chanel handbags

Last night, we traveled to Upper East Side boutique Samantha Thavasa, a Japanese handbag brand and store, for a sneak peak at Tinsley Mortimer’s Fall 2010 handbag line. We admit we only found out Mortimer’s line for Thavasa existed by watching recently-canceled guilty pleasure reality show High Society. It turns out the Tins has been designing capsule collections for Samantha Thavasa for a few seasons. This one was inspired by 1980s rock bands. The reason for the ’80s inspiration? Tinsley says she’s a product of the ‘80s and loves ‘80s music. The bags were also a little inspired by lingerie and corsets, she explained, which was a lot more evident than the ‘80s rock band thing, aside from the names of the handbags, which were “Poison,” “Guns N Roses,” “White Snake,” “Metallica,” and “Def Leopard.” We weren’t huge fans of the collection, except for a couple of cute, simple quilted purses with long chain link straps that were, well, Chanel knock-offs in quirky colors. We were also wondering why, of all brands, Tinsley would be designing for this Japanese handbag line that only has one store in the U.S.? Also, who is Tinsley’s customer? Who is buying these bags? Then, we realized: Japanese people. Apparently, Samantha Thavasa is huge in Japan and American celebrities like Beyonce, Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham have all starred in ad campaigns for the cutesy upscale handbags. And we all know the Japanese go crazy over pretty, blonde, American socialites, especially those with small faces. We’re actually sort of impressed that Tinsley was able to identify this market for herself.

How to dress: Clutch control

You can tell the exact moment when a wedding reception hits its stride by the sudden appearance of stray handbags on tables, like starfish at low tide, while their owners are off having fun. A clutch bag is a fabulous prop for posing with. So much more elegant to be stood on a lawn, hands clasped serenely around a jewelled bag, than to show your nerves by fidgeting, one hand tugging at imaginary fabric caught in your knickers and the other absent-mindedly worrying at last weekend's mosquito bites. And while clutch-addiction can hit your bank account hard, it won't damage you, so it's a healthier social crutch than a wine glass or a cigarette. But fast-forward a few hours, and the clutch becomes an impediment. You cannot clutch and have fun at the same time; it's a physical impossibility. And the conventional short-strapped evening bag isn't much better. What generally happens with the snug over-the-shoulder bag is once you put stuff in it, it wants to fall off, so has to be clamped to your side by means of a tensed upper arm. And once you've got the arm tensed, your body language is all nervy-late-night-walk-back-from-bus-stop, rather than night-of-your-life. Enter this summer's going-out bag: the long-strap, boxy-bag. The strap means it can bounce around on your hip and it won't fall off; the boxiness gives it a kind of treasure-trunk mystery. A metal chain and a squared off shape give it a hint of Chanel 2.55 heritage, which is never a bad thing. Too nice to be left on a table; thankfully, you won't have to..