Top: Lanvin Toile Printed Tat Sac, $695; Louis Vuitton Galliera Riviera $1940
Bottom: YSL Washed Pin Print Canvas Tote. $170; Anya Hindmarch Canvas Shopping Tote, $85
The big trend this season is art on bags – graphic, print and genuine art like Stephen Sprouse. I like to keep art as art and bags as bags, call me a traditionalist but I don’t like mixing mediums. The popularity of the Prada Fairy bag really set this off and it was of grave concern to me as people spent their life savings on a bag that would not last the season. Yes, for those who want it as a collector’s piece, it might be worth your while but those who actually used it were punished with bleeding ink. Yikes! It is fun for under $100 if it is super kitschy like the YSL pin print tote (but unfortunately that is $80 over my caveat) or if it is super useful like the Anya Hindmarch shopping tote (these come in various themes, like laundry, etc.) which also has the right price. But for the Louis Vuitton, well, even if you are going on a cruise vacation with a proper Cruise collection, actually especially if you are going on a cruise vacation, this bag is either way too coordinated to a ridiculous degree or not at all appropriate with anything you wear. I do love the Lanvin satin print collection, as a tote instead of an actual structure bag, bags like these are great fun in the summer but for $695 I’ll spend that kind of fun on an actual vacation at a nice resort.
Lanvin Toile Printed Tat Sac at Barneys New York for $695; Louis Vuitton Galliera Riviera at eLUXURY