Who’s that girl with her Salvatore Ferragamo handbag?

Katie Holmes is! Spotted on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, Katie Holmes carried a dark brown leather Salvatore Ferragamo Fall 2010 hobo handbag with a braided handle and metal gancio detail. Katie is always a fan of classic designs and this Ferragamo bag suits her personal style perfectly. Along with it, Katie paired Christian Louboutin shoes, a pair of jeans, and a military green colored jacket. More info via Ferragamo online.

Clearly, accessories designers at Tod’s have not set out to reinvent the wheel. They’re very happy with the handbag as we know it, and their designs celebrate the essential need that we all have to carry our belongings, combined with our desire to do so with a beautiful sartorial object.

The Tod’s Ivy Sacca Media Shoulder Bag is just that – a beautiful, simple object that performs its essential function without fuss or bother. For those who love Hermes but simply cannot afford to spend Hermes prices, a Tod’s bag like this one is perhaps the best alternative on the luxury mass-market.

I make the Tod’s/Hermes comparison because of this design’s emphasis on the beauty of the bag’s material. The putty-colored, pebbled Italian leather takes center stage, just as the unique and detailed leathers do on so many Hermes bags. And when you’re using leather as nice as both brands generally do, there’s no reason to guide the emphasis elsewhere. Tod’s isn’t innovative, but it makes beautiful, functional bags that don’t need any innovation. Buy through Saks for $1495.

This bag doesn’t need much of an explanation. The Chanel Paillette Flap Bag is from the brand’s Paris-Shanghai (Pre-Fall) 2010 collection, and it’ll set you back a cool $6000.

Picture via Chanel.com. To inquire about purchase, please contact Chanel at (800)550-0005.

I grew up mostly living in parts of Florida. We may get a winter ‘chill’, but it is clearly nothing like a true northern winter. So when I choose The Ohio State University as my college of choice, I had no idea what I was in for. Note to any warm weather climate person about to embark on college somewhere with a true winter: anything you thought would be a winter jacket is not. You should have seen the ‘jackets’ I bought for the cold weather. They were glorified wind-breakers that kept me literally freezing. I did not understand what nature had in store for me. One of the coats I distinctly remember buying was actually rather ghastly to look at. And it also did not keep me warm enough (it was cheap). It was made with shearling.

Unfortunately for Prada, the Prada Shearling Hobo does nothing other than remind me of the shearling coat I owned in college. And that is not speaking in Prada’s favor.

I can visualize about zero outfits that this bag would possibly, maybe, kind-of, work with. This bag gets a huge thumbs down from me. I know fall/winter signifies warmer materials, but I have never been a fan of implementing that on handbags. Because then you get a bag like this, a total flop. What was Prada thinking?! I am truly struggling to see this bag as even passable. The shearling hobo has contrast trim and silver hardware. There really is just not much else I can say about this bag without really just being negative Nancy. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $1,195.

It’s so rare that Nancy Gonzalez makes a misstep. Her handbags may not be revolutionary, but it’s nearly impossible to go wrong with exotic materials, beautiful colors and simple shapes. It appears as though she has handbag design nearly down to a science.

The Nancy Gonzalez Hand-Held Croc Clutch is merely the most recent in a long line of sartorial successes from the brand, and as always, I’m drooling over it. Bicolor bag design is difficult to do well (as we’re also discussing over at PurseBlog Savvy currently), but I have absolutely no complaints about this clutch. Well, other than the fact that it isn’t in my closet, of course.

The slouchy finish of the blue croc attracts me to this clutch more than anything else. Crocodile is usually a material reserved for structured, rigid bags, and I always enjoy seeing it used in a soft and touchable way. And if you purchased this clutch, you’d be touching it a lot – not only is it beautiful, but at 16 inches wide, day-to-night transitions would be effortless. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $3200.

Not long after the annual summer release of a new iPhone comes an inevitable parade of ways to personalize and protect your new gadget. Those options range from rubber cases that can be had for $19.99 at your local Best Buy to Louis Vuitton monogram sheaths that cost more than the phone itself (with a two-year contract, of course), and the prospect of choosing one can be quite the task indeed for style-conscious gadget-lovers.

Since it seems as though the iPhone 4 is making a case more of a necessity than ever, now is a good a time as any to talk about the odd submarket that has opened up for designer tech accessories. Would you spend a couple hundred bucks on a case for your phone, or are such things absolutely frivolous in your mind?

In many ways, the purchase of an iPhone or iPad is a style-conscious decision from the outset. Not only are Apple products notorious for excellent industrial design, but the company actively markets itself to people that value aesthetics in everyday life. It only makes sense that some of those people also enjoy significant expendable income, part of which they’re willing to expend in order to make their favorite gadget as pretty as can be.

Are you one of those people? Surprisingly, I’m not. I don’t have an iPhone (I have philosophical issues with AT&T), but my Blackberry is eternally covered by a boring black case, mostly because I’m convinced that I will one day drop it in a toilet (I worked at Best Buy for three years in college, it’s astonishingly common). If that happens, I don’t want to be out as much as a couple hundred bucks for a ruined case as well as a phone.

(From left: Nancy Gonzalez, $385 via Net-a-Porter; Fendi, $60 via Net-a-Porter; Rick Owens, $150 via Net-a-Porter.)

We have another great giveaway, this time with three bags! The sponsor is Moni Moni, a brand known for their subtly chic Italian leather bags that many celebs can not seem to get enough of. Major fans include Halle Berry and Jennifer Love Hewitt, though the full list is much longer (check it out here).

We are giving away three bags. One will go to a Twitter winner while the other two will go to Facebook winners. Contest starts today and ends August 8th at 10 pm EST. Good luck to everyone and thanks to Moni Moni for sponsoring this giveaway!

How to enter

1. Moni Moni Gypsy Bag in brown | Retail $645
Follow PurseBlog on Twitter and Moni Moni. Retweet this: “GIVEAWAY: @PurseBlog & @MoniMoniGirl are giving away a $645 designer handbag! Follow both & RT to enter http://bit.ly/dwqOef”

2. Moni Moni Dolce Vita Bag as seen on Halle Berry in yellow | Retail $585
Like PurseBlog on Facebook. Post on our wall and tell us why you want this bag!
3. Moni Moni Splendor Bag as seen on Jennifer Love Hewitt in blue | Retail $495
Like Moni Moni on Facebook. Post on their wall and tell them why you want to win!

Ok Stella McCartney, I find it completely noble that you choose not to use animal products. I do. And some of your bags are quite lovely. But the prices are exorbitantly high and I simply cannot find myself ever feeling like buying one. Does that mean I would never buy an eco-friendly bag? No. But I feel like Matt & Nat is more of my aesthetic than what Stella McCartney is putting out there.

However, I will say that if you are not keen on actual python skin, you should check out the Stella McCartney Python Print Tote (and tell me what you think below).

Let me share with you why I cannot get on board with this design. Nearly $1,000 for nylon is rather absurd, and this is coming from the gal who talks about high end designer handbags all day long. I suppose the design of this bag itself is not helping, because while it is a good tote shape, it is rather boring. The nylon python-print adorns the bag and there are expandable zip-fastening sides. I simply get an overall blah feeling from this bag. I really like the chain detail tote, but my likings are not finding their way to this bag. Buy through Net A Porter for $995.

Megs and Vlad got back yesterday from a trip to the Bahamas, and I couldn’t be more jealous of them if I tried. I just got done moving, and there’s nothing I would love more than to spend a couple of days staring at the ocean in a rum punch stupor. Someone has to hold down the handbag fort, though, so here I am.

Instead of going on vacation, I’m just going to fantasize about toting the Lanvin Suitcase Honeymoon Set to an exotic locale with a hot man in tow. That’s a suitable alternative to actually taking a trip, right?

Considering what you get with this set (a fully lined canvas carry-on suitcase, a patterned tote with an interior pocket, a matching pareo, and a set of sandals with a carrying bag) and how much Lanvin bags and shoes normally cost, the sub-$800 price point seems downright reasonable. Add a bikini and some sunglasses, and you’d barely need anything else to spend a couple days nestled in warm sand. Excuse me while I visualize. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $740.

I’ve never had much of a problem forming an opinion, but for some reason I have yet to make up my mind about the Valentino Aphrodite Satchel. Is it great, or is it ever-so-slightly off? Do all of the elements work together, or does it look like two disparate bags joined into one?

After the jump, I’ve listed the design’s pros and cons and also provided a convenient poll for your voting pleasure.

Pros:

1. Color and pattern: Lovely! The origin of the print is somewhat indeterminate (although it’s clearly some sort of cat), but the cream and black combination makes the overall effect a bit more ladylike than leopard. For the shape and design of this bag, it was the perfect choice.
2. Scale: The size of the pattern relative to the size of the bag is bold and graphic, just as modern animal print should be.
3. Shape: “Lady scale” bags are the new ish, apparently, and this bag fits fall’s 60s trends perfectly.
4. The Bow: It adds an unexpected twist to the bag and makes the design distinctively Valentino.

Cons:

1. The Bow: Is it a pro or a con? I can’t decide. This entire poll is really just a referendum on the bow. The color doesn’t appear elsewhere in the design, which is what gives me pause. Does the bow throw you off as well, or does the contrast add something?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Buy through Nordstrom for $2795.