September 2008 Archives

Guest Blog by Liza Powel O'Brien

There's no contradiction that hasn't been mined exhaustively about the world of fashion: stepping over a homeless man on Madison Avenue on your way to the show; a gorgeous old church transformed into a theatrical space; pin-thin 20 year-olds dressed up in, as Tina called them, "ladies who lunch bouffants" and serious, multi-thousand dollar gowns. In some respects, then, my first (and possibly only) trip to a bona-fide fashion show did not reveal much we all haven't seen before. And while it's easy to dismiss fashion as a frivolous interest, what did surprise me was the true functionality of the event.

UPDATE: Sarika S. of Arlington, VA won the JT Bronze Satchel; Justine H. of Portland, OR won the DVF wrap bag; and Leisa W. of Covington, GA won the Durga clutch. Congratulations to all our lucky winners!

Can you believe it was 3 years ago that Tina and I started Bag Snob? We could have never even dreamed we would be where we are now - we love bags and just wanted to share our love and opinions. But of course, we would be nowhere without our fabulous readers who make what we do so much fun, so to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary and thank our lovely fans, we are going to give away 3 bags! You don't come to us for the boring and obvious so we accordingly selected these 3 totally amazing bags that we know you will LOVE!

We will select three (3) winners through a random drawing. One winner will receive the JT satchel, one winner will receive the Diane von Furstenberg wrap bag and one winner will receive the Durga Prima Ostrich clutch from LuxCouture .

The total value of the giveaway is $4775. To enter please sign up to receive our weekly newsletter. If you already receive our newsletter, you still need to enter. Please email me if you need help entering. One entry per person please. US residents only. Please enter by September 30th at 11:59pm EST.

Jump for details on each of the three bags we are giving away!

Marc, we loved your pink ostrich stam but in purple, you have really stolen our hearts! This electrifying violet purple shade is just the kick we need in our bag wardrobe.  Yes, the Stam has been done to death but we can't help loving its classic shape especially with the supple and utterly sensual ostrich skin.  Now that you're sober and coherent, you might finally live up to your brilliant talent.

And when you do, the Bag Snob Girls will be right behind you with bells and whistles to cheer you on.  Until then, however, we must remind you that $5,500 is a wee bit much for your audience.  As we said with the pink version, one can acquire a Bottega ostrich for the same amount, why would one turn to MJ?  At Neiman Marcus.

We can't wait to see what you come up with next, Spring 2009 bags were looking good!   Love, The Bag Snobs

I am mad at Tatiana Boncompagni; why you ask? Because she kept me up on the long flight to London!  It was my first real vacation with the entire family in years and I was excited to board British Airways to relax in their new and much hyped pod/cubicles. After settling in and allowing the flight attendant to make my bed (twin cot sized) with a down comforter, feather pillows, and Frette sheets; I curled up with a glass of bubbly and a copy of "Gilding Lily". My plan was to read a chapter or two and then get some much needed shut eye but from the very first page, I was drawn into Lily's world and could not extract myself away from it. 7 hours later, I reluctantly put the book down after reading the very last page. By then, we were almost in London and our flight attendants had started dismantling beds so passengers could have breakfast. How could we be landing in 45 minutes??? I still needed to sleep! I also had to hop on a connecting flight to Paris upon landing not to mention I could hear my three year old wailing for me at the top of his lungs from the cabin behind us as he woke up. Seriously, don't you agree that is a valid reason to be mad at Tatiana?

What could be better than capping off a long day of fashion shows in a gorgeous showroom full of colorful and beautiful exotic handbags!?!?! Thanks to Santiago Gonzalez, we were invited to afternoon tea at the new Nancy Gonzalez showroom over Fashion Week-- (very exciting considering we were the first press they received at the new showroom, none of the magazines have been there or seen the new collection!). It is hands down the most gorgeous showroom I have ever visited. Full of custom made furniture (all exotic skin of course) and art from Santiago's private collection; it also houses the most extensive line of bags I have ever seen.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt like I entered handbag heaven! The kaleidoscope of colors welcomed me as I entered and I almost tripped over my own feet in the excitement of grabbing my favorite bags to photograph. In between bites of scrumptious pastries and tea and chatting with Santiago (we so adore him!) we got the scoop on the latest spring line. Take notes of what you like and call Bergdorfs to order asap. We predict the line will be a sell out before the first bloom of spring.  Check out the current Fall line at Bergdorf Goodman!

After a jam packed week of fashion shows, showroom visits and events (last night's Vogue party, Louis Vuitton party, and the Marie Claire party for our favorite Editor Nina Garcia)-- I am thoroughly exhausted. But it's not over yet, I am enroute to LA this morning to host my friend Tatiana Boncompagni's book launch party at the DVF boutique on Melrose from 7-9pm! Please stop by for a quick drink and check out all the new bags and dresses if you live in LA!!!

As part of her surprise, the winner of the Goya bag contest was given a ticket to attend the Oscar de la Renta Spring 2009 show today with the Bag Snobs! She is a full time mommy from New York and as you can see in the photo, loves her Goya bag. Oscar also sent her a personal thank you note with the bag. Here we are with Oscar for a quick photo before his staff whisked him off to his flight. For complete review of the Spring 2009 and the fabulous new bags, stay tuned for tomorrow morning's post!

We've all been eagerly awaiting the Halston collection after news broke of the departure of former Creative Director Marco Zanini. With rumors of internal strife and an unfinished collection, the Halston design team proved itself worthy of the iconic name yesterday at the Museum of Modern Art. Instead of the usual runway show we've come to expect at Bryant park and other locations, Halston chose to showcase its latest collection in a presentation at a space set up to mirror the original Paul Rudolph designed Halston townhouse.

Models lounged on pale gray furniture as editors and retail buyers strolled through the multi-level rooms sipping champagne and chatting with the models and each other. I loved how accessible the show was. We were able to ask the models to stand, to turn, to pose, do handstands if necessary so that we could see the dresses (mostly evening wear) from every which angle. 

We also got to feel the fabric, which is something you can not do at a runway show.  This is such a civilized way to view the collection, which was full of fluid silk wrap dresses, softly draped jersey jumpsuits (a silhouette we saw at almost every show, like it or not-- the early '80s are back in full force!) and long flowing silk chiffon dresses. It was all shown in bold colors with chic little clutches that I wanted to take home with me! I really think had I asked politely, the models would have handed them over, they were that accommodating (actually some looked like they were napping but when I asked them to stand, they did so docilely). There were many fashion editors in attendance (we ran into fellow Angeleno Booth Moore-- Queen Bee and Fashion Editor of the Los Angeles Times) and of course Tamara Mellon and Harvey Weinstein-- notably absent, however, was Rachel Zoe.

Beauty Snob loves the Fall Scents from Pacifica!
Couture Snob is excited about Carolina Herrera's Spring 2009 Look!
Tot Snob has the Mom's Must Have Accessory- American Vintage Scarf!
Purse Blog gets charitable with Handbag Amnesty: Help Raise Money for Cancer Research!
The Thoughtful Dresser marvels at the Romanek "Rockstar" handbag!
Fab Sugar has hints for the Perfect Date Outfit!