All posts filed under: Handbags

Holt Renfrew x Marc by Marc Jacobs x VisionSpring Launch Party

Holt Renfrew and Marc by Marc Jacobs have teamed up to design a limited edition tote bag.  A portion of the cost of this Holt Renfrew exclusive will be donated to VisionSpring, a charity that provides low-cost eyeglasses to workers and artisans in the developing work to see. I attended the launch party and learned that this tote raised $80,000 dollars for VisionSpring. The program exceeded everyone’s expectations. People who reserved can pick up their tote bags at Holt Renfrew’s across the country. You can purchase the $48 tote at Holt Renfrew locations from September 30, 2010 on a first come first serve basis. Who knows if they are sold out at this point in time. The visuals team really went to town with the tote theme. I decided to try out the Blackberry Torch’s camera and all the photos you see here are from it. I received a evaluation Torch from RIM two weeks ago almost. I’m loving it.  The photos are much better than my Curve 8330 since it’s a 5MP camera.  It’s …

i want: NAA P-51 Flight Kit Bag by Red Canoe

I love this NAA P-51 Flight Kit Bag from the newly released Boeing x Red Canoe collection. Red Canoe is the first licensed collaborator to gain access to all of Boeing’s historic and acquired marks, including the archival logos of Boeing, North American Aviation (NAA), Douglas Aircraft Co., The Boeing Stearman and many more. The truly one-of-a-kind collaboration celebrates aviation icons, says Red Canoe Founder Dax Wilkinson. “The Boeing team was highly impressed by the design, quality and authenticity of our merchandise – the partnership was a natural fit. We were so excited to visit the archives and uncover amazing imagery – from flight manuals to old pins, flags to flight suits – and breathe new life into these symbols.” Jim Newcomb, Director, Brand Management & Advertising at The Boeing Company says Red Canoe’s Boeing Heritage line has the potential to capture the hearts of an entirely new generation of aviation and fashion enthusiasts: “This line honors the achievements of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who worked for Boeing, North American and …

Holt Renfrew x Marc by Marc Jacobs x VisionSpring

Holt Renfrew and Marc by Marc Jacobs have teamed up to design a limited edition tote bag.  A portion of the cost of this Holt Renfrew exclusive will be donated to VisionSpring, a charity that provides low-cost eyeglasses to workers and artisans in the developing work to see. Due to overwhelming demand the online reservation system is now offline.  However, you can purchase the $48 tote at Holt Renfrew locations from September 30, 2010 on a first come first serve basis. Holt Renfrew was nice enough to send me the Marc by Marc Jacobs tote in blue.  It’s a very good shopping tote it’s large and looks like it can handle some weight. It also has a large inside pocket which is great for cellphones and other electronic gadgets. It fits my Kobo reader very well.

Nella Bella Handbags Fall Winter 2010 – 2011

I visited Tarek at his studio to see the fall 2010 collection from Nella Bella. The dark palette has a few spots of colour with gold, plum, red and blue. Textures fabricated this season include suede and paper. Tarek took me through Spring 2011 (more on that in later posts) and the current Fall 2010 collections.  He also generously loaded me up with handbags and send me on my merry way. This meeting was during TIFF so I was getting a little to used to this scenario. I love the Seattle style (pictured at top) bag. The four zippers are used to collapse and enlarge the handbag. It’s nice to have the option of three sizes. His studio building is gorgeous and I had to do and outdoor shoot. Nella Bella is available in Toronto at: Body Blue Denim Lab 724 Queen St. W. Capezio Casual Affairs 2873 Bloor St. W. Envelop 311 Danforth Ave. Frock 97 Roncesvalles Ave. Please see nella-bella.com for retailers across the country.

Gap Inc Canadian Online Shopping Launch

A couple weeks back I attended an event by Gap Inc for the launch of Canadian online shopping at GapCanada.ca, OldNavy.ca and BananaRepublic.ca.   That’s right they finally fulfill orders and ship out of a Canadian warehouse.  No brokerage, no duties.  It was held at the Andrew Richard Design Loft. Each attendee was given a $100 Visa cash card to shop at any of the three sites during the event. It was a great way to get everyone to try out the new system and experience Gap Inc’s online shopping experience. All three websites offer irritation free browsing which is very easy to use. It took me a long time to figure out what would give me the best bang for my buck so I ended up choosing the Haircalf mini chain bag from Banana Republic. It fits into my new hungry for animal print accessories and it would utilize most of the money on the card in one shot. Some attendees also got a lesson in Gap Inc fraud control when some orders were canceled …

i want: Douglas Coupland x Roots

I like a few items of the Douglas Coupland x Roots collaboration. The ROOTS X DOUGLAS COUPLAND collection includes apparel for women/men/children, accessories, leather goods, design items, furniture, limited editions, original art and a series of pop-up stores. This is the first time Douglas Coupland has designed fashion wearables. He is best known as the internationally best-selling author of “Generation X”, “JPod” and “Generation A”. “For more than 10 years I’ve been intimately exploring what it means to be Canadian,” says Coupland. “This partnership with Roots is an amazing opportunity to keep that dialogue going with an even wider, more diverse audience.” The theme created for the ROOTS X DOUGLAS COUPLAND collection is “Canada Goes Electric” and brings together Douglas Coupland’s recognizable perspective with the Roots reputation for quality goods and craftsmanship. “For the first time in our history, we stepped back and left the design to an outside designer,” explains Don Green, Co-founder of Roots. “Visually the collection is strong but beyond that, Douglas Coupland has once again shown his trademark humour and brilliance …

Chanel Fall 2010 Cube Bag

i want: Chanel Fall 2010 – 2011 Ice Cube Handbags

I rediscovered the Chanel Fall 2010 – 2011 ice-cube bags because of a series called Object Fetish on the site Showstudio.com. Examining key pieces from next seasons international collections, Object Fetish trains obsessive attention onto next seasons not-so-obscure objects of desire – namely the choicest accessories from fashions favourite names, metaphorically unpicked through film and text. The series is quite good and I love the in-depth discussion around the objects. View the Object Fetish: Chanel Handbag video. Edit: I found the video on YouTube This show was so overwhelming with the glacier and the faux fur all over the place. I didn’t notice any of the accessories. The video really worked up my handbag lust. I love the idea of these bags. They make me laugh because they are so ridiculous, but at the same time I’d love to own one. I enjoy that combination of absurdity and lust. I can’t wait to see these in the stores. I learned some interesting facts from the Showstudio video about Chanel. Chanel is one of the very …

Manon Mini Bag by Tila March

i want: Manon Mini Bag by Tila March

This is a fun little crossbody bag from Tila March. The 4-year-old company is the brainchild of a French fashion editor, Tamara Taichman and a marketing executive in the leather luxury goods business, Nicolas Berdugo.  The Japan Times has a great little article on the brand and some history. Tila March handbags are available in Canada exclusively though the online handbag retailer A TO ZANE. images: tilamarch.com

Diego Suede Studded Bucket Bag by Alexander Wang

i want: Diego Suede Studded Bucket Bag by Alexander Wang

The Diego Suede Studded Bucket Bag by Alexander Wang is my ultimate Spring Summer 2010 Bucket Bag. I was playing with it at Holt Renfrew and fell in lust with this bag. The hardware is beautiful and it’s pretty heavy and solid.  I appreciate the masculine qualities of  Alexander Wang handbags.  My aversion to animal print is slowly being broken down.  I love that there is a short and long strap for the bag. You can purchase this bag at Holt Renfrew or online at shopbop.com.

Proezna Schouler Pre Fall 2010

Proenza Schouler Pre-Fall 2010 Accessories

Twitter was all a flutter over the newly released Proenza Schouler Pre Fall 2010 Accessories. I was wondering what all the hubbub was about and then I saw the collection. I’m not usually one to like fur on shoes but I like the restraint used with the first two shoes pictured. It does seem a little weird to be selling fur lined sandals for pre-fall though. The shoes are really inventive and I’m loving the green creeper/Dr. Martens influenced shoe.  The handbags are to die for.  Totally classic and ladylike. images: proenzaschouler.com

Jenny Bird Pouchettes

i want: Jenny Bird Pouchettes

I saw the Jenny Bird Pouchettes at Holt Renfrew on the weekend. I have that bucket handbag preoccupation that also includes small cross body bags. There is a trend moving to smaller bags and I see a lot of cute ones like this around. Holts Renfrew is carrying the following combos: The black with stud, nude with grommets and Leopard with grommet. The Leopard style is exclusive to Holts. The handbag retails for $250 CAD.

Spring Summer 2010 Bucket Bags - Mat & Nat

i want: Spring Summer 2010 Bucket Bags

The other type of handbag I’ve been obsessing over is the bucket bag. I have no idea why they are calling to me at this moment. Alexander Wang – Diego suede studded bucket bag MATT & NAT – Commix Drawstring Bag Marc by Marc Jacobs – Party Girl Tribal Pixie Bucket Bag These are a few of the more interesting ones I’ve seen. UPDATE(May 4, 2010): I saw the black version of the MATT & NAT bucket bag for sale at Over the Rainbow. It’s pretty fun in person. I like it. UPDATE(May 10, 2010): I saw the Marc By Marc Jacobs bucket bag at Holt Renfrew on the weekend. It’s pretty nice in person also. images: shopbop.com, net-a-porter.com

Nella Bella Spring 2010 Handbags

Nella Bella Spring 2010 Handbags

Last season I talked about Toronto based Nella Bella handbags on I want – I got. I posted about the Nella Bella Fall 2009 Handbag collection. I visited Tarek, Nella Bella owner in his studio to get a look at the Spring 2010 collection up close.  Of course I had to take pictures with all the bags. Spring 2010 focuses on neutrals like black, brown and creme. However there are spots of colour with the acrylic dipped cotton prints, bright canvas, and vibrant pink PU materials. All the bags come with different colour options. There are a lot of the classic shapes from previous seasons like the London bag and the popular Vancouver gym tote, which always gets Tarek smiling when he sees them on the street. Some of my favourite styles include the Riviera clutch which also can double as a full bag with straps, the Vienna satchel, the liquid metal looking Stockholm messenger and the Rio. I fell in love with Rio on first sight. It was solidified when I touched the soft …

Marni Fall 2010 Accessories

The clothing from Marni’s fall 2010 collection was interesting to say the least. It wasn’t relaxed and easy wearing as the Marni Pre-Fall 2010 collection. I’m sure when I see individual pieces on the rack I’ll forget about the styling nightmare I saw on the runway and I’ll be able to see the beauty in some of this stuff. That’s what usually happens with me and Marni; I need to see it in person. I really liked some of the accessories. The bags are beautiful and sleek. Marni Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review. images: style.com

i want: Louis Vuitton Spring 2010 Accessories

Something is very wrong with me, I like some of the handbag offering from Louis Vuitton this season. I’m usually someone that only likes the Damier Azur canvas. I don’t know, maybe it was the music from the Spring 2010 show or the colours, but some of these bags are looking good. Forget about the price for a moment as they are astronomical and just look at the fun design. I think it’s the colour schemes that gets me. The colours are vibrant and well matched. images: nitrolicious.com

i want: Space Invader Handbags

Lana, an I want – I got reader, emailed a link to the London, Ontario based fashion eshop, Dress911.com. I get sent a few links and sometimes they intrigue me and sometimes they don’t. The concept of our store is clothing that is both vintage inspired and presented by smaller designers. Our selection ranges from garden picnics to cocktail parties, styles from movie stars of yesteryear to the latest revived fashion on magazine covers, liberating indie designs to humble simplicity. Each piece is unique and is a statement. I was trolling the site which features a lot of vintage inspired clothing, when I noticed these great Space Invaders Handbags. I love! If I saw a Galaga version of the handbag, I would have freaked out with excitement.  Galaga is my favourite video game ever. images: dress911.com