Burberry is a British luxury fashion house which became famous for its tartan check pattern. They manufacture clothing, fragrances and other fashion accessories, handbags included. The Burberry house was founded in 1856 by Thomas Burberry, who was only 21 years old by that time and who decided to open his own shop in Basingstoke, a small town in England. Thomas Burberry opened his first London store in 1891, in the Haymarket. The location is still used today as corporate headquarters for the company. Burberry is the inventor of gabardine, a water-resistant yet breathable fabric which was patented in 1888. Breathability was possible thanks to the fact that waterproofing is done upon the yarn before weaving it.

The Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo

The Burberry Equestrian Knight logo was developed and registered as a trademark in 1901. It contained the Latin “Prosum” which means forwards. Ten years later, Roald Amundsen literally took the Burberry logo forwards, in his successful attempt to reach the South Pole. Today, “Prorsum” is still the name of a Burberry handbags line of 11 bags, from the minuscule Feather Leather Wristlet and Feather Leather Sling Bag, to the Alligator bags which include the Baby Alligator Leather Tote Bag, the Suede Leather Tote Bag with Alligator trims and the Alligator Leather Tote which costs nothing less than $22,195.

The Burberry “Check”

What we know today as the “trench coat” was initially the military officers’ coat adapted by Burberry in 1914 to better suit the war conditions of that age. Civilians adopted this fashion after the war and it soon became so popular that it was featured in movies like Casablanca: who doesn’t remember Humphrey Bogart wearing that famous trench coat with the iconic Burberry check? The famous Burberry check is a black, tan and red pattern, initially used only for the lining of clothing items, then extended to umbrellas, purses, scarves and luggage. After the success of this pattern, Burberry launched two more: the Novacheck, aimed at younger target, and the diamond pattern.

Bags that feature the check pattern:

• Burberry Studded Check Shopper Handbag
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The Burberry Outlet Chain

Burberry is by definition an UK fashion house, but this didn’t stop them from opening boutiques all across the USA, from Aspen, Atlanta, Austin or Beverly Hills to New York City, Washington, Philadelphia or Minneapolis. They also run operations in Asia.

Shopping for a Burberry Bag for Less

A Burberry bag will always be perfect to the smallest detail. Burberry is a high-end, top quality brand, therefore they keep their standards at a very high level. Although no authentic Burberry purse comes cheap, it is possible to find some of them discounted, especially during sales seasons. Make sure to check the Sales section on the Burberry website, as they offer a lot of clothing and accessories at heavily discounted prices. Counterfeit Burberry handbags are quite widespread, therefore it’s not advisable to buy so-called authentic purses in places like the China Town in New York or from non-trusted sellers on eBay.

Founded by Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro in 1966, Bottega Veneta is a luxury leather goods designer and manufacturer based in Northeastern Italy, in Vicenza. The company was acquired by Gucci in 2001, since then being a subsidiary of Gucci Group. The line of handbags, shoes and belts that made Bottega Veneta famous was the Intrecciato woven leather. This leather goods line is still in vogue today, but models are, of course, different than the original ones. The Bottega Veneta Ready-to-Wear clothing collection was introduced by the British designer Giles Deacon, and it was the company’s first step on the way of claiming their position in the luxury segment of the fashion ware market. After Gucci bought the company, they appointed the German designer Tomas Maier creative director for the leather goods division.

The fashion design company has boutiques in Italy, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, Guam, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Kuwait, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

Bottega Veneta managed to capture so many hearts (and wallets) with their simple yet elegant line, with their light-toned natural colors and with their obsession for detail. One of the noticeable features is that they label their bags on the inside, not on the outside like most handbags designers do. Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman are among Bottega Veneta’s clients.

Bottega Veneta Bags for Spring Summer 2010

The Spring-Summer 2010 season brings a lot of color and amazing combinations that make decisions very hard to make when one wants to buy only one-two purses. Many of these new handbags are so cute that choice is really hard to make. This new collection uses a lot the intreciatto details leather that made Bottega Veneta famous, as in the following purses:

• Cigar Gladiola Yolk Intrecciato Acquarello (color combination of yellow, purple, brown; price: $1750)
• Orchid Intrecciato Nappa Bag (color: purple; price: $980)
• Paille Shiny Calf Cabat (color: paille; price: $7800 – available only with pre-order)
• Orchid Paille Intreccio Sfrangiato Nappa Aquatre Bag (color combination: purple with paille accents; price: $3250)
• Cigar Ivory Moro Tie-Dye Nappa Umbria Bag (colors: brown and ivory; price: $7850)

Other handbags feature other interesting leather patterns, like this Cigar Origami Plume Leather Tejus bag which really looks like a big brown origami. However, at $8500, it can’t be just origami made of Japanese paper, it has to contain some damn fine leather.

This new collection of bags and purses from Bottega Veneta features also a series of crocodile leather bags. They are interesting, but one can’t buy them online for two reasons. First, they can be bought only with pre-order (that’s good for the crocodiles, not to be killed if there’s no real interest in these purses). Second, I doubt people are willing to pay online amounts that exceed $20,000. I’m not yet prepared to spend that on a bag, but if I were, I’d go to the brick and mortar shop to make the payment.