The latest issue of domino magazine (one of my favorites!) features Jessie Randall, who along with her husband, Brian Murphy, formed Loeffler Randall, a shoe-and-bag label. This Leather Satchel, also known as the “Hattie” bag, after Randall’s grandmother’s nickname, was mentioned in the article and it caught my eye. The version in the magazine was a gorgeous deep blue, but of course, I couldn’t find that color being sold anywhere!

It is being sold though at Bergdorf Goodman’s web site in black or tan (which looks quite orange to me) and sells for $655. The pleated body, framed top and looped double handles certainly give this bag lots of personality and character—perfect for the girl who likes bags with individuality.

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Thank you for our first Carnivale here at Pursed Lips. I think we got through it okay!

The entries were fabulous, but how could they not be? On to it!

• GeekiGirl at I want, I got: couldn’t decide between two favorites of mine also for only one to choose. Don’t we all understand? The Spy just screams luxe and it and uniqueness, but it’s also copied so much. I’d go with the Paddington, if given free, for that lizard one you eyed is thousands more expensive!

  And Geeki answered the second question, too! She went superdiva, as would I. You’ll have to click to see all the bags!

  Geeki, I have one more bit of advice for your shopping. “I even have to wonder, if I had $2500 to spend would I go with a handbag or a really hot computer or laptop. I think the gear wins. Yes, I am a nerd.” Go with the bags! You know you’ll eventually get the laptop or computer you want, as everyone agrees those are practical and necessary, but I’m sure you’re far less likely to splurge on these bags. Once in a lifetime!

• Maria Palma at The Runway Scoop chose the Hermès Birkin, the perfect choice for only one big name, classic bag. Oh, and she also wants the Fendi B, which she sneaks in. Diva! (Check out her entry for a rare Internet photo of an authentic Birkin.)
• I participated over at Designer-Ella.com with a list and an array of eye candy bags! Well, that’s all there is to say; you’ve got to see!
• Mallory Road answered on this blog and chose one dream bag by one fave designer (good restraint girl): the Hudson bag by Marc Jacobs.
• The Style Graduate kept her choices professionally cool and kept her wits calm while choosing. Thanks for participating! I suggest those “investments” with the leftover $7,000 be investment bags! There were great suggestions on this blog, like the Spy and Paddington. Or just forget all that Coach, and go all out IT and get an Hermès discounted. Your style is very classic, so there’s no better choice for the ultimate bag!

  (And hey, she gets her mom a bag similar to my new Coach baby [yes, I have brown and will get black, but I do like Signature!]! Yes, that’s right I sink that money into Coach for real. :-P)

We had many different styles and extremes on the shopaholism scale. Thank you all!

And if there’s some miracle that brings even more late entries, I will not forget you, they will be posted.

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Our very own Ella came up with the wonderful questions for this week’s Carnivale, which give us all the opportunity to dream about the IT bags we would own if we only could. Because it’s such an overwhelming decision to think of the IT bag I would own if someone suddenly gave me the money for one, I decided to limit myself to my favorite IT bag designer, Marc Jacobs.

So, if I could, I would pick up the Hudson Leather Tote. Why, you might ask—well, not only do I think this is a very stylish-looking tote, but because of the size (13″ l x 11″ h x 6″ d), I could certainly fit everything I’d need in it, which means I could carry it everyday, so I’d get to look at it everyday!

I love the chocolate brown leather with the patent tan trim—I think it looks clean and classy. Oh, by the way, it costs $1,275, so it would definitely be a dream if I owned this one.

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I just received the new fall catalog from J. Crew—you know, even though I’m not in school any longer, there’s still something about fall and all the new clothes and accessories that come out. I get such enjoyment from looking through the fall catalogs and picking out all the things I want and then trying to figure out how much I can purchase within my budget, which in my opinion, never seems large enough.

After looking through their catalog, I visited J. Crew’s site. They always have a few items each season that only be ordered through their web site or catalog, but the Anya Bag (15″ l x 11″ h x 4.375″ d) looks like it can be purchased in their stores also. Selling for $375, it’s made from tumbled leather and has custom Italian hardware. It has a top snap closure, suede lining and metal feet—love the metal feet.

It comes in a choice of Mountain Pine (dark turquoise) or Pony Brown, each which has contrast stitching along edges. If I were picking, which it would make a good work bag for me, I would choose the Mountain Pine.

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I hadn’t taken a look at the Cole Haan web site in a while, but after receiving an e-mail a couple days ago, I decided to head on over and look at their lovely handbags. Under their New Arrivals is this satchel ($335) from their Village Collection.

Of course, you know I love satchels anyway, but I think this is a classy-looking one and it comes in a nice variety of colors—Hot Chocolate, Copper Wash, Saffron and the ever-popular Black. I particularly like the Hot Chocolate, but the Saffron is growing on me.

Measuring 16″ l x 9.5″ h x 4.5″ d, it has several pockets inside and is accented nicely with custom hardware. I like how the color of the hardware differs depending on which color of the purse you choose; instead of keeping a standard hardware color for each version of the bag, the hardware and leather colors work together, allowing each bag to have the best combination. It’s another example of how details are very important in design.

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We are hosting the Carnivale of Couture this week! I dreamed up such the perfect question a few weeks ago! It’s a two-parter, this or that (or both) answer.

1. If you were to only have the allowance for one Big Name designer IT Bag, what would it be? (This is a dream to many with the allowance for none!)
2. If you were given $10,000 (ooookayyyyyy, $20,000 if you’re a superdiva) to buy only ‘IT’ Big Name designer bags, which dream ones would you buy (or just one perhaps)? (You can save some of the cash left over for something else not to be mentioned.) Yes, please do try to keep track of general prices, and authentic and real-life eBay prices count if you would opt for auctions (although if you can’t tell authentic, skip the lower-priced ones, natch!).

(By the way, pictures would help us purse desirers!)

Please reply on your blog or in the comments, and the entries will go up here on Monday. Since I’m posting this a little on the late side (due to personal issues which are resolved, knock on wood), there may be a late-call finale day! If you know you will be late, comment a little RSVP.

To submit your published entry, just leave a comment here with your permalink URL in the field. (Our spam protection on this blog is practically manual, so I moderate all new commenters and your comments definitely won’t get eaten.)

I think that’s it! Have fun with this dream shopping spree, and I hope you don’t stress if you can’t afford this. My intentions are to give moments of joy!

A side blog news note, I took personal days / family vacations the last two weeks (while still doing my best under my circumstances with personal problems to work on the Carnivale), and now I just want to note that I hope the new scheduled entry days (see a few weeks ago) will be coming back starting next week! I will definitely see you on Monday with the grandest IT Bag Festival (nay, Carnivale, yet!

(Photo credit: Fairfax Digital / Hermès)

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I love looking at sites like Shopbop.com because I always find bags there that you don’t see at a ton of other sites, especially when it’s a Shopbop exclusive such as the Crete Bag by Emily by Emily. As an added plus, this bag is on sale for $236, down from its original $472.

This is a really beautiful-looking suede bag that comes in three lovely colors perfect for fall (Solid Sand, Solid Charcoal and Solid Oak)—love the Solid Charcoal! It measures 18″ l x 12″ h, so it’s a big bag, good for when you need to carry a lot. The braided handle is also a nice detail.

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Sometimes, all you need is a simple twist! That’s all this Washed Metallic Clutch (11″ l x 5″ h x 1″ d) by Anya Hindmarch needed to add some spark to a basic framed bag.

Selling for $675, this clutch is made from washed linen and is trimmed with metallic leather. It has an interior open pocket, is lined with faux suede and has a nice-looking silvertone push-lock closure.

I love how the knotted twist adds dimension to this clutch—wouldn’t it look adorable with jeans?!

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What a fun print!! I think the Bobby Pin Stripe East West Heddy by Kate Spade is a perfect bag to end the week on—it’s cute, quite functional and did I mention fun! It’s interesting how the most mundane everyday items can turn into artistic prints when arranged in an artful design.

Made from cotton twill, this cosmetic case measures 8.75″ l x 3.5″ h x 2″ d and sells for $50. Stuff it full with all your favorite makeup items and it will help keep your larger purse organized, plus it has a wipeable solid-colored lining, which is very important when carrying items that could leak.

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Okay, I’ll admit the chain detail is definitely growing on me. When I first started seeing the abundance of chains on the bags for the upcoming fall season, I wasn’t too excited. I’ve never been a big fan of chain handles or any chain on my bags, but I’ve seen more than one bag in the past couple weeks with chain hardware that I really like, including this Kate Suede Hobo by Tory Burch ($525).

I think this is a great bag! It’s classic, made from beautiful dark brown suede trimmed with leather, has a buckled shoulder strap and it’s all topped off with the gold chain/buckle hardware on the front—just the right touch!

Popularity: 3% [?]