Tag Archives: handbags

Accessorizing with Emm Kuo


As you can see, I’ve had an incredibly fashionable weekend. Yesterday, my friend Ashley who you may know as @CocktailChic and I, ventured over to the home of accessories designer, Emm Kuo, to view some of her incredibly crafted designs. Here I am pictured left with Emm herself trying on my favorite piece in her collection, the Westbourne Grove Satchel Black Python. Emm is holding one of her gorgeous No. 5 On the Bund portfolio clutches, perfect for a night out on the town.

I may be a strict vegetarian, but after seeing this collection, I have a huge craving for a python bag.  Emm Kuo prides herself on using the highest quality materials in her designs and it shows.  She’s also an incredibly well-traveled designer who has lived all over the world. Every design is named after a street she lived on. Since I tend to gravitate toward London fashion, it’s no surprise that I’m obsessed with the Westbourne Grove Satchel.  Look for Emm Kuo designs are Intermix and at various upscale boutiques throughout the U.S. and abroad.

The new love of my life!! Like all of Emm Kuo’s designer goods, the Westbourne Grove Satchel is incredibly spacious yet compact enough to carry effortlessly all around the city.

More and more bags!!

Are Birkins Worth It?

Is paying up to $60,000 for a Birkin bag socialite or just plain stupid? We’ve all seen those insane online auctions and celebrities carrying them about town acting like normal people doing errands.  Though a Birkin may not be in your price range, one always seems to find its way into your range of vision.  It isn’t just the price point that makes these handbags out of reach, even if you were to walk into Hermès with cash in hand, you better be a regular customer before they even let you hold one.

Like many fashion icons, the Hermès Birkin has a rich history.  It originated in 1981 when Hermès executive, Jean-Louis Dumas sat next to actress, Jane Birkin on a fight from Paris to London.  When Jane tried to put her bag in the overhead compartment, she was horrified to find that the contents spilled all over the place.  When she went to pick them up, she mentioned to Jean-Louis that she could never find a good weekend bag.  The Birkin bag was inspired by and named for her.  As much as I love the bag and the history, sometimes excess can be too excessive and I just can’t justify spending that much on a purse with all the suffering in the world.  Plus, if you are partial to vegan designers such as Stella Mccartney, the Birkin isn’t for you.  I say buy the $7,000 Chanel and give the rest of your insanely huge bag budget to your favorite charitable cause. You may even have enough left over to start your own charity.  Sorry, but I’ll go with a small Hermès bracelet, a classic Chanel, and a generous donation to charity over a Birkin any day.

Finding Enlightenment with Bodhi

Socialites find Nirvana through both yoga and shopping. BODHI is one of my favorite handbag lines for its craftsmanship of simple elegance and elite functionality. In the ancient language of Sanskrit, the term “Bodhi” (Boh-de,) means supreme knowledge or enlightenment. The meaning behind the BODHI brand truly suits its new line of tech accessories. However, my newest “Bagsession” a.k.a. “Bag Obsession” is the BODHI Safety Clutch (pictured right.) I totally just made up that word “Bagsession” and I am quite proud of myself.

This head turning piece with a one of a kind handle has been featured on Gossip Girl. Buying a new designer bag is always a spiritual experience. If you are interested in enlightening you wardrobe with a new BODHI bag, they are available on the BODHI website and at high-end department stores such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Henri Bendel. There is nothing like eastern spirituality to brighten up a designer handbag. The most unique part of BODHI bags are that inspiring mantras sewn into the interior of each bag such as, “Those who bend in the wind are strongest.” Therefore, these purses enlighten both body and soul.

Blake Lively is the New Face of CHANEL

I never thought I’d see the day when Gossip Girl would become boring or irrelevant. But, I think I just did. As New York City’s #1 Aspiring Socialite, I must now give up living vicariously through the fictional Serena van der Woodsen in favor of the real life Blake Lively. Aside from being the new face of CHANEL, Blake Lively is currently among one of the most sought after (and Googled) celebrities of our time.

Maybe it is her smile or her long elegant locks (there is no harm in extensions when they are expertly done) that account for this, but anyone aspiring to fame and fortune has a lot to learn from Miss Lively. Fashion designers have actually been know to pay her to sit in the front row of their shows. To me, that sounds like an excellent career prospect. Today, this 23-year-old Mademoiselle sits at the front line of CHANEL’s latest handbag campaign as a taller and more sober version of Kate Moss. This high fashion mirror shot was taken by none other than Karl Lagerfeld. I can’t believe how many perks there are to being Blake Lively. I hope she got to keep the bag because it’s super cute.