifestyle (I recently parted ways with my own Celine because I just didn’t use it very much, I’m sad to say), I can’t help but be drawn to it. I need a shoulder or crossbody strap, but what I really want is to be able to enjoy an arm-carried tote like this one.

If I had my way, my first choice would be the cobalt blue python version – THAT COLOR. For those with bigger budgets and narrower views on color, there’s always the super-spendy alligator-trimmed version. If you want things to remain reasonable, the all-leather option comes in below $2k. Really, there’s an Atlantique for everybody. Except for me.

Reed Krakoff Python Atlantique Tote, $5900 via Reed Krakoff

Reed Krakoff Alligator Trimmed Atlantique Tote, $7150 via Reed Krakoff

Reed Krakoff Leather Atlantique Tote, $1490 via Reed Krakoff

My Fashion Week wish is for a Reed Krakoff Atlantique is a post from: Cheap Online Shopping

Ok, so we’ve spent plenty of time lately talking about brights, neons and other assorted eye-assaulting colors that you might want to wear for spring. While Megs and I love and adore those kinds of bags, we realize that they may not be for every, either in a practical or an aesthetic sense. If you’d like something a tad more neutral but you still want to update your bag wardrobe for spring, you’re in luck – snakeskin is still the texture that everyone wants to have.

We’ve covered the all-snake look in the past, but for many women, a bag that mixes snakeskin and regular leather is a more demure option that allows a bag to be acceptable in a work environment where it might have otherwise been a bit too showy. Plus, mixing textures is also a big trend, so you’re getting a little bang for your buck here. (Your metaphorical buck, at least. Stuff’s still expensive.) And yes, we included one bright option. It’s almost spring, I couldn’t help it.

Fendi Chameleon Colorblock Tote, $5370 via Neiman Marcus

Yves Saint Laurent Cabas ChYc Python Tote, $2795 via Neiman Marcus

Jimmy Choo Jasmine Python and Leather Clutch, $1695 via Saks

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Straw Handbag, $1875 via Neiman Marcus

Reed Krakoff Standard Mini Shoulder Bag, $690 via Net-a-Porter

Michael Kors Saddle Bag, $895 via Neiman Marcus

Mixing snakeskin is still big for spring is a post from: Cheap Online Shopping

It’s been a rough week already and it’s only Tuesday. First Balenciaga, makers of my favorite handbags of all time, decided to desecrate one of their classic bags with inexplicably bad fur trim. Now Proenza Schouler, another of my can-do-no-wrong favorites, has made a version of their usually lovely Proenza Schouler PS1 Keep All Small that I just…don’t like.

This bag is not as egregious as the Balenciaga tote, for sure, but most Proenza bags are so effortlessly cool and (in my mind at least) perfect that to see one of the brand’s classics miss the mark is jarring, to say the least. I like the shape and I like the materials when considered individually, but together? Eep.

The issue here is one of tone. Proenza has done well with its canvas PS1s in the past, and this is the same warm beige material that they’ve always used. Layering that with leather or embossed python sounds like a great idea in theory, but with this trim, they chose a color story that has absolutely nothing to do with the base color that’s sitting under it. The foundation of the print is graphic white, cool gunmetal grey and ice blue, which could look more random against a warm neutral. The fiery yellow and red-orange are the final icing on the WTF cake.

Proenza Schouler is usually a master at mixing colors and patterns in ways that make me swoon and endlessly re-plan my wardrobe budget, but I can say with confidence that this is a bag on which I will pass. That’s too bad, because with a few tweaks, it could have been quite beautiful. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1250.

Et tu, Proenza Schouler? Really? is a post from: Cheap Online Shopping