at theStyleGroup

		The Hermes Birkin tops The Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbags. A feeding frenzy for this particular accessory has reached such heights that similar crocodile-skin models were offered in the US for as much as $80,000. But even if you’ve got the money to spend, there’s a waiting list. The bag’s manufacturer, Hermès, wrings its hands and apologises that demand for its leather goods is so high that there is a waiting list of up to nine months for finished items.
		Number Two on The Style Group Top Ten Luxury Handbags list is The Kelly bag, named after the Princess Grace of Monaco. Only a few products – like a Chanel haute couture suit or an Hermes Kelly  bag – may remain an unattainable dream for the majority of fashionistas.
		Silvia Fendi worked in collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld to embellish the trademark Fendi handbag– the baguette–Number 3 on The Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbags list. Fendi crafted a mosaic of purses, which came out for the first time in the 1999 fall/winter collection.
		Our pick for Number 4 on The Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbagslist is this Louis Vuitton and Japanese artist Takashi Murakamicreation–a hip new bag for the young at heart. What an original idea–the classic logo updated in playful colors! Expected for the Spring/Summer Collection.
		The Style Group picks this Balenciaga handbag as our Number 5 pick onThe Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbags. If you find one, grab it! This great new “motorcycle” handbag from Balenciaga is extremely hard to get your hands on!
		Always the quintissential luxury statement, Dior makes The Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbags list with this elegantly understated and brilliantly designed bag! John Galliano, Dior’s successor, follows his predecessor’s style with an equally flawless number–blending today’s freedom of expression with the reminiscence of an opulent past.
		There will always be a Prada on The Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbags list and this new one is modern, quirky and has perhaps the most hip style available. As you know, Prada bags continue to be the most imitated fashion accessories in recent years.
		The Style Group picks this large-topped handle bag in black satin and feathers with bamboo handle as our Number 8 pick on our  Top Ten Luxury Handbags list. The signature style is from “One of the first status labels”, Gucci!
		The Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbags includes the Bottega Veneta Tote bag at Number 9. Perfect for those with the need to be chic! As with all Bottega Veneta products, it’s masterfully constructed.
		The Style Group’s Top Ten Luxury Handbags would be remiss without aTOD’S entry on our list! The Tod’s brand has exploded in the past two years with the products being coveted by the most influential people world-wide. How about that!

  

by Vanessa Friedman at FT.com

Q: When is a hand bag not just a handbag ?

A: When it is also a piece of high jewellery and a sculptural object.

It seems to me the idea of anyone actually carrying a handbag worth €1.5m  and made of intertwining chains covered in 11,000 diamonds, or a rose gold  version of the Kelly bag with crocodile scales and 1,160 diamonds is a little  nuts, and I mentioned this to Patrick Thomas, the CEO of the brand. He  laughed.

 The crocodile skin and diamond Hermès bag (photo by  Dan Tobin Smith)

“We are a little crazy here,” he said.

Then I asked Mr Hardy whom he thought would buy the handbags. “I have no  idea,” he announced. He seemed to think this was very funny. “But maybe they  will have two bodyguards!”

I have no doubt the bags will be bought — if recent history proves anything,  it’s that the crazier and more extravagant the luxury object, the more there’s a  market for it — but it was also nice, I have to say, to hear a brand talk about  their products without announcing they were planned for “the Asian market” or “the American market”, or any other sort of highly researched demographic.  Hermès had made the bags, it seems, because the design idea was very Hermès and  because they wanted to see if they could (it took two years to develop and they  can only make three versions of each).

The Louis Vuitton bag (photo by Vanessa Friedman)

As it happens this is not the first time a brand has unveiled a high  jewellery handbag. Louis Vuitton’s high jewellery launch in January featured a  round ball of a handbag with the LV monogram picked out in an eye-boggling  number of brown and white diamonds. (Jewellery has become such an important  extension for the brand that they are opening their first stand-alone jewellery  store on Place Vendôme in Paris this spring.

I had the same reaction then I had to the Hermès bags: giggling in disbelief. “No!” I said. “Yes!” said the LV jewellery folks, delighted. They met my  disbelief with the same equanimity as the Hermès execs: “make it and they will  buy” pretty much sums up their position.

I guess you can sort of see the equation:

handbags (enormously popular luxury  accessory) x fine jewellery (super-exclusive one-off design with commodity  investment potential) = must-have object

So that makes two examples of this crazy idea. One more, and we’ll have a  trend on our hands. Or our arms, to be exact.

  

By KIRA SCHLECHTER at Pennlive.com

After the fashion insanity that was the Grammys, the Academy Awards were a welcome sight for sore eyes. Even though the safe evening garb favored by the Hollywood elite at the Oscars is much more “red carpet” than “runway,” it still winds up being the most talked-about fashion event of the year.

This year’s red carpet was no different, but many of the stars did sport some current trends to great effect: long sleeves, modest cuts, bold colors, and even peplums. White and other paler shades continued to dominate over black, and strapless silhouettes were less dominant.

Oscars 2012: On the red carpet

                                     

There were, as usual, hits and misses. Here were our choices, in no particular order:

Viola Davis: The star of “The Help” looked fabulous in daringly decollete, perfectly tailored emerald green taffeta Vera Wang, gorgeously draped and pleated at the train. It went perfectly with her beautiful red cropped hair and dazzlingly huge diamond and emerald drop earrings.

Rooney Mara: The reed-slender “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is the best thing to hit the red carpet in ages. Her low-cut, modernist, minimalist white Givenchy — with its winged bodice, lacy straps and draped, banded back — was outstanding. Perhaps even better was her equally modern glistening raven hair, scraped into a tight bun with her trademark heavy bangs. Her only accessories were her scarlet lips and razor-sharp cheekbones — she wore no jewelry whatsoever.

Michelle Williams: There was so much to love about this one. Williams shone in a bold color: a strapless coral-red Louis Vuitton with a peplum and a fuller skirt. Her short, gleaming blond pixie cut, diamond choker and a diamond bow brooch at the waist matched perfectly. She chose her new-fave red lip as well. She looked demure, adorable and wonderful.

Octavia Spencer: In keeping with her recent red-carpet track record, Spencer again wore a gown that was so nicely appropriate for her age and figure. This time it was a cap-sleeved, beaded ivory Tadashi Shoji (her go-to designer), with a modest neckline and a sharply defined waist. Her simple, shiny updo was equally elegant and understated.

Melissa McCarthy: She went for a romantic peachy-nude chiffon Marina Rinaldi gown edged in silver beading. Not sure if the gathered bodice was the best choice considering her ample bust, but the Empire waist and the billowing three-quarter sleeves definitely were. As was her gorgeous, intricate hairstyle that enhanced her natural curls.

Berenice Bejo: With her lustrous red hair in almost a dual ‘do (a tight braid encircling the front of her head and a bun at the back), Bejo was a standout in a long-sleeved, lacy mint-green Elie Saab gown. Just as delicate as a cobweb. She nailed two trends — color and long sleeves — and her emerald drop earrings were the icing on the cake.

Jessica Chastain: The red-carpet newcomer looked more like Jessica Rabbit in a black strapless Alexander McQueen, heavily embroidered in gold and copper that poured from the bust to below her waist. Her gentle red waves and cat-eye black eyeliner added to the drama, and her small jewels let the gown carry the day. It was a lot of dress but she carried it well.

Rose Byrne: She was stunning in a long, skinny slink of sequined deep-blue Vivienne Westwood, one-shouldered and backless. Her slick bob boasted bangs and an interesting side part. Byrne’s makeup was subtle, enhancing her superb bone structure. Quietly, but very hot.

Gwyneth Paltrow: Even when Gwynnie is not nominated, she can kill with her impeccable style and willingness to take risks. She chose a one-shouldered white Tom Ford Grecian gown, starkly simple, with a long cape draped over her shoulders. It was a huge fashion risk but it worked because it was so “fashion.” Her low-slung ponytail and golden skin were the perfect minimal accents.

Emma Stone: Who says redheads can’t wear red? When it’s one-shouldered with a dramatic bow, simple detailing and a soft skirt — by Giambattista Valli — heck yes. Her hair was side-parted and twisted into a coiled bun, and her porcelain skin just glowed against the strong shade.

Jennifer Lopez: Well, there has to be a worst, and J. Lo’s was it. The Zuhair Murad gown was just too, too much — the low cut, the open sleeves, the gold stripes (or transparent, hard to tell which), the dipping back. Subtlety is not her thing, obviously. Her overly done hair was another strike against her. She looked like she was just trying too hard, either to be noticed or to look younger.

Glenn Close: Could the acting legend please take some style lessons from Dame Helen Mirren, who knows how to sex it up tastefully, even at a “certain age.” She wore strapless deep green Zac Posen, which had potential, but put a matching blazer over it. Why? Was she headed to some office afterward? Her blond hair, though, was done in soft, sultry waves, which helped matters a little.

bonus video : 84th Academy Awards 2012 Oscars fashion in review best & worst dress by MegaCarameldiva

  

Theatrical, magical and unforgettable – these epithets could be called the latest Alexander McQueen fashion house “McQ” collection, presented on Monday at London Fashion Week. The media declares that this fashion show was a love story – love, A. McQueen and great love of the true regular British style. On the catwalk king military-style green olive and blue coats and jackets, contrasted with the ultra feminine dresses.

Chose a collection of locally produced fabrics – wool, velvet, checkered material, knitting, felt, and skin. Men fashion designers offering excellent cut military-style jackets and coats, leather kilt and shirt.
Last on the podium of the United States model Kristen McMenamin, clothed in richly decorated with white lace wedding dress blowing.

  

It was just a year before when we first launched this magazine starting like “Dear Readers let us wish You a Happy Valentine’s Day, especially for You who have reason to do, and hope all of You have one.” You have of course, the best of our wishes for the day. In this year we have Your kind feedback and Your lovely support. You like it and we still continue.

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