The major handbag trend for spring 2007 is that of the extremely
large bag.
Clutch bags and wristlet bags with easy-wear, detachable, wrist-loop handles, are the contrast to these extremely large bags.
However, I think we all love our handbags and there is room for variety.
The 'now' bag
shape, the essential fashionable bag this season, is certainly
the over-sized tote shopper bag. By autumn you may want to
be pare down your bag size. The bag to the right, is courtesy of Billy
Bag Spring 2007 fashion bags the style is Georgia and the price is £195.
Last year a bag like the YSL Muse bag was thought quite
large, but judged by 2007 sizing standards, it's just considered of average
dimension. In fact, in my opinion, the real forward looking trend is for
smaller bags. Some major designers are delivering much
smaller bags. I own some larger bags, but the two handbags I've
purchased since November, were both smaller 'cute' bags.
Spring 2007 fashion bag materials are varied, but you won't go far wrong
for the season if you choose one which is shiny smooth glossy
patent. An alternative handbag might be a bag which has the richest of surface
textures, especially laser cut patterns with ruching or woven strips.
Naturally, no page on lower priced bags can afford to
ignore the fashion directions set by Prada, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs
and others. You might expect to find many of these Spring
2007 fashion bags on
the high street in your nearest town, or easily obtained online.
All the hard work that goes into designing and inventing new
decoration, structure and surface embellishment on top end
designer bags, is raining down, rather than trickling down, to the
mass market.
This spring, even high street bags
follow directional fashion trends very closely, and look alike
fake bag replica copies abound.
This handbag selection to the left, is courtesy of Faith Footwear and
the image illustrates their exceptionally wide range of handbag
styles. This is a good example of how the high street pays attention to
designer bag trends, such as ruching, studs, pockets and patterned
fabrics.
Higher expenditure on a bag, is a clear retail trend at any
level of the accessory bag market and I discuss the rising prices of bags
is on
the handbag
inflation page.
The 'it' bag of today can cost
as much as £1,500, but for many people this is a ridiculous sum,
but because of
fashion racing and instant communication, the high street has plenty of bags that can satisfy this handbag
demand.
Quite a few women wonder, how have we arrived at the situation
where a handbag costs as much, or more, than a very good coat or a computer. Yet not even the £800+ price frame is considered that luxurious anymore. Plenty of ordinary mortals will
push the boat out for the daily thrill and the cachet of owning a
luxury designer bag. Fashion hungry consumers with the bag
disease bagititis (only joking), will skip the
short-lived thrill of a week on holiday, or even starve for a
'must have' bag.
So, once you purchase your
designer bag do make sure you know how to care for it
Image
left of a larger bag and courtesy of Billy Bag.
The purple Sherbert Twist Lauren Billy Bag is a great current
colour choice and costs £195.
Big bags have been a real major trend of 2006 and the look is
set to continue into 2007. But I think bags have
reached quite ridiculous proportions. I confess I have already
abandoned my bigger handbags. I began to feel overloaded by the contents.
Despite the success of the larger bigger bag, smaller bags are returning. Smaller bags are being used differently, clutches are gaining new
importance because they can be thrown inside a big bag. Clutches can be small or large, but suddenly designers are producing larger clutches. They realize that a woman may want to
accommodate a Blackberry phone, and hair straighteners in her handbag. However, a clutch can be used in a similar way to a wallet or credit card holder and the kept within a larger bag.
The gold leather metallic clutch bag, see right from Evans, is a
bargain price at just £25.
Uniqueness and the use of rare exotic skins, has driven the
market demand for the ultimate personal bag even higher. Use of luxury, and ever novel materials, is another constant trend in
bag products.
Louis
Vuitton bags also have lots of studs and a visible designer
address logo plaque, as do the latest Dolce and Gabbana bags.
Even less expensive brands, like RI2K, use this name plate idea.
I prefer this classier, statement gold
plaque, signature logo, to the dangling logo initials, such as
those on
my designer bag page. In wear, I found myself tying
together the loose logos initials to stop them jangling and
clanking. This Dolce &Gabbana handbag right proudly
displays a golden nameplate.
Oversized bags are still a trend that wins through, because
put simply, they are chic as well as utilitarian. I
confess though that lately I've been toting smaller bags.
Frankly
the weight of all that junk I was carrying around, meant that
when I went out shopping with my filled handbag, I sometimes
felt I had already been out for hours before crossing my
threshold.
The bigger the bag the more it weighs empty, and then the bigger the bag, the more we all stuff
into them.
For Spring/summer 2007, fashion forward women will like the
newness of screen printed suede bags. Lighter looking
wicker, straw, raffia and woven bags are perfect for summer. The broken nature of the material texture creates a
lightness missing from solid leathers.
Plastic see through
bags are also a terrific answer to boarding problems, and smarter than the small
polythene bag alternatives.
The bags above are: left to right, courtesy of
House of Fraser, and Wallis. The Wallis neutral straw bag
is just £18.
Textured leather skins,
snakeskin, metallic effects, crystal studs, spike studs,
buckles, pockets, printed suede, woven
leathers, leather flowers, plaiting, shirring, ruching, ruffles, studs, chains and mesh
all vie for the consumers short lived attention span.
These fashion textures are just some of the surface effects to
look out for on bag and
shoe accessories
as well as clothing.
A feature or Prada bags is their texture and movement.
The Prada ruched bag is £1,240, but high street has many versions
of this look as shown here. The black bag above is from
John Lewis and is Alloa by Fiorelli. The brown bag to the right is from
Matalan.
As well as ruching, tassels and fringe add texture. Roberto
Cavalli and Prada are both favouring deep fringe on garments and
bags this season, the look is shimmy.
Burberry statement clutch bags, with their deep square jewel studs, and woven
handles are very fashionable; look out for how this raised jewel stud effect
has started to adorn more bags brands.
Studs are
still a favourite of designers, Paul Smith, Sonia Rykiel, Louis Vuitton and Dolce&Gabbana
all use them in their styles.
Giambattista Valli has an interesting drawstring small
duffle-bag with two-inch punk gold studs.
Beads and sequins are also used on many a minaudière like this
lovely Designers at Debenhams hard minaudière.
Right - Limited Edition Butterfly by Matthew Williamson beaded
hard case clutch bag £50. Hot.
Designers have been perforating leathers to achieve
interesting new looks for some time. One of the newest bag
trends in textures, and hot this season, is the more extensive use
of laser-cut leathers to create softer more feminine, lace look
patterned surfaces. More interesting effects can be
achieve by using a contrast material to show through the cut
outs. See the pretty
Alexander McQueen perforated bag on the luxury bag page.
Quilting of course is often used for bags, and Marc Jacobs has
had a roaring success with his Stam and East West bags.
Imitations of the diagonal quilt bag are everywhere.
Quilting is taking on a more modern look.
The leather Bay
bag left from Chloé uses linear quilted channels of topstitching to
create a fresh but classic pattern. This Chloé Bay bag
costs £740.
Bags with woven leather strip texture as the main material
of bag, are of course a take on Bottega Veneta bags, and weaving
can be combined with quilting.
John Galliano designed twelve new bags based on the Dior
saddlebag. My favourite is the gold herringbone
saddlebag, but you may prefer the curly queen bag.
This spring 2007 expect to see every type of printed fabric
bag from florals to stripes and luxury or using eco materials.
Stella McCartney
did a waterproof mesh bag along duffle bag lines, as part of
her designing for Adidas. Still thinking casual with a
luxury feel, Prada showed desirable satin rucksacks in deep
jewelled tones.
Metallic handbags have been a trend this past year and this
continues as a fashion trend through spring and Summer 2007. Metallic will be around most of
2007 so a
metallic bag could be good buy without overloading your wardrobe
with shimmering garb.
The Yves St Laurent gold muse bag, at
£720 from Selfridges, is an investment buy, but you can opt for a much
less expensive bag at any high street store.
This
gold bag left is from The House Fraser and their new range
called 'Untold'.
In the high street, Dorothy
Perkins has all the key trends. Their silver vinyl bag at £22 captures the
metallic fashion instant.
Snake and reptilian skins or
patterns are featured everywhere. River Island do a good snake effect
bag for £39.99. Hobbs have a
divine gold leather clutch bag at £99. Whatever your price
range the look alike bag picking up on a designer statement is out
there for you.
Handles have been an area for designers to play with in
recent years. 2006 saw a fair number of handbags with
leather plaited handles, or gilt chain handles. Bamboo
handles have returned and they offer interesting contrast on
textured or smooth frame bags.
Top handle-frame handbags compliment fashion coats that rely
on a great silhouette to make a fashion statement. Don't
crowd fashion statement volume coats, with shoulder bags
or body bags that spoil the line. Frame bags which are
hand held help to maintain that crisp dolly bird look.
If you are not in a major city, getting a genuine designer bag
may not be straightforward. Why spend your hard earned
cash on a
designer fake, and be dissatisfied with the
replica that looks lesser on arrival. Most
counterfeit handbags are let down by their cheap hardware and
materials. Go straight to a responsible online store.
For designer bags online try
Browns, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman,
eLuxury, Net-a-Porter, Harrods, Forzieri for reliable service
and genuine bags with contralto cards.
'It' bags are to do with green-eyed envy, trends which are off the
scale, and fashion racing. Many would argue that some
designer bags are quite certainly works of art. Desirable
designer luxury bags include both the Yves St Laurent Fauve bag
and the Marc Jacobs Christina, a chain strap bag of the moment.
Currently still holding their own, are the Marc Jacobs Stam, bags
by Chloe including the Edith and the patent Betty.
If I were to buy a new designer bag right now I'd be torn
between the
gold
Zagliani python bag or Roberto Cavalli's laser cut metallic
clutch bag. The former a bag that will actually hold items
whilst looking good and lush to touch. The latter a cute
and eye-catching work of art so pretty for holidays or evenings.
Consumers of 2007 are becoming more handbag aware, yet the wider trend now
for many individuals is that the classic bag has become more
appealing again. The accessories within a fashion shop only survive if they have the
right stock. That stock might be original brands or a good
look-alike that hones the momentary zigzag of fashion trends.
Boutiques are more likely to have forward looking fashion
handbag trends than
mainstream high street shops. So small boutiques may be worth a look, for you
to get an understanding of the fashionable bag mood of the moment.
Read more about these colours and about
fabrics on the Spring 2007 colour page.
Special thanks to David of http://www.prshots.com/ one of the best sources of PR material.
Images courtesy of House of Fraser, French Connection, Matalan,
Arcadia, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Marks and Spencer, Billy Bag,
John Lewis and Faith footwear.
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