Monday, 17 March 2008
Green with Envy
Saturday, 15 March 2008
The politics of an 'It' bag
From The Sunday Times
When it comes to rebranding an old institution, Samantha Cameron has left her husband standing. Here's a look at why middle England is voting for the Nancy
Kate Spicer
Fans of the Nancy, Smythson’s first It bag, are not what you’d call fashionistas. Yes, Vogue’s decidedly unfrivolous editor, Alexandra Schulman, carries one. But just as likely you’ll find that successful, slightly conservative dressers with a fear and loathing of the brash or ostentatious love their Nancy in a way they could never love a Lariat or a Paddington.
According to Samantha Cameron, Smythson’s creative director – and wife of the Conservative party leader, David – she “wanted to develop a bag with the potential to become a modern classic, focusing on the silhouette and craftsmanship rather than statement logos and hardware”.
The formula seems to be working. For a long time, serious but style-aware women have felt excluded from the fashion funfair. Just because you don’t like the idea of the boxy power suit doesn’t mean you want to prance around looking like a dominatrix dressed in pheasant feathers, à la McQueen. What SamCam offers these women is a “third way”. Because it’s not just Cameron’s bags that the women are after, they rather like her style, too.
As one fashion journalist told me, “She’s not that stylish, she’s not a Jackie Kennedy, but she stands out in today’s political arena because they are all so dull. She’s not showy, she’s tasteful, normal; she’s kinda hip, but not too hip. She treads the middle ground.
“Sometimes, I think fashion people have no idea that 99% of the population have possibly heard of Gucci, but they certainly don’t know who Pierre Hardy is, nor do they care. I can imagine she is a champion for that kind of woman.
There’s not a lot of style role models for normal people.”
“I like the Nancy,” says the agent Jane Brand. “It’s a beautiful classic that doesn’t scream status, and doesn’t have chav written all over it.” Brand bought one of the first Nancys last September to replace the white leather Ferragamo she had been toting in the summer. “I don’t like gold chains or big heavy padlocks. I have owned several discreet Prada bags, but before this one, I had never been tempted by an It bag.”
Brand describes her style as “jeans – be they TopShop or 7 For All Mankind – jackets and little cashmere sweaters”. What does she think of some of the British fashion press’s favourite red-carpet subjects, such as Sienna or Kate? Too skinny, unrealistic and rock’n’roll. Daphne Guinness? “Who has time to put together looks like that?” Tamara Mellon? “Too contrived.” Anyone with surgery, cleavage, big ironed hair or brazen highlights will never be a style icon for Brand, but Cameron does make the grade: “Her style is individual – smart with an edge.”
Simone Finn, 39, is a mother of two and fundraiser for the Boris for Mayor campaign. She describes her style as “fairly conservative: cashmere, Elspeth Gibson, Louboutins, Russell & Bromley flats, Diane von Furstenberg wrap dresses”. She loves the Nancy bag. “I could never bring myself to spend hundreds of pounds on an It bag that looks naff.” But when her husband needed a penitential offering after four shooting weekends away in a row, he chose the Nancy, “because everyone was talking about it and he likes Smythson”.
I have to admit that until I started writing this story, I’d never heard of the Nancy – unlike Finn’s middle-aged accountant husband. I obviously don’t move in the right circles. One owner of the bag, a political player, says that she has “been at events with the Camerons and the women rush up to Sam to ask about the bag – leaving David standing on the side, thinking, ‘Why does nobody want to talk to me about my poll ratings?’ He once said to me, ‘Everywhere I go, there’s someone who wants to talk about the bag – it’s the star of our household.’ ” Unsurprisingly, Cameron herself will not be drawn on the politics of accessories – and, to be fair, as creative director of Smythson for 10 years, slowly edging the old stationery and leather-goods brand into the eyeline of a wider demographic of younger luxury consumers, she was rebranding a stuffy old institution long before her husband was.
And she has, it’s widely agreed, been successful. Another eminent political brainbox and owner of a Nancy was happy to offer up her analysis of the bag’s appeal: “I’d say that it plays to the part of the professional woman’s psyche that wants to feel grown-up and sophisticated, because it is a twist on a classic shape and so understated. It avoids you looking like one of the fashion clones clutching this season’s purple patent. I’m afraid I feel a bit self-conscious talking about the bag, because I do cover politics and it might seem – wrongly – like I was wearing it as part of a Cameron tribal thing.”
The Nancy has, of course, been carefully marketed – not too fashion frightening, not too frumpy mummy. So far, and most famously, television blonde Cat Deeley sported a limited-edition bag for the opening of the Smythson Rodeo Drive store. Beautifully made and luxurious, it’s an understated classic that will run and run. As with the quilting and gold chains on a Chanel bag, the hand-pleated leather and distinctive side clasp are signature features.
Colourful grosgrain clutches are out now, followed by a slouchy Hobo in autumn. Of course, it’s never going to set the fashion world ablaze. As one stylist put it: “It looks like an M&S version of a McQueen bag. Smythson makes conservative bags, it’s like a poor man’s Hermès.”
The idea of a poor man’s Hermès may sound like a joke when talking of a £750 bag (or £950 for the larger version), but when compared to Hermès – its Birkin and Kelly bags start at £2,000 – the Nancy looks like a jolly sensible investment.
Monday, 10 March 2008
Tano Suzie Cue Handbags
Hi, This is PurseCilla. Recently, Lots of readers and friends had asked me to write a review about Tano handbags. As you know I am an easy to get girl, so here it is :
Tano Handbags is one such handbag brand that had built its customer base over many years. Three generations since its debut, Tano still is a leader in terms of quality, and value for money it offers to its customers. No wonder, a majority of its patrons have been using Tano handbags for many years, and they have never felt like shifting allegiance to any other designer purses brand. In the next few paragraphs, you’ll see one of the popular Tano models available in the market, the Tano Suzie Cue handbag, in brief yet in detail.
The Tano Suzie Cue handbag is of a classical mold. The bag is quite compact with a top zip closer – the main opening – and two slanting side zip pockets, suitable enough to save your tube ticket or something small like your cell phone on a bus ride. The top zip opens into a fully lined interior, consisting of two compartments, contoured by a zipped pocket. The dual shoulder straps, even though looks a bit shorter, augurs well with the overall design. Overall, the Tano Suzie Cue handbag scores above average in all counts.
Finally, on the price front, the Tano Suzie Cue handbag is surely not one of the costliest models available in the market. It is very much moderately priced – or cheaply priced – at around $240. For those looking for a decent handbag at a moderate price tag, the new Tano Suzie Cue handbag might just fits the bill. You could find more about Tano Suzie Cue handbag and other Tano handbag models in the Tano home website.
Friday, 7 March 2008
history of handbags
If we were to trace the origin of handbags, women would likely be surprised to know that they were first utilized by a group of men some 2000 years ago. Although wholesale handbags were not in the scene at this time, men in biblical times did indeed carry the equivalent of what we consider to be the handbags of today.
This practice came to women’s knowledge and from then on, its handbags became completely indispensable. Handbags, purses, or any other kinds of totes will forever be a part of women’s wardrobes. Although some men continue to don handbags occasionally, women have dominated the scene in the handbag industry. No outfit can stand alone without a matching handbag. By far, handbags have encapsulated women’s fashion ever since the first modern versions appeared in France.
Nowadays, handbags were everywhere. Thousands of handbags of all imaginable styles and designs are on the market. Apparently, each kind has found its use in the wardrobe of every woman. And yet, with the overwhelming number of handbags that has emerged year after year and grabbed up by female consumers, there are still many, many more soon to invade women’s fashionable wardrobes. Moreover, handbags designers are proliferating.
From a non-designer label to outrageously priced designer handbags, from a simple and plain masterpiece to shiny and elegantly embroidered handbags, the fashion industry will never cease to crank out new handbags for the market
Monday, 3 March 2008
Crazzzzzy About Couture Handbags & Accessories!
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Leather Purses
By Alison Cole
Leather is the tanned or dressed hide of an animal, usually without the hair or fur. The process of tanning makes the hide flexible and prevents it from decaying. Many products are made out of leather, one of them being purses. Leather purses either are handmade or made at factories using machines. The tanning process has evolved from the ancient process of skinning, which required greater thickness of the flesh off animals.
Modern process uses pelting the hair of animals with the help of lime and then fleshing and cleaning. Fat is used later to ensure pliability. There are various types of leather available in the market. The types are classified depending upon which animal it is obtained from and the finish of the hide. Moroccan leather, which is made out of goatskin, is characterized by grains that are obtained during the rubbing of the leather. Wallets and purses made out of this leather have a unique finish.
Russian leather has a unique scent and is processed with birch leaves for the bright red color. It is treated with vegetable oils to make it flexible. Glazing is another technique used to give the leather a smooth finish. Spanish leather is known to be smooth and colored with dyes. The softness of the leather enables purse makers to make purses of intricate designs.
Artificial leather is originally made from strong fabrics that are coated with synthetic material. The synthetic material that is used is vinyl polymers. These are also commonly used to make purses that are lower in cost. The costs of purses made out of original leather are much higher as the process of tanning and treating skin is expensive. Designer leather purses are exclusively made and each piece has a unique design. Leather purses play an important role in the fashion industry and there are designer stores that have purses of all styles and for all budgets on display.
Designer Bags - 5 reasons Why You Should Get Them
Here’s why that designer bag your heart longs for should be yours.
1. You don’t have to worry about size. Unlike dresses, skirts, pants and all forms of clothing, designer bag fits you whether you are a size zero or a plus size, that bag fits, no matter what. That means, if you mess up your diet, gain weight, lose weight.. whatever happens, that bag still fits you.
2. That one designer bag works with many outfits. You get plenty of mileage and it lasts for years. Divide the price of the bag by the number of times you might use it over the next ten years or longer if it is a classic design. That way, the price doesn’t seem so intimidating after all.
3. That designer bag is all about quality. High quality materials are used to make the bag. The lining is stiched in expertly. Everything about a real designer bag screams perfection. When you carry bags like these it shows that you know you deserve nothing less than the best.
4. First impression counts. Carrying a designer bag is all about image. When you walk into a room full of people, their eyes assess you. The clothes you wear and the bag you carry count in that initial assessment of you. A coveted designer bag will increase your overall score.
5. You need the bag. Designer bags are practical as they carry the things you need with you wherever you go. A girl can never have too many bags. You need the right bag for the right activity. An evening bag for formal dinners or to go with your cocktail dresses. A roomy, practical bag with lots of compartments that help you get organized. Since you need these bags, you might as well get well made bags that last years - designer bags.
The problem with designer bags is that they are very expensive. If you are on a budget, instead of buying them cheap, check out designer bags on a budget on how you can carry real designer bags at far less than you might imagine.