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Bottega Veneta Leather Fringe Shoulder Bag, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags

Bottega VenetaThe Bottega Veneta Leather Fringe Shoulder Bag is a fresh design with a subtle quirkiness.

We've seen fringe a million ways, and love this woven-together, thatched look in soft Italian leather. Additional allure is added by the contrasting-colored strands (all neutrals) in a haphazard, yet balanced design. The weaving gives the smooth, luxe leather a tactile, grippable appeal. We especially love the woven detail on the 13" drop strap, as the texture feels so satisfying.

This shoulder bag is 11"W X 7"H X 1½"D and lined in matching leather. It exudes relaxed chic style, and can be worn with your jeans or other casual ensembles, like any dress you'd consider pairing with cowboy boots. It is already so popular that customers of Saks Fifth Avenue may only order three per thirty days.

The Bottega Veneta Leather Fringe Shoulder Bag is available from Saks Fifth Avenue for $1,850.00.

Lily Lodge Flowers the Antidote to Boring Red Roses on Valentine's Day


Tired of overpriced not particularly beautiful red roses that often don't even open for Valentine's Day? Maybe your significant other doesn't even like roses? One woman I know married the man who finally figured out her favorite flowers were tulips and showed up with a bouquet of her favorite flowers rather than roses on Valentine's Day. Regardless of the reason, there are options available for those who want to give truly beautiful flowers to that important person in your life.

Ariana Lambert Smeraldo the owner of Lily Lodge, a spectacular flower shop in Los Angeles, California is no stranger to designer style. She was appointed West Coast Director of Stores and Public Relations of Bottega Veneta in 1998. It is not surprising that her store offers so much more than just the run-of-the-mill red roses. Just like many grandmothers have whispered to their granddaughters over the years that the women who choose Bottega know that their own initials are enough, Lily Lodge offers up floral arrangements for those with quiet but exquisite taste. Ariana understands that a combination of beautiful raw materials, a trademark style and understated elegance will always be chic.

Readers' Choice Award Nominees for Best in Accessories

Filed under: Handbags, Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

Best Jewelry Line
Each of the Readers' Choice nominees for Best Jewelry Line is a leader in the industry. One is not only known for its signature jewelry, but also for the blue box that it comes in. Another is known for its handcrafted pieces, but it is also known for its many innovations. Another nominee is a newer designer on the scene who is inspired by Florentine jewelry-making, but also astronomy, celestial, mythological and astrological influences. Another nominee is synonymous with glamour and fame and has ties to some of the world's most famous jewels. Finally, there's a nominee known for the panache of its founder, as well as its vast collection of the world's finest diamonds.
Graff Diamonds
Harry Winston
Temple St. Clair
Tiffany & Co.
Van Cleef & Arpels

Best Watch Line
The Readers' Choice for the Best Watch Line nominees include a perennially favored brand among the watch-loving elite that is known for making the most complex wrist watch in the world. Another nominee is known for its functionally-themed luxury sport watches. The third nominee, while an historic brand with almost 200 years of heritage, is known for being a forward focused luxury watch maker of the future. A fourth nominee is perhaps the best-known luxury watch brand in the world, with a stellar reputation to match. Lastly, there's a watchmaker that epitomizes Swiss haute horology with its modern classics and technical innovation.
Audemars Piguet
IWC
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Patek Philippe
Rolex

Best Leathergoods Line
The Readers' Choice for the Best Leathergoods Line for a Luxist Award include award-winning brands from France, Italy and London. One started out making equestrian equipment in 1837, and still makes its goods by hand; some of its handbags are so coveted, there's a two-year long wait list to buy one. Another was started in London by a former fashion editor who partnered with a couture shoe maker to create a company now synonymous with the "red carpet". The third nominee is known for its clean lines and simple classic color palettes while the fourth is a global force of tradition and innovation. And finally, the last nominee epitomizes luxury with its delectable designer bags and vaunted luggage--some of which command five figure prices.
Bottega Veneta
Gucci
Hermes
Jimmy Choo
Louis Vuitton

Best Department Store/Boutique
Nominees for Readers' Choice for Best Department Store/Boutique include one based in London that has no fewer than 330 different departments, a staff of 5,000 from 50 different countries and is visited by as many as 300,000 people on a single day. Another, with roots in Texas, is known for its superior customer service, in addition to its luxury merchandise, including some of the world's most extravagant items. One New York-based store has a shoe department that is so large, it was given its own zip code. Another Manhattan-based store specializes in hard-to-find international designers, many of which it will help launch into fame. Lastly, there's an upstart from London that is so cutting-edge and up-to-date, it launches 300 new styles on a weekly basis.
Barneys New York
Harrods
Neiman Marcus
Saks Fifth Avenue
Top Shop

Best Clothing Designer
Readers' Choice nominees for Best Clothing Designer are award-winning fashion designers from Italy, England, France and the United States. One was started by a wunderkind who was named chief designer of one of the most respected fashion houses when he was still in his 20's. Another has been one of the leading names in fashion for nearly 100 years. A third nominee, known for its timeless style, has outfitted First Ladies on both sides of the aisle for decades while the fourth is famed for its understated elegance. The final nominee is synonymous with high fashion though its roots are in luggage and leather goods.
Alexander McQueen
Chanel
Gucci
Oscar de la Renta
Prada

Gucci: Synonymous with High Fashion

Filed under: Apparel, Shoes


From the model-patrolled runways of Milan to the chic streets of New York, Gucci is synonymous with high fashion. The Italian designer outfits opulent consumers of all stripes -- financiers, socialites and celebrities -- making it an obvious candidate for a Luxist award in the Best Clothing Designer category, in addition to a nomination for Best in Leathergoods.

Founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Gucci began as a luggage and leather goods store. Guccio Gucci drew on years of experience working at London's Savoy Hotel and observing the proclivities of English nobles, combining this sensibility with his own Italian fashion sense in his early work, a theme that still runs strong at Gucci today.

Though Gucci struggled to find materials as World War II raged through Europe, the scrappy founder was able to stay afloat by creating products like the "Bamboo Bag" from the resources available. The postwar years brought expansion to Milan and New York, and, sadly, the death of Guccio Gucci. His sons would take over the business and continue to guide it along the path to becoming an international fashion powerhouse, expanding to Hong Kong and Tokyo. The designer became a favorite of fashionable and legendary celebrities such as Grace Kelly and Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy.

Guccio Gucci's aesthetic persists, a lasting legacy for the founder. The company boasts talented designers like Frida Giannini, who was named sole creative director in 2006. In addition to Gucci, Gucci Group also owns Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Boucheron, Sergio Rossi, Stella McCartney and Yves Saint Laurent. It directly operates 560 stores around the world.

Cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Awards at http://www.luxist.com/awards-vote/accessories-awards.

Bottega Veneta: Where Classic Meets Cutting Edge

Filed under: Handbags


Bottega Veneta
is nominated for a Luxist Award in the Best Leathergoods category. Founded in 1966 by the husband and wife team Vittorio and Laura Moltedo in Vicenza, Italy, the brand was known from the start for its exceptionally soft hand-woven 'Intrecciato' signature leather handbags. The Studio 54 crowd was especially fond of the brand, and Andy Warhol was known to do much of his Christmas shopping in the New York boutique.

Bottega Veneta continued to prosper over the years, maintaining a focus mostly on handmade leather accessories like handbags, belts, and shoes. Their incredibly luxe Intrecciato hand-woven leather styles became (and remain) a trademark of the brand, even through its sale to Gucci in 2001.

Although often colorful and certainly following and setting trends in fashion, Bottega Veneta creations usually lean towards clean lines and simple, classic color palettes. Trends are usually embraced subtly and as a result the brand has found a fine balance between cutting edge and timeless appeal.

Today Bottega Veneta is still known for fine leather and soft Intrecciato masterpieces but also offers a wide selection of other products for sale in boutiques around the world and online. Sunglasses, scarves, and hats are offered in cashmere knits and other materials and round out their leather offerings, helping the brand secure a solid spot in the niche of luxury accessories.

Cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Awards at http://www.luxist.com/awards-vote/accessories-awards.

Bottega Veneta NYCabat Bag, Limited Edition, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags

Bottega Veneta NYCabat Bag, Limited Edition, Handbag of the Day
With a limited run of just 50, today's Handbag of the Day will go fast -- if you're willing to spend $7,100. Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier has taken on the classic BV woven bag and added a taxi twist, creating the NYCabat bag. It's woven in the signature BV hand-crafted leather and then hand-dyed yellow and black. Big enough to be a commuter bag and carry your purse essentials plus extras, like office shoes, a newspaper, gym clothes, and so on. The bag is only available through the company's Fifth Avenue NYC store (699 Fifth Ave., 212-371-5511). Scheduled to arrive in November, so you can, and should, preorder now.

The Fashion Statement: For Sex or Abstinence?

Filed under: The Fashion Statement


Designers are in the midst of a heated argument at Milan fashion week-whether one should dress for sex or dress for abstinence in a global recession. Seems a fitting debate in a country where the famously womanizing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Pope Benedict XVI are its two most powerful leaders

On the celibate team sits Miuccia Prada, who practices restraint on a regular basis (well, by Italian standards). She further reigned in her collection (well, by Prada standards) to include charcoal knee-length walking shorts, Fifties-style swimwear and demure day dresses. The ever quirky Marni showed knee-length shorts and paired them with thick-strapped shoes with thick soles worn with beige ankle socks (I can hear my boyfriend's protests now). Roberto Cavalli went AWOL from his I'm-too-sexy position in the marketplace, putting out modest peasant dresses with hems stopping mid-calf.

Then again, sex sells. Versace stayed true to form. Sex, sex and more sex with Donatella's brand of cigarettes afterward, thank you. Slits cut up to there. Necklines cut down to there. Cut-outs revealing erogenous zones. Towering stilettos. Short, short, short. (Definitely more my boyfriend's speed, I'm guessing.)

Bottega Venetta Sardegna Tote, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags

Style is great, and I have a lot of fun covering bright (and sometimes downright obnoxious) handbag styles but here's a nice breath of fresh air from Bottega Veneta: the Sardegna Canvas Tote. It's one of those bags that's eyecatching not because of what it has but because of what it doesn't have -- it's so simple it makes a statement despite itself. Not to mention it's also outrageously useful and versatile because you can pair it with pretty much anything. Double top handles and detachable shoulder strap, top zip closure and no interior pockets. $1,180

Bottega Veneta Metallic Leather Shopper Bag, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags

Bottega Veneta Metallic Leather Shopper BagThe Bottega Veneta Metallic Leather Shopper Bag is a golden solution for those going green.

This slouchy tote is refreshingly simple. The inside has a zipper pocket, but for the most part, this is shaped just like any shopping bag you'd get at one of your favorite stores. The difference? Ruched metallic gold leather, luscious pale suede (!) lining, and leather and chain link straps. Finally, a reusable shopping bag worthy of luxury shoppers -- and luxury purchases.

This bag is large enough for a long day of splurging 8"W X 12"H X 8"D and has metal feet at the bottom, in case you should need to set it down at any point in your spree. We have a feeling we'll see a lot more bags like this next season. Good thinking, Bottega Veneta!

The Bottega Veneta Metallic Leather Shopper Bag is available from Saks Fifth Avenue for $1,950.00.

The Fashion Statement: A Velvet Revolution

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

Velvet usually comes out of mothballs about once a year: the holidays. Other than that, the fabric that has always stood for wealth and luxury tends to spend more time on settees and chaises than on warm bodies. That is, until now.

Velvet's not so underground anymore thanks to European and American designers who used bolt after bolt of it in the fall 2009 collections. And each one has manipulated the short dense pile into much more than just eveningwear.

Ralph Lauren, Fendi and Bottega Veneta created velvet rose-colored cap-sleeved frocks, neutral strapless cocktail dresses and burnt-orange slouchy day dresses, respectively. Chloé, Sonia Rykiel and Ralph Lauren went for velvet harem pants, mostly in dark green and black. Gianfranco Ferré, Lanvin and Elie Saab blew fashion watchers away with their long black velvet gowns with structured cap sleeves à la the '40s.

Aquilano.Rimondi-a new talented design duo from Italy-draped, cut and sewed bright red velvet into a belted cocoon coat-dress that hits just above the knee. Superb.

But if two designers can turn velvet into a full-blown trend of the season, it's Miuccia Prada and Marc Jacobs. Interestingly enough, both fashion forces took some yellow with their velvet.

Jacobs ran with the '80s-the decade he first hit the fashion scene- with neon yellow cocktail dresses like the one pictured above. Another yellow cocktail dress wraps its wearer like a mummy in wide-bands of velvet. (Fergie took this look out for a spin on the red carpet recently, only in electric blue.)

Prada reached back to a darker mood in the '40s and came up with a more toxic shade of yellow. This disconcerting yellow hovering somewhere between poison and putrid was made into a deep V-neck and stitched to a tweed skirt. Burned-out velvet made appearances on double-breasted coats and V-neck dresses (sometimes awkwardly topped with fur).


$157,000 Bottega Veneta Alligator Luggage Set

Filed under: Handbags, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Bottega Veneta alligator luggage
If you travel by private jet, there's no need to worry about your luggage getting beaten up in transit. Hence you can use a set of beautifully handmade cases crafted from the world's finest exotic leather. At least, we assume that's the rationale behind Bottega Veneta's outrageously opulent set of alligator skin luggage. The six piece set, which includes three suitcases (small, medium and large), a beauty case and a duffle bag, costs $157,000; the pieces are also available individually, ranging from $23,000 to $47,000. All are finished in noce fume rich brown soft-finished alligator skin and feature burnished metal hardware with reinforced corners and locking mechanisms. And of course if you're traveling by private jet you can afford it.

[via JustLuxe]

Mini Shoulder Bag, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags

It's tiny and it's classic, the Bottega Veneta Mini Shoulder Bag. And although it might have a classic shoulder-bag shape, this version is updated with oxidized metallic leather that's made to look as if it's almost worn through in spots to reveal a woven or braided effect beneath. Another somewhat unique feature on this shoulder bag is its removeable strap that makes it into an instant clutch -- usually it's the clutch that can become a shoulder bag! Lined in suede it measures only 9" x 7" x 4", $890.

Braided Patchwork Hobo, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags

The Braided Patchwork Hobo by Bottega Veneta will bring soft, slouchy leather to your wardrobe in a pretty shade of light chocolate brown accented with darker brown weaving for a patchwork look turned slightly retro thanks to the thick braided double handle. The roomy interior is lined in luxe gray suede and features pockets that zip, snap, and hold your cell phone. Closes via magnet (I wish it zipped, personally) and is overall a very simple, casual statement that oozes class and timeless fashion appeal. Seems a worthwhile investment, $2,480.

Bottega Veneta Printed Canvas Tote, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags


I'm not usually one to like orange but this is a bag I could certainly see myself carrying around on a daily basis. It's the Bottega Veneta Printed Canvas Tote and I love it because it's earthy and almost a neutral, while it manages to also be very styled and vibrant. Net-a-Porter advertises it as a good bag to take to the beach, but I think it could just as easily blend into a spring or fall wardrobe if the colors were mixed just right. Intrecciato print canvas mixes with brown leather straps and piping, plus the bag expands to a larger size and that's always useful. $960

'White Christmas' Inspired Bags, Handbag of the Day

Filed under: Handbags, Holiday Guides

white handbag
'Tis the season for blankets of snow and frosted branches, ski trips and furry boots, and new handbags to match the winter white theme. Whether you are shopping at Saks, Bergdorfs, Nordstroms, Neimans or Barneys there are clean, colorless clutches, totes and hobos to suit the season. Here are a few of my favorites inspired by the holiday tune, 'White Christmas' that are chic, sophisticated and frosty including the Nablak Vernice Tote from Prada pictured above.

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