Toronto Fashion Week has just wrapped up, and we've seen some exciting new pieces from its home-grown designers - particularly in the accessories section of the shows! The mad handbags pictured above are by Cydelic by Choryin; the label of designer Choryin Choi, and a newcomer to The Bag Lady. But if these imaginative pieces are anything to go by, we can imagine we'll be keeping a close eye on what Choryn does next!
Choryin uses feathers, beading and what looks very much like randomly-sourced foliage to decorate his bags, which are slightly animal-shaped and remind us a little bit of armadillos. They are the perfect accompaniment to his futuristic garments, and his models' sci-fi styling shown here on the Toronto runway.
[Images: GETTY]
Louis Vuitton's monogram Artsy is a Bag Lady favourite that's got us excited about hobos all over again. As bags have begun to take on more structure and embrace more rigid vintage style trappings, it's easy to forget the simplicity and practical ease of a hobo - and this style reminds us why we still love them!
Like the YSL Roady, the Artsy has a sturdy yet flexible leather-coated strap, short enough to look neat and streamlined without compromising practicality. The hardware is gold and chunky, very much in keeping with our obsession with oversized hardware. There is a slimline leather bungee cord to keep your keys and other valuables safe at all times.
The Artsy made its debut in LV's spring/summer collection last year, but it's a style we don't expect to see disappearing in a hurry. It's a refined style that is great for everyday use and will add a note of classic style to your look.
£1,150 at Louis Vuitton
TV presenter Laura Whitmore opted for a leopard luxe look when she rocked up at the Q Awards last night, and her arm candy of choice was this tote bag from Boden. This is a great example of a bag that can be worn every day, while also accompanying you to your more dressed-up evening events - including any red carpet award ceremonies you happen to have got penciled in!
Large, slouchy and highly practical, you can use this bag to carry heavier items such as laptops and large folders in comfortable style. We're sure we could ram a few pairs of shoes and hair straighteners in there too if we were on a serious day-to-night mission! Good all-purpose bag at a great price.
£149 at Boden
One exciting design collaboration we've had to keep a lid on for a while here at The Bag Lady is the new range from
Radley and the
V&A Museum; famous for its iconic patterns and prints. Radley has now brought out a series of bags and accessories made up in their own re-workings of the prints, and the results are beautiful - definitely more striking when seen in real life.
One of the bags from the 'Champagne Bubbles' collection with a swatch of the re-worked print
Taking inspiration from classic V&A prints 'Dancing Ladies' 'Champagne Bubbles' and the William Morris design 'Wey', the prints provide a wonderfully decorative look to some of Radley's most popular bags. The colours really appear to glow, making for ideal winter outerwear that's guaranteed to combat the gloom!
Wey Small cross-body bag: £149 at Radley
The great thing about this range is that as well as benefiting from a vast wealth of British design talent, it has the benefit of Radley's enviably soft leather; a combination we find difficult to resist! Each bag is also monogrammed by the new, relatively discreet gold toned Radley Scottie - tres chic. We're hoping that some of these pieces might be put in the 'generous Christmas present' categories by our relatives and friends...
See the full collection of V&A and Radley collaboration bags here!
Topshop is doing a good line in decorative laptop cases at the moment, which is great news for anyone who doesn't want to pay more for the sleeve than for the gadget itself - or resort to a computer-shop standard carrier!
For just £15, you can pick up an embossed paisley laptop case or a patent red and leopard print laptop case, both perfectly attuned to this season's trends so your tech won't cramp your style.
We love the paradoxically vintage feel of these bags, which will take your look back to a time when a notebook had nothing but pages and a spine.
£15 at Topshop
A bit of an announcement for you today!
Things have been busier than ever behind the scenes here at The Bag Lady lately, and we can now reveal that there are big changes afoot: our parent company Aigua Media is about to give all of its sites a dramatic makeover, and we plan to mark the occasion in suitably glamorous style.
Having worked our socks off to get the launch under way, the team here at Aigua is looking forward to letting our hair down for one night only at an exclusive venue in Central London. That night is Wednesday 2nd November, and we'd like one reader to take on the task of covering the event for us: in other words acting as our official guest blogger for the night - taking advantage of our hospitality for the night while mingling with our VIP guests.
This is a fabulous opportunity for anyone who wants to make it big in the dynamic world of fashion blogging, and in return we'll offer you exclusive coverage of our industry event. No other bloggers are being invited (not even those who've crossed the boundary into full-on media stardom), so you'll be the only one to get the scoop.
Enter the competition here!
If I spotted this little trinket on someone's finger, I'd assume they'd got their folksy little Twitter bird ring from a local craft fair, or perhaps even knocked it up at home. It certainly wouldn't enter my mind that they could have spent a grand and a half on it, or that it was made from 18-karat gold.
But all of that would be true, as the premium accessory has been fashioned from seriously heavyweight materials by Solonge Azagury; a designer we generally admire. There is definitely room for quirky jewellery out there, but this one just doesn't hit the spot - and all the gold in the world isn't going to change our minds!
£1,540 at Net-a-Porter
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