This fall, there’s a good chance you might not be going anywhere but to and from the grocery store. So it doesn’t make sense to haul a sack full of the usual useless things you cart around in your purse (makeup is so 2019, and no one is accepting coins these days, anyway). This season’s must-have handbags are therefore elegantly compact.
Valentino Garavani VLogo
Valentino Garavani offers up the perfect pandemic purse, a nod to the fact that we really don’t need much of anything right now except the barest essentials.
This chain wallet bag—pint-sized at only six inches tall and just shy of nine inches wide—includes a detachable shoulder strap and two inside compartments—perfect for a couple of credit cards and your driver’s licence should you get ID’d buying yet another bottle of wine this week.
Image courtesy of Valentino Garavani.
The Valentino Garavani is available in Vancouver at Holt Renfrew and online at Holtrenfrew.com
Michael Kors Soho
Although we don’t expect to be travelling to New York anytime soon, Michael Kors’ new Michael Soho bag takes us there with its mashup of uptown (quilted leather) and downtown (push-lock closure and metallic hardware) details.
Image courtesy of Michael Kors.
As we head into social groups of no more than six, this little bag adds just the right amount of elegance to the perfect LBD. Conversely, pair it with jeans and a T-shirt; its chain-link strap means you can wear it hands-free for better walking, biking, and just generally moving so we’re not all stir crazy come the next lockdown.
Soho bags arrived September 8 at Metropolis at Metrotown and CF Richmond Centre, or find them online at Michaelkors.ca
Roots City Side Saddle
Few know that Roots leather comes from the same venerated Italian tanneries as many high-end brands, but such is the benefit of having almost 50-year-old business partnerships already in place. Roots then brings the leather back to Canada to craft its handbags, where each piece passes through the hands of more than 10 artisans.
Image courtesy of Roots.
This year’s new releases feature jewel-tone colours such as the City Side Saddle in Bordeaux Cervino, which also offers crossbody functionality for hands-free ease.
The Roots City Side Saddle is available this September in local Roots stores and online at Roots.com
Gucci Jackie 1961
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis, one of the great style icons of the last century, once sported the world’s first fashion hobo bag. Originally designed by Gucci as a unisex bag in the 1950s, this slouchy handbag only attained it status—and the handle The Jackie—when the First Lady wore it on her arm in 1961.
Today, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele reimagines the iconic purse for fall/winter 2020 in resized mini, small, and medium versions for both men and women. The bag’s clean lines focus attention on the unique piston closure and the leather options, from black and white to candy hues of light blue, lilac, and soft pink, while the longer removable strap offers a new changeable personality.
Image courtesy of Gucci.
The Jackie 1961 officially launched in-store and online as part of the fall/winter 2020 collection this past Wednesday.
The Jackie 1961 is available in Vancouver in the Gucci boutique, and online at Gucci.ca
Fendi Peekaboo
While some of us have been perfecting our TikTok moves and silently screaming behind closed bathroom doors, others have been putting their time to excellent use. British fashion designer Kim Jones just signed on this week to replace the late Karl Lagerfeld as artistic director of Fendi haute couture and ready-to-wear for women—but will continue to wear his hat as artistic designer of Dior Men, as well. If there’s ever been a good time to shake off our proverbial sweatpants and clean up our act, now would be it.
Image courtesy of Fendi.
While we’ll have to wait until February’s Milan Fashion Week to see how Jones reimagines the almost 100-year-old storied Roman house’s classic looks, we can already enjoy the brand’s fall/winter 2020/21 collection. Fendi’s perennially discreet, timeless Peekaboo handbag features a new accordion frame that opens to reveal a signature deep “smile” with interchangeable inside pockets in smooth leather and precious skins. And its playful fringe offers the tiniest embellishment as our idea of fun continues to evolve.
The Peekaboo is available at the Fendi boutique in Vancouver and online at Fendi.com
Read more of our top Style picks.
