Zac Posen, a hot and popular ready-to-wear designer with celebrities and in-the-knows, has now put out a line of handbags. The bags are on the simple and sophisticated side and quite well designed.

My favorite is this Aurora bag, a tall satchel with kiss-lock closed straps over its framed closure. In creme at 12″ x 9″ x 6″, it costs $1,400. What a way to make an entrance!

Purchase Posen’s bags at eLUXURY and Neiman Marcus.

Popularity: 9% [?]

From embarrassing and ugly in the 90s to faux useful and patriotic for 2007, the see-through bag is now being reported as “trendy” and even “the next big thing.”

Oh gah!

The myth being perpetrated by dim-witted fashion journalists that clear PVC designer handbags hold the answer to the 21st century fashionista’s travel dilemmas is insane! The see-through baggies that hold liquids for security checkpoints are required to be separate from the rest of one’s purse belongings and not be sized to hold more than 1 quart. Duh! Buying one of these clear bags at ridiculous prices for that reason is misguided, and I hope no one falls for it.

Still, the possibility of these bags actually having some style to them has not been decided as completely imbecilic yet. Time and plummeting sale pricetags will tell.

Here are some photos of clear designer bags, via IguanaFashions, which is holding a contest to find the coolest indie version of the new style. (Also see our original entry: Spring 2007 Garbage Bags: Oscar de la Renta)

Having this topic and blog entry sitting on my desktop awaiting me to post about finally led me to a genius idea …Our own contest - Pursed Lips .net’s first contest ever, in fact.

A) You send in a photo or a few of a clear bag with your actual personal necessities inside - what you carry around daily in your bag. We post it here and and then - you show you’re really not embarrassed. While the contest continues you post the link to your special page here in as many places as you can (forum signatures, Flickr*, Squidoo Lenses, blogs, blogrolls, e-mail signatures, MySpace, etc.) The person who shows the highest level of brevity and who has the coolest stuff in her bag will be deemed the winner - and she gets a collection of little goodies to go in her daily purse - such as makeup bags, even a wallet - by brands and luxe brands alike!

You can cheat a little taking the photos, sneak pics at a department store, you may even get away with really fantastic Photoshop skills, as a last resort. We understand it may be hard to even want to own one of these bags.

B) The 2nd option to entering is to submit photos of your favorite purse (one you think actually deserves to be “the next big bag”) and what’s inside, and then link to the contest entries’ main page in as many fashions as above, while also blogging, or in some other way posting or publishing an article with your opinions on clear bags. The other part of this contest is to find out what people think of the trend! Plus, by sending us a photo of your own IT bag, you’ll help us know which bags are actually the hottest for 2007!
Then, all that linking will hopefully pay off for you, because our visitors will help to vote on a winner! So essentially when you link to your own page here, ask for a vote! But that’s not all, the links also act as votes for you, as well!

Rules: Continue to read more bag love »

Popularity: 11% [?]

TORONTO, Jan 16 (Reuters Life!) - With big handbags becoming a key fashion accessory for working women, health experts are warning they can also become a key health concern.

They’re talking about big handbags there, and they probably mean over 17″ wide or very tall ones. Specifically, if a woman’s handbag weighs more than 7 lbs, it’s not a good sign.

But in this modern age, women can’t leave home without their 3 gadget accessories, hair products, face wash wipes, an extra set of under garments, lady-time emergency supplies and of course the required industrial-sized mase can. Some women need to fit changing tables, toy boxes and a whole smaller purse, all inside diaper bags. And yet other women need bags for a laptop, but luckily those are getting smaller and actually - lighter than a Paddington’s padlock.

I feel a bit safer knowing my Paddington only weighs a max of 6 pounds, but I don’t like this widely spreading bit of news here. I read somewhere this means huge bags are out. I think that was a joke though.

Actually, it might just mean large bags are more in than ever, which is pretty cool. We need to stand proud, because if we need larger bags it shows how badly we need bags in general!

And don’t you kind of think people are switching from hating stilettos to bags? Perhaps men want women’s accessories small so they can keep us down! Well, not I, I say! I’m going to have my bags and fill them, too!

Handbag pride!

So what about you, what size are your bags and how much do they weigh? Are you going to downsize now?

Popularity: 6% [?]

The layout has been fixed for the new IE, plus it’s better for everyone! It’s even now in indestructible tables, ahhh. (Sorry, html speak!)

But unfortunately, new IE or not, it will look funky until you press CTRL and F5 together. Sorry!

All refreshed? Welcome back! We’re posting new purses again starting this monday, see you then, too!!

Popularity: 2% [?]

I’ve started a forum for bag lovers and authenticity issues, especially. It will be difficult to build up, but I ask you to come and start chats, first! Thank you.

Know Authentic Purses - Bag Forum

Popularity: 9% [?]

Our layout does not work in the NEW version of Internet Explorer. It does not look good at all, and I apologized to all those whom have upgraded. It seems like a nice version, with tabs, even.

I was on a different computer yesterday on an older version looking at this very blog and there was no problem. Darn it.

I’m away on a trip right now, but it seems the only thing to do is convert to tables (alert: html nerd talk) from CSS when I get home. (web design talk alert:) I don’t understand the craze for CSS layouts, they’re too much trouble.

Anyway, the blog is perfectly serviceable, and the text readable, so please enjoy the content we have over the week until it should be fixed the following. Apologies and enjoy your new browser.

To all others, same as usual, but the layout will be tweaked for the better anyway! Whoopee.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I hope Santa brought a sack of goodies in a stylish stocking, but nothing like this Santa Sak (unless you have a big one as your stocking, that might be a good idea!).

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

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is my 5 Page Rank.

(And that LV, larger upgrades on two Coaches, and an all-weather leather Dooney.)

(And Google income to keep rising.)

(And enough cash for presents and bags. Something’s got to give though of course!)

(And my eBay bags to sell.)

Oh, Santa I believe in you! But do I believe he has some say in Google and its algorithms and whatnot?

I think we need the help of Jesus, himself, on that one.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Okay, okay. I’ll have to stop the idealist fantasy about keeping my purse if I am ever in a snatch attempt, and I really have to stop encouraging it to my readers. All because of reading two recent news stories, I see how very dangerous it is. (And we can get newer, possibly better bags, anyway.)

• News story 1: Elderly woman dragged when man in car snatches her purse
• News story 2: Robber shoots woman in face when she refuses to hand over purse

What a world we live in. Oh fine, bah, I’ll have to give in and vow to try to stay safe.

But still it’s not easy to replace a Chloé or Fendi! We must let it go, but it’s heartbreaking to let IT go.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Here is a larger version of my tree/bag sketch from last week’s post on growing your bag fund. It’s fun and cute, isn’t it?

So which famous bags do you spot?

Popularity: 4% [?]