Angel Jackson handbags

I'm a proper fence sitter when it comes to bags. Apart from trad satchels, and maybe a Birkin & a 2.55 if you must, oh go on then, I'm not really set on fire by the whole bag thing.

But very,very occasionally someone sends me a release or I stalk some chic girl down the street to find out what she's carrying and bingo I fall in love. Janet Collin's beautifully made, last for ever handbags. Sang A's wonderful coloured pieces... hmm now I am struggling.

Which brings me to Angel Jackson and that spectacularly LOVELY bag hovering above. The label was set up in 2005 by English sisters Katie and Millie Smith. Katie is the designer, based in Bristol, and Millie oversees the production over in Bali where they set up their fairtrade workshops.

Their plan was to produce ethical bags at a sensible price point: there's nothing over £400, and that wonderful satchel bag comes in around £260. But just because they aren't expensive doesn't mean they aren't beautifully made: all the stud, pearl & sequin detail is done by hand.

The bags are quite obviously the product of a designer with vision, who has her own ideas and who doesn't pander to commercial trends. I think the line is ravishing.

Stocked in Selfridges, Horrids, Henri Bendel, Villa Moda, Galeries Lafayette amongst others, Angel Jackson has had Carine's seal of approval, and won Topshop's New Designer of the Year Award.

These two bags which I want so badly it hurts more than my chest (long story), are from the AW09-10 Damned and the Dangerously Beautiful collection. Do go to their website (they have online shopping), take a look around. www.angeljackson.co.uk and add to your Christmas list. (And they're offering a free snakeskin Bella belt with any order from the current bag collection.)


Angel Jackson Gladiator bag

Lena Erziak

As you all know, I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than carry a logo'd up, must-have-because-a-celeb-carries-it It Bag. My bag collection is an eclectic mixture of presents & investments, vintage & sample sale finds to which I'm always happy to add something bright, interesting or clever.

At the moment I'm rather liking these ones from new handbag collection Lena Erziak:


Star Bag $300

The label is owned by sisters Leona and Hasna Erziak, who grew up in a Belgian-Moroccan family of artists, their mother a seamstress and father a potter. With their creative background they went on to varied careers, which included styling french celebrities, to decorating Riads in Marrakech.


Dance Floor Bag $450

The bags for their line are manufactured in Italy, using traditional techniques, and the sister have paid close attention to detail, with adjustable straps, tassels and leather zipper pulls all making an appearance on various of the bags. I'm particularly smitten by this pink velvet bag,


And from their Summer 2010 collection, the Elio bag which comes in gold, black & fuchsia.
(No price yet.)

The fall bags are all currently available at Stella Filante on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Lena Erziak

Everyday & evening bags: my capsule handbag collection

I do not like bags that don't fit the essentials: Blackberry, digital camera, cards, keys, lipstick. During the day, I usually carry around a water bottle, flats & book too, but have taken to toting those in one of the seemingly endless supply of cotton bags I've accumulated from eco-aware press offices who like to use them for goodie bags & press materials.

I quite like this hessian one I dug out of a suitcase of my clothes back in London. I think it was handed out at the opening of the Fendi store during the Cannes Film Festival. (Ooh get me.)



I do seem to have accumulated a lot of bags over the years (you get given them as a fashion editor), but this season I am all about the capsule wardrobe. So this is the edit that came out of my storage container for fall/winter (because I certainly do not intend to buy any more bags):



Everyday bags:
1.Comptoir de Cotonniers Taupe leather bag. I love Comptoir's bags. This is the perfect everyday running around town number. Fits the survival kit plus a Flip camera. Goes with everything. A much appreciated press gift.

2. Mulberry Oak Anthony leather satchel with canvas strap A brilliant Christmas present from my mother two years ago. My go-to bag for weekends. (I have the mens version because I can fit more in it.)

3.Janet Collin Vivienne handbag I've raved about this bag on here before. This is my grown up, 'I've got a meeting' bag. Lots of lovely pockets for Metro & business cards, a strap big enough to fit over my shoulder, lightweight so I don't pull a muscle carrying it around and blessedly logo free. The perfect investment purchase: not cheap but not overpriced either.

Sporty bag:
4. Prada Tessuto & Saffiano black nylon & leather bag. A present from my mother, who bought this in the Prada Outlet near Florence. I wear it slung across my body for cycling, at weekends when it's raining so my leather bags don't get ruined, and on location shoots for toting the essentials of my stylist's prop kit in it.

Evening bags:
5. All Saints Black patent & twisted leather pouch bag. I do not wear All Saints clothes (they design for minimally breasted women & I don't fit their pants), so I had £100 of gift vouchers from the press day kicking around for eighteen months before I found something I wanted to buy. This bag is brilliant. It's like the Tardis: I shove things in there and even when I think it's full up, it fits more stuff. The patent makes it great for evenings, and the strap means I don't misplace it. Fantastic design.

6. Matt Murphy Distressed silver lambskin envelope purse. The perfect evening bag for me. Fits the survival kit, and there's even room for a slim paperback in case my date is late.

7. Givenchy Black grommet studded purse. Believe it or not, I was given this neat purse at the launch of Givenchy's Phenomen`eyes mascara. It originally contained a make-up palette that I prised out. It fits a Blackberry, cards, keys & lipstick & loops around my wrist. Perfect for a night out dancing.

Selve: covetable everyday handbags

Four years ago I had the perfect pair of black calf leather boots custom made for me by Munich based bespoke shoemakers Selve (US), or (UK). I had been looking for a replacement for my perfect pair of Sigerson Morrison black boots for two years, but had found nothing. (The main problem was my skinny calves - the SM shop girls had told me that no one else had been able to do up the zips on the boots I bought. Their loss, my gain - at the time.)

It also isn't helpful that I have absurdly narrow heels, high insteps and one foot half a size bigger than the other, and very precise, anally retentive fashion editor requirements as to heel height & shape, toe shape, and height of leg. Selve managed to accommodate all these, in addition to lining the boots with gold leather.

I thought I had died & gone to heaven when my boots finally arrived.

Noodling around their website today, I was struck first by this teaser for the new winter collection:



The Saffron black boots, the St James brogue & the Venus Overknee are all lust worthy - and I love love that Selve can make these in any colour - or leather- of your choice.

I see also that they have added a small selection of bag shapes since I last looked. These aren't truly bespoke, but you can choose the colour of the bag and the strap. They don't come cheap, but they are beautiful.

I usually carry two bags in the winter, something for my laptop & papers, and a small one for lunches & cocktails.

This is my Selve favourite. The Sorbonne in Black Leather, perfect for laptop toting. £495/$650



But I also rather love the slightly smaller Montmartre in Brown Suede for weekends. £375/$550



And am completely beguiled by the Montmartre in Red Suede with a magenta strap but, like What Possessed Me, would find it hard to justify investing in a bright bag for everyday. £375/$550

The Jaeger Morgan bag

Oh I am in two minds. I've had this Jaeger £100 voucher, (we were given them at a press day), kicking around for well over a year now, and I still haven't found anything I actually really want to buy. The collection seems to never quite hit the nail on the head, and most of the okay-ish pieces are about £250, and I'm certainly not spending £150 on something I'm not that bothered about. If I don't use the voucher, I'll inevitably lose it so I was thinking that maybe I'd buy this bag which is knocked down to £99 in the sale.

I've already got my black Janet Collin Vivienne bag which is huge, so a smaller black bag could be useful for when I'm not carting my life around with me. Plus it's got no branding or logos on it, which is a very good thing. Hmmmmm. Of course, the real reason why I'm umming over this is in case something amazing appears down the line. But I've checked out the SS lookbook and I see nothing there...

Maybe I carry too much stuff around?

I’ve been tagged to show the contents of my handbag by the lovely Buttons and Stars. So, here goes: My bag at the moment is the black leather Vivienne by Janet Collin. Janet v kindly emailed me back in December to ask if I was interested in her private, end of season sample sale. Was I? Oh yes! I love her bags. They last for ever, have great outside pockets for my phone & Oyster Card and a little mirror in a leather case swinging from the handle. Genius. (And, best of all, it’s totally unrecognisable: no flash logos here)

And inside: US Blackberry & UK mobile. Red leather wallet for cards & notes. Shanghai Tang coin purse from Hong Kong. Muji notebook for To Do Lists. Black Moleskin for story ideas & interview notes. Broken pink plastic pig key ring/torch which squeaks.

Battered old FrostFrench for No17 makeup bag (freebie) with essential warpaint: Bobbi Brown Nude & Revlon Bright Pink lipsticks. Kiehls SPF lipbalm.Lancome liquid eyeliner in dark grey. Mac eyeliner brush. Shiseido cream blusher. Cheapo black mascara. Clear mascara for eyebrows. Smints. Purell hand sanitizer.

Vita Sackville West novel for journeys. Antibiotic eye drops. CK Calvin Klein sunglasses (US press day freebie). Memory stick. Trace free rubber(eraser) from Il Papiro in Florence. Black leather, silk lined elbow gloves from Bendel’s.

Dog breath mints (Sorry rat, but yr breath needs desperate measures). Dachsie key ring (thank you Clare!) with keys for London, NY & parents. NY & London subway passes. Random hair pin & hairband. Mason Pearson hairbrush. Pretty gold & garnet ring from an antique shop on Bleecker in NY.

Not pictured: iPod Nano, Purdey corded dog lead, dog poo bags (you so don’t need to see those) & ripped up bits of tissues, manky cough sweets, & a hundred receipts swirling around at the bottom of my bag.

Now I'd like to see what Mrs Fashion , Tales Near The Runway & Nonsense on Stilettos have been toting around.

All hail The Celtic Sheepskin Company

I adore classic shaped leather satchels for weekends. I have certain criteria: they have to made from stiff, hard wearing leather that will age well, be brown, have a long adjustable strap, a flap that fastens with a buckle and, above all, no over-designed bells & whistles. For years, I've been toting an old vintage one of my mother's, but it's been re-stitched together so many times that I doubt there is any original work left in it. Definitely time for a replacement.

As regular readers will know, I was enormously disappointed with the lame satchel offering from Boden, which got sent straight back along with their ill fitting & badly sized riding boots.

So, as I like to hand out projects rather than Christmas present lists, I put my sister on the case. She has the twin credentials of a truffle hound ability for sniffing out items on the internet and the time to do so. I can't say I actually expected her to find exackerly what I wanted, but was gobsmacked when she came up with the bag above which is so utterly perfect. (Although she's not quite so pleased: she has to buy it for me now.)

A mere £75/$150 from The Celtic Sheepskin Company, the Sennen satchel is even more pleasing as the company has strong ethical policies, is based in Cornwall where it employs local people in an area of high unemployment, and regularly uses organic and recycled products - even recycled wool in their womens' jackets. Impressive. Upon further investigation I discovered these fab ear muffs (£48/$96): I also like the Isabelle bag which is just £95/$190, and the Envelope bag which is just £20/$40 Best of all, no one will know where you got them from. Goodness, I am bored with logo'd bags.

Janet Collin Vivienne bag

This is the Vivienne bag from the wonderful Janet Collin, and my Christmas present to myself.Actually, my one will be in black, but I won't get it 'till I return to London for Christmas. Janet has a background in product design, and has worked on handbag collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Matthew Williamson and US brand Banana Republic.

Most famously she created some of Mulberry's most iconic bags, including the famous Jaquetta, Kiera and Cassidy styles. She has her own label, based in Newcastle upon Tyne England. Although I'm not a big fan of the 'C' word, celebrities like Madonna carry her handbags too.You can see more of her bags here.

Liberty at Dover Street Market

These Liberty of London evening bags are fantastic: I think a shot of colour looks fabulous against black and, even better, clashing against this season's colourful cocktail dresses. I didn't pick on these Liberty pieces because they match the name of my blog*, but because I admire the way that they are moving the brand into the 21st century without losing sight of their identity (Hello Jaeger).

Blowing up the iconic art nouveau Ianthe print from the Liberty archives in this way looks fresh and avoids the feeling of cutesy that haunted Liberty for so long. It's also particularly clever to make these brilliant colourways available exclusively at Dover Street Market.

Without a doubt, DSM is London, & possibly Europe's most exciting retail space now. Nominated for Best Retail Concept at the British Fashion Awards last week, they was robbed by Marc Jacobs (woo hoo - opening a store. Really innovative), as I have complained at length already, both on this blog & in the real, bylined world.

*(The name of my blog has nothing to do with the Liberty of London store)

Johnny, Johnny - pull your socks up

I am so very, very disappointed with Boden. When I posted back at the beginning of November I was very enthusiastic about their offer but, because of my peripatetic lifestyle, I had missed the UK AW07 press day so hadn't actually seen it in the flesh.

I made an order for two pairs of boots and a leather satchel on 08 November. They warned me that the riding boots had a 2 week delay & the satchel a 1 week delay, but that the other boots were in stock. On 16 Nov (8 days later - far, far too long) I received an e-mail telling me that the pair in stock had been dispatched. As of today, the 29th, still no sign of them. However a couple of days later, the riding boots arrived, out of the blue (no dispatch email). Unfortunately, their sizing is completely f**ked up, and a size UK6 was enormous.

Today, the 29th, I finally received the satchel. What an enormous letdown. Although well-made, it looks extremely cheap. The leather is floppy, which is not how it was shown on the website. The web image purports to show a more structured bag with a flat bottom - but instead it is just completely shapeless. A classic example of catalogue over-styling.

And what really, really galls me is that I now have to schlep to the post office, with two heavy, unwieldly boxes, & have to pay quite a lot of money to return both the (very, very heavy) boots and the bag for mistakes of Boden's making. (Their sizing is inaccurate, and the photograph on the site erroneous.)

I emailed customer services the day before yesterday, querying the missing boots and still no reply. In this day and age it is ludicrous that customers cannot track & trace their orders after purchase. If Boden is to succeed in the US it seriously needs to pull its socks up and invest in both a decent inventory system, and a meticulously accurate on-line track & trace system. Frankly, their technological offer is antediluvian. They also need to post more accurate product images: the lifestyle stuff is all well & good, but is ultimately misleading.

My advice? Avoid like the plague. Enormously disappointing.


Leather satchel as shot for catalogue.


Leather satchel as arrived chez LLG

Clarks clutches. Not bad at all.

I'm not sure about the jade one, but I'm rather liking the purple satin number. Basically I'm a sucker for bows and, as I think satin pieces should only be worn by stick people, I tend to gravitate towards satin accessories as I like the textural contrast.

Best of all it's only £14.99 (about $30). AND it's from Clarks. Will wonders never cease? (Although apparently Clarks is the non plus ultra in Paris right now. Most bizarre.) Mind you, their Christmas shoe offer is truly revolting.

In honour of the Rugby on Saturday

www.jonaspovel.com

The cult of the designer handbag

I would rather tote my belongings in a paper bag than carry a logo splattered handbag or purse. I think they are vulgar, a blatant triumph of aspirational bad taste over common sense. My general rule is: you want me to wear your advertising, then you pay me. I'm a fan of stealth bags: those that are unrecognisable to 99% of women. I want to look chic, intelligent, thoughtful, with my clothes & accessories whispering not screaming.(There's nothing clever or inspired about walking into Gucci or Vuitton to buy a bag that every fashion climber or WAG wants to carry). The only possible exception is a bag from Hermes for reasons so obvious that I don't need to spell them out to you, my fashion literate readership.

Designer bags I do think cut the mustard include Bottega, Michael Teperson, Pierre Hardy & Janet Collin. (I must admit to owning bags from all four). They are beautifully designed and, above all, different from the run of the mill. But I also love my black calf, no label, slouch bag with huge tassels ($70) from Century 21 and my huge rectangular attaché bag in brown saddle leather from All Saints which I use for my laptop.(Press gift but think retail was about £150).

But although I am the first to decry the up-pricing prevalent in the luxury accessories market (we are asked to pay what the houses think we will pay to satisfy our acquisitive, venal natures, not what the goods are worth by any stretch of the imagination), it doesn't stop me from occasionally admiring a beautiful piece of design.

So, here I give you the Smythson Nancy in Taupe for Autumn Winter 07. The collecion comprises three bag designs, all handmade in a luxuriously soft calf leather, with an elegant vintage leather covered clasp, a framed opening, luxurious mauve satin lining and innovative hand pleating. It also comes in dark brown and black and a limited edition white in Los Angeles only.

The three bags, shoulder bag,smaller version and a clutch purse, and have been designed with practical, generous internal pockets allowing one to keep contents organized. The large Nancy is spacious enough to hold everything one could possibly need. However it is an eye-wincing £950... a price that is almost impossible to justify. Although, with luck, it is too subtle to appeal to the flash set, and therefore may be a good under the radar buy.

New Season's bag shapes

I'm super bored with the slouchy bags of the last few seasons, and welcome the return of the box frame bag, which fits well with this winter's more controlled look. I have my grandmother's black crocodile frame bag in London, which is going off to be refurbished in time for the shows in September, and I picked this little number up a few weeks ago.

I'm not usually a huge fan of Lulu Guinness handbags, (although I've always secretly lusted over the black satin fan evening bag). But I did pop off to the Manhattan Lulu sample sale just before I went back to London to look for a birthday present for T, who dotes on her designs. Of course, I also found myself a piece for $100: this black suede and leather bag from her higher end Couture collection, (which normally retails somewhere around £500/$1000. Bargain.), was from last year's ‘Surrealist eye’ story, (the clasp is a unique piece of jewellery designed by Lulu and made with a fabulous British jewellery maker, Simon Harrison, in London,) but it's perfect to through to this winter. I'm afraid I actually bought two: one for my mother for her birthday too.

Michael Teperson

This is the elegantly beautiful Toaster bag by the talented Michael Teperson, a gift from the designer, bless him, after I interviewed him recently for an English publication. Mine is actually cream all over, but this is near enough. (My camera cable is still AWOL)

Refreshinly attitude free, Teperson is one of the most interesting & original bag designers working at the moment. Trained at Parsons and at Central St Martins, he originally intended to become a womenswear designer. His partner Francesco Dori encouraged him to set up hs own label, & he presented his first bag collection for SS05. He cites his main influences, unsurprisingly, as good design and architecture. He admires Richard Meier and his focus on space and clean lines, and you can see this design language refined through in the handbags, which are minus a grating logo.

The Toaster bag above is his most iconic bag. Taking the inspiration from the spiral binding of his Filofax, he used it to create a small zippered flap pocket secured to the side of the bag by a series of metal spirals.Stocked at Fortnums in London & Bergdorfs in Manhattan.www.michaelteperson.com