As a photographer for fashion magazines such as Mademoiselle and Surface, Monika Botkier spotted a niche that was still uncovered in the fashion design world: approachable designer creations. Always in search for the perfect bag, Monika ended up by creating her own line of handbags, which were a happy marriage between style and functionality. Her downtown Manhattan style made this first handbags collection a success, although when she started, she only wanted to make those bags for her personal use. Actually, Monika did create a few purses for her personal use, but many women in her entourage expressed their interest in buying such handbags, so she started considering this more seriously. From here to the international recognition Botkier has managed to acquire in 2007 when she became a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, there was only one more step, translated in passion, creativity and hard work. Fashion magazines like Glamour, Vogue, Marie Claire or InStyle published articles about Botkier handbags and shoes collections and even featured them on the front cover.

After seven years of building her reputation in the fashion accessories industry, in January 2010 Monika Botkier opened her first flagship store in New York, in NoLIta district. In designing her boutique, she collaborated with interior designer Valerie Pasquiou for creating a modern and sophisticated atmosphere. Cool and chic, Botkier handbags are luxurious without being expensive, “an independent brand that marries luxury with utility” as Monika herself states on the Botkier website. Indeed the prices are in the $500 range, way less than what we’ve been used to when we talk about designer handbags.

Many celebrities such as Beyonce, Halle Berry or Megan Fox were spotted wearing Botkier creations.

Botkier Bags Collections

Here are the latest creations, covering various bag types such as satchel, hobo, crossbody, shoulder, tote or clutch. Detailed reviews of many bags in these product lines will make subjects for separate articles and will be published as we manage to write them.

Venice: 

Botkier Venice crossbody clutch

Rio:

Botkier Rio Tote Bag

Dion

Harper

Howard:

Botkier Howard Street Satchel Bag

Brooklyn

Logan

Botkier Logan Satchel

Noa

Aiden

Tao

James

Sasha

Trigger

Sydney

Uma

Gianni is a suede leather bag belonging to the new Lena Erziak line for spring and summer 2010. The natural leather handles in contrasting colors and the hand sewn stitches are two of the details that make this bag turn heads on the street. The front pockets with snap closure are cute, but they are rather small, so there's not too much one can put inside them other than some change or some bus tickets. Nonetheless, their shape is nice and it adds a touch of youth to this handbag. As usual, Gianni has a fully lined interior.

Bag size: 17" x 9" x 4"

Colors available: blue suede and purple suede

Price: $575

Luigi is part of the Lena Erziak spring-summer 2010 collection, which is the second one issued by this young fashion house with the headquarters in New York City. Luigi is a shoulder bag, but it also has cut out handles, so it can be worn as a handbag, if needed. The bag is made of grey python print leather with golden hardware. The outside front pocket features a coin purse clasp closure, which gives the bag a retro, vintage look. The python leather is glssy and stylish, but I'm not so sure I like the front pocket very much.

The interior of the bag is fully lined and it has a hidden change pocket and a key organizer. Actually these features are common for most bags in this Lena Erziak collection.

Colors are one of the strongest points of Lena Erziak handbags. Fuchsia or magenta is extremely fashionable this year when it comes to clothing and fashion accessories such as shoes or bags. Romeo belongs to the summer 2010 collection of Lena Erziak and it is an oversize tote that can accommodate all a girl needs to carry around with her.

The bag is made of high-quality python printed leather and it features adjustable handles, thus offering a custom fit, which is an innovation for this type of handbags. It's always nice to be able to customize a handbag's handles according to your size and preferences, so it's one more reason to love this bag and to want to have it in your personal collection.

Romeo has a beautifully rounded shape, nicely evidentiated by the hand sewn stitching bordering seams which contrast with the bag color. The interior of the bag is crafted with the same care and attention for detail as the exterior: fully lined, with a key organizer and a hidden change pocket, it makes this bag very handy. The golden hardware and the signature tassel give this bag an exquisite, original look. The only color available is magenta.

Bag size: 15" x 18" x 4"

Bag price: $856

What makes Lena Erziak bags so special? Well, they are modern, colorful, elegant and extremely practical, the perfect choice for the modern New York woman, discerning and confident, who strives for something unique in her looks, because she really wants to make a difference. Lena Erziak handbags offer all these qualities and even more: a timeless elegance which makes them a classic and refined line of fashion and clothing accessories. All Lena Erziak bags are handmade in Florence, Italy, only from carefully selected, finest leather and using high quality accessories. The attention for detail is visible in the impeccable finish of these bags, both at the exterior and at the interior. Florence artisans surely know very well their trade, as well as the Erziak sisters, Leona and Hasna know how to cover the needs of the modern woman who needs to accommodate a lot of items in her bag, from the lipstick and the keys to her Blackberry, digital camera and perhaps a book or two, or even a netbook. Lena Erziak everyday bags are stylish, yet roomy and well-compartmented, therefore perfect. Tiny details like the built-in key chain are inspired from real life, in which we all know how hard it can be in some situations to quickly find an item in your purse.

We are going to take a glimpse into the new 2010 Spring collection of bags, which seems very promising and which is soon going to be available in their Stella Filante downtown New York boutique, as well as in high-end specialty boutiques and department stores all over the US.

Lena Erziak 2010 Spring Collection

For 2010, Leona and Hasna expressed their creativity in a line of 15 styles of bags made of various materials such as suede, leather, python and ostrich, all of finest quality. Taking into consideration the excellent finish and quality of the Lena Erziak spring 2010 handbags, the price range of US $350 – US $980 is not as high as it may appear at first glance. These bags are really competitive at the highest standards, a level at which bag designers launch their creations at prices averaging several thousands dollars. Besides, most of these bags are true keepers, as they fall into the timeless fashion segment, so they would probably become vintage after a number of years. With a sense of fashion trends and a bit of luck, buying future vintage bags can be a good investment. But now let’s stop day dreaming and go back to our spring-summer 2010 collection. Here are a few of the most representative bags:

Alessandro

An eye-catching carryall, Alessandro is a beautiful bag, elegant and still large enough for fitting a lot of items inside. It falls in the $800 - $1000 price range. The two front pockets feature hand sewn stitches and the belted opening creates the illusion of a small bag.

The Alessandro bags are available in a few versions:

• Big size, red python print leather – price $979
• Small size, red python print leather – price $862
• Small size, ostrich leather, blue color – price $5750 (well, ostrich is not such a common bird, so prices are higher for this kind of leather goods)

Davide

Davide is a small shoulder bag featuring a classy stud detailing and adjustable shoulder strap and a signature tassel. It is available in black or purple leather and in saffron suede.

Davide is a cute bag, suitable for a fancy dinner or a cocktail party.

Price: $453

Elio

Elio is an oversized tote bag which looks amazingly good and which can really host a lot of stuff inside. Its handles are a combination of chain and leather, strong enough to resist even when the bag is fully loaded (provided that you don’t carry stones around). Elio is available in gold or fuchsia suede or in black leather and it costs $777.

Other bags in the Lena Erziak 2010 collection:

• Romeo
• Luigi
• Alessio
• Sandro
• Andrea
• Enzo
• Lucca
• Gianni
• Valentino
• Jepetto
• Paolo
• Amadeo

A bit of fashion history

Balenciaga, the well-known fashion house, started as a small Couture shop in San Sebastian, Spain. Its founder, Cristobal Balenciaga, has shown an interest in fashion since the young age of 13, an age when most boys only care about their toys. By the time Balenciaga opened his first shop, he was 16 years old, aiming to adapt the Parisian style for women in Spain. That came as the natural result of the visit Balenciaga did in France, where he became aware of the most popular French designers fashion collections of that time.

The first fashion house that was actually called Balenciaga was born in 1915, in San Sebastian, then in 1920, the second one came to life, this time in Madrid. Then Cristobal Balenciaga moved to Paris when the civil war started in Spain. That’s somehow logical: what would a fashion designer do in the middle of a war? In Paris, he opened his fashion house in the year 1937 and since then, he contributed with significant innovations to the way women looked in their clothes. Ten years later, he created his first perfume, Le Dix, which is the French for 10, the street number of his showroom’s address in Paris.

In the 1990s, the Balenciaga house got a huge increase in popularity, thanks to the creations of Nicholas Ghesquiere, who joined them as creative director. The House of Balenciaga was acquired by Gucci Group in 2001, in partnership with Nicholas Ghesquiere and they are now creating ready-to-wear clothes for women and men, as well as shoes, bags and other accessories. During its life, the Balenciaga house dressed many celebrities and VIPs such as the Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor and two queens: the one of Spain and the one of Belgium. Balenciaga bags are appreciated by celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Sarah Jessica Parker, or Lindsay Lohan.

Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag – The Flagship of the Collection

Modern, powerful and yet feminine, the Balenciaga Motorcycle is a rectangular bag with rounded edges, so elegant and yet so big, that it can easily accommodate a lot of items. The bag is available in three sizes, small medium and large, it has two rolled handles, a removable shoulder strap and a few of those fancy signature leather tassels. This handbag is one of the few that come with a matching cosmetic mirror. That’s a really nice detail that can make a big difference for a woman.

The Motorcycle bags line includes the following variations: La Dix Motorcycle, Twiggy Motorcycle and Overnight Motorcycle, the last one belonging rather to the tote type of bags.

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Bags Are Us is a designer handbags magazine which publishes original reviews of the newest designer purses as well as of older models of bags which may not be available anymore in current collections.

Bags Are Us is very young, therefore you may not be able to find information about your favorite bag designers or about your favorite bags yet. Nonetheless, our intention is to publish several articles a day, so we can catch up with the fashion world in the shortest time.

The website is organized in four distinct sections:

Bags by designer:

Here you'll going to find a brief history and overview of each fashion designer, plus reviews of their creations and news from worldwide fashion events. Occasionally, we are going to publish photos of celebrities wearing designer bags.

Bags by type:

This section is designed for providing you a quick overview of all reviews of a certain type of bag, which may be part of the collections of multiple designers. As such, if you're interested in hobo bags, you won't have to search within the whole website or to browse through all designer bags until you find the hobo you wanted to read about.

Bags by price:

This section doesn't need further explanations. If you're seeking to buy a new bag, it will be helpful to look directly into the price category that makes your wallet happy.

Bags by occasion:

This section will enable you to quickly find all articles featuring bags for a certain occasion, be it a business meeting, a cocktail party or a sports training session.

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