Zara Terez is a young and fabulous handbag designer who we recently met at a Bagtrends event in New York City. She's shown here at right wearing one of her most exciting new items: the 14th Precinct Holster, which is part of her Fall 2009 collection (available here). We chatted with Zara about her fresh and fiesty line of handbags, including this gun holster she just couldn't resist.

Luxist: Tell us about the gun holster.

Zara Terez: Well, I actually saw a gun holster, and I thought it would be a really cool idea to make it into a handbag. It's good to go out with, and for mommies who have little kids, they can carry around their diaper bag and have their cell phone and their credit cards [in the holster]. And actually, my sister said that it's really good for exercising, like, you need a bag you can run around with.

L: So you are manufacturing them?

ZT: I am, everything's made here in New York City.

L: Is that suede?

ZT: This is suede, and we also have it in pebbled leather. All the leather comes from Italy; I bring it in.

L: Excellent, and how much does one cost?

ZT: $125. It's really, really fun, we have it in multiple colors, and you can use it day or night -- it's perfect for everything.

L: Tell us a little bit about these other materials you're using,

ZT: Everything is leather. Embossed snake, embossed croc, and what I love to do is, I make sure that there's always a ...

L (discovering the inside of a feathered bag): There are sequins in here!

ZT: Yeah! There's always a splash of surprise in each one. There's a surprise in every bag. It's really all about you, and what represents you as a person.

L: So, where do you get your inspiration?

ZT: My friends, my family, New York City as a whole. [The bags] are all named for different places in New York City. My holster's actually called 14th Precinct, which is the precinct in the garment district.

Check out more of Zara Terez's badass girly designs below:

The Brahmin Les Roses Vittora is our favorite handbag in a line of close seconds. We love the Brahmin Les Roses collection -- it's sleek, suitable for work or a night at the opera, affordable, and we just love those croc embossed roses!

This sassy little purse is just 8" x 9.25" x 4" and has a lot of personality. You can remove the 24" strap (if you've firmly left the 80s behind) and carry it as a demure, free-standing case, or just fling it over your shoulder and watch the roses dangle at your hip.

The bag has a center divider pocket and a back slide pocket, as well as interior zips. The goldtone hardware accentuates the meticulous hand crocodile embossing. We think this style is youthful and bold, especially in this Dune shade -- it also comes in Black, Truffle, and Pecan.

The Brahmin Les Roses Vittora is available from Brahmin Leather Works for $275.00. See the gallery below for a side view and more items from the luscious Les Roses Collection.

Here's one part of the luxury economy I hadn't considered, the alligator farms. It turns out the decline of the "it bag" has reverberations throughout the various industries that feed into the luxury brands. The Houma Today website tells the story of Gerald Savoie Jr., the owner of Savoie's Alligator Farm whose has plenty of alligators and no one to buy the skins.

You many have seen Savoie's Alligator Farm on past episodes of "Dirty Jobs" where Mike Rowe learned about ins and outs of alligator farming. Savoie has over 60,000 alligators but the world's luxury brands like Gucci and Versace aren't buying as many skins as they did in past years.

The Louisiana bayous produce a lot of alligators and the skins are shipped around the world to be turned into belts, purses and other goods. Alligator farms are a $60 million dollar industry in Louisiana. Vermilion Gator Farms Inc. says they generally sell 75,000 hides a year but haven't sold an alligator skin in a year and predict that they may not be able to sell a skin for another year. An article on Abbeville Now last month reported that there are 840,000 tanned hides in the U.S. market waiting to be sold to tanners, a number far above the 275,000 hides generally sold nationally.

Whether you've never heard of the MCM brand or you remember it from the 80's, MCM is making a new start in the United States.

The brand left the U.S. a number of years ago due to hush-hush reasons having to do with their previous owner, Michael Cromer, but stayed alive and well in Europe and Asia (you've seen these designs -- think supermodels' luggage). They have since changed their name from Michael Cromer Munich to Mode Creation Munich, and are running under new leadership: one of the most famous businesswomen in Asia, Sung-Joo Kim.

As the Plaza in New York City completed their renovations this winter, MCM moved in their first American shop in decades. We headed right down to 58th and Fifth Avenue to check out the exciting new store, which has already been visited by Heidi Klum and Ivanka Trump!

If you haven't heard of Elezar yet, we're not going to scold you -- but we are going to fix the problem.

We don't know how they've stayed so under-the-radar with a list of celebrity fans that includes:

• Kristen Bell
• Mischa Barton
• Hillary Duff
• Fergie
• Demi Moore
• Natalie Portman
• Marissa Tomei
• Naomi Watts
• Rachel Bilson

We love the inventive, stylish design of this tote bag, especially the basket-weave at the base, The Vivi Tote. It features two external open pockets, 1 internal zip pocket, a removeable strap, two Internal open pockets and comes in at 13.5'W x 14'H. The softly shaped, elegant Italian bag is totally vegan and biodegradable.

Elezar's designers are childhood friends Esther Barron and Julie Lazarus, and they have stores all over the country. The Vivi Tote retails online at $408.

Thanks, Lora Chio, for the tip about Elezar!

We set out to create a list of the top ten best handbags of 2008. After featuring so many amazing bags on our Handbag of the Day column, it became clear that we would have to expand this to twenty, and create a whole separate list of clutches.

The twenty bags featured in this gallery represent the best styles, the hottest colors, and the boldest designers of 2008. This year was all about bright and shiny. Metallics were seen all over, as were luscious shades of patent leather and unusual, new shapes. Prepare to be awed - and check and see if you picked up on one of this year's trends!

For more information about each item in the gallery, including the pictured Chloe handbag, click on the price.

We at Luxist always strive to bring you the loveliest things in the world. One object of desire we can't get enough of is the clutch purse.

Here is a gallery of the top 12 most fascinating, original, and exciting clutch purses of 2008. This year we saw a return to glitz and glamor, with many bejeweled bags lined in dark velvets and satins. Smaller trends included feathers and art deco inspired design. Click on the prices in the gallery to see full descriptions of the items.

Our one repeat offender (or delighter) in the clutch purse top 12 was Fendi, and so we'll give them our main photo. Here you see the Fendi Peacock Evening "To You" Bag, an unbelievable find worth a small fortune of $1,680. Although we weren't sure about this look back in January, this bag proved to be a trendsetter in material and style.

This delicious little shoulder bag by Fendi, the Pouchette Shoulder Bag is new and only available for pre-order.

The bag is small, just 8.5" by 5", and the "pouched" effect is meticulously crafted to give it dimension and style.

The strap itself is jewelry; a 7" drop with heart charm accents. This season it's all right to wear contrasting metals, so don't worry if you don't have anything to match the exact shade of yellow gold; try copper or white gold to complement it.

The bag is made exclusively in a dark blue, one of this season's hottest accessory colors. Dark blue may seem like a difficult color to manage as an accessory; it can clash with denim and look sloppy with a little black dress. Not to worry, this season, you'll find printed dresses with this color in the pattern and you can always pair it with gray.

Available from Saks Fifth Avenue, $410.

This lovely violet clutch is the Marc Jacobs Flower Suede Secret Girl Bag.

This dainty, 9.5"x7", canvas lined purse adds softness and intelligence to any outfit. Purple is a neutral this season, and this piece can be carried with colors as well as with gray or black.

The Art Deco-inspired silver and genuine amethyst detail on the goatskin and calfskin gives this piece just the right amount of sparkle without going overboard. The bag is whimsical and feminine without being frivolous.

The Marc Jacobs Flower Suede Secret Girl Bag is available from Saks for $995.

This is the Index of Happiness Tote, designed by artist Donald Baechler and accessory designers Richard Lambertson and John Truex.

The tote, available only to American Express cardmembers (call 1-866-558-3072), takes a classic Lambertson Truex design and adds original artwork, one of this season's most delightful and exciting accessory trends.

This artwork from Donald Baechler goes to benefit the art of others; 15% of the purchase price of each bag will be donated to the Whitney Museum of American Art's Photography Program, Collection, and Special Exhibitions.

The bag is suede, trimmed in Italian leather, and accented with plaids that complement Baechler's work. The inside of the bag features a blue leather patch signed by all three design contributors personally, as well as additional artwork by Baechler. The bag can be yours for an even $1,000.

Luc Bags is an online retailer who brings Buenos Aires' unique style to you without the shipping nightmare. They import the bags themselves and ship free to anywhere in the United States from their California headquarters.

The bags are elegant and functional, and carefully chosen so as not to overwhelm the consumer with too many similar-looking pieces. It is easy to fall in love with Luc Bags.
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Started by a North-and-South-American romance of another kind, Luc Bags is run by husband and wife team Constanza Brotfeld, a native South American, and Rence Winetrout, a native North American. Constanza hand-picks the designs herself, and we think you'll find she has excellent taste. See the gallery below for some of our favorites.

Roxana Zal, who at age 14 was the youngest person ever to win a Primetime Emmy (for Something About Amelia, 1984), is all grown up and has her own line of luxury handbags and accessories.

The line, called ONE OCTOBER, uses salmon skin instead of leather to create classic pieces with a funky edge.

Says ONE OCTOBER (the team includes her longtime friend Naomi Stokeld):

"By incorporating salmon skin into our designs we have created a collection that environmentally conscious consumers can feel positive about carrying. Most exotic leathers are obtained from skins of endangered species. Salmon skin is only an industrial residue from the farmed salmon industry but it is considered "exotic" leather. By using salmon leather, ONE OCTOBER aims to deliver high fashion and quality, in an environmentally sustainable way."

The result, as you can see above, is chic and green. The Joanna Clutch, above, retails at $324 and has been seen carried by Shannon Doherty. Click below to browse the rest of the new ONE OCTOBER line, including a special item for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

[via Stylephile]

Luxury handbag maker Coach came in with relatively strong numbers for their fiscal fourth quarter but are still feeling gloomy. Although Coach's fourth quarter profit rose 33% the company has predict that the continued consumer cautiousness in the U.S. will reach well into 2009. As Marketwatch indicates, Coach joins other retailers in predicting reduced spending even among luxury shoppers. The company is planning to go ahead with opening more stores (around 40 North American stores and at least six U.S. factory outlets) but Chief Executive Lew Frankfort said in an interview that the company will introduce products with higher material and labor costs at prices lower than they would have charged during more rosy economic times. This move may spur consumer interest but it will also eat into Coach's bottom line. The company is also planning increased expansion into Japan and China where the demand for Coach is on the rise.

Coach stock has taken a big hit too, the shares have lost more than two-fifths of their value in the past 12 months.

Nordstrom has a bit of this and that -- uptown to downtown, and great shoes. But did you know that it also has a "Designer Collections" shop on its site? I just discovered its handbag shop. As I write, there are 195 designer handbags offered, in brands that include Burberry, D&G, Kooba, Roberto Cavalli, Versace and a select few others. Fall styles are out -- get shopping! And/or see the gallery * for a few styles I picked at random.

* Note: Gallery pictures open to full size once you click on them.

Balenciaga is well known for creating avant-garde bags, their designs are always on the cutting edge of fashion and as far as quality, their extraordinary craftsmanship is unsurpassed. This chic new Balenciaga shoulder bag is so refreshing and different. I love the interesting combination of both black and tan leather. The straps are comprised of buckles, a creative twist on the usual use of hardware. Available online exclusively from matchesfashion.com for $2,400.