Botkier bags are not only gorgeous, they are also very functional. They seem to be designed with the user in mind, this making them appreciated by modern girls who don't have a lifetime to spend looking for items in their purses, especially when those purses are totes, which are extremely roomy by definition.

Botkier Rio is a tote bag with two exterior pockets on the sides, a bit unusual for this kind of bag, but surely useful for keeping a few things handy. The high-quality shiny leather is smooth, yet resistant. So is the logoed lining, made from a strong fabric. The expansion zippers on the sides can help you turn this bag into a generous storage space. There's plenty of room inside for an iPad or a small laptop, for instance, together with a few accessories and other personal items.

The bag is available in two colors: bronze metallic and cognac.

Bag size: 15.5” height x 15” width x 5.5” depth. The shoulder strap measures 6.5”

Botkier Rio Tote Bag price for any of the colors: $395 at Endless

Once more, Monkia Botkier proved that she created an approachable designer brand. The Howard Street satchel combines the edgy looks with the comfort and functionality of an everyday bag. The bag is made from finest quality leather, which is very soft and pleasant to the touch. Being so soft, the bag bottom is sagging a bit when you put stuff inside the bag, but this doesn't make it ugly. Well, it depends very much on personal preferences here: if you like slouchy bags, than the Howard satchel will be a great choice for you.

The Howard Satchel features two zippers which are fully functional and which can unzip completely around the bag. It's cool, you can then use the inner zipper compartment to store some of your secrets in there. On the front of the bag there are two D-rings, perfect for hanging a keychain or a small toy, if you're into that style. The tassels on the bag are removable, so in case you want to get rid of them for a while, there's no need to destroy them, you can put them back on again later.

While the leather for the black Howard Street satchel is pebbled and matte, the leather for the Cement Howard bag is smooth and quite shiny and the leather for the Espresso brown Howard is shiny and crinkly. The Natural Snake model is shiny and it replicates very well snake scales. All of them are very good looking, but I think I've fallen in love with the distressed leather of the brown bag.

The Botkier Howard Street satchel comes with an attachable strap which would allow you to wear it as a shoulder bag. For wearing it crossbody, you'll have to be very short, as the strap is not as long as needed in our opinion. Anyway, it's not a messenger bag, therefore I don't see this as a major drawback. You can buy the Botkier Howard Street satchel from Endless for $475.

Do you know what differentiates an everyday essential bag from special occasion bags? I'd say convenience is the main factor. An everyday bag should be comfortable and it should allow you to find your keys or other items in seconds. It should also match as many of your outfits as possible, so you don't have to move your items from bag to bag every day.

If you take a look at the Rebecca Minkoff Squeeze shoulder bag, you'll see that it features a lot of exterior pockets for various items and that it also has plenty of room inside. The leather is smooth and looks a bit worn, which is a very nice detail that adds to the elegance of this bag. The printed plain weave lining comes in a combination of dark blue and black, which makes things inside the bag easier to spot when you're in a hurry. The attention to detail is pushed to the extreme. All stitches are nice and even, the metallic hardware parts are discrete and some of them have intriguing pyramid shapes. The magnetic closure is firm enough to protect your belongings, yet easy to open when you need it. All four colors in which this bag is available are great: black, brown, pale gray or acqua blue, no matter which one you choose, you'll end up with a noticeable bag.

The Rebecca Minkoff Squeeze shoulder bag is 15.5” high, 14” wide and 6” deep and it has a 10” shoulder strap. You can buy it from Endless for $495 with free overnight shipping.

Like all other Isabella Fiore handbags from the Mosaic collection, Susanna features that Moroccan inspiration handcrafted intricate tile work that makes these bags stand out. In this case, the embroidery is placed on the outer front flap-patch pocket and nearby the top edge of the bag. It’s beautiful and discreet and it gives Susanna a sort of vintage look many women appreciate. This tote bag has double braided shoulder straps with 5.5” drop.

The interior is lined and the interior pockets have a nice leather trim on the edge, matching the indigo color of the exterior. The interior zip pocket is large enough and there are also two multifunctional pockets for the cell phone and the pda or for any other item you may want to easily find inside your purse.

Bag size: 17.5"W x 12.5"H x 5"D

Bag price: $395

Leila is an oversized leather hobo bag featuring a Moroccan-style intricate design with enamel beadings. The braided strap detail offers a very elegant look to this otherwise simple bag. There are two color versions of this bag: one in tan and one in indigo. All pockets of this bag are on the inside, but that’s not an issue, the bag is large enough to accommodate plenty of items. I see Leila as the perfect bag for summer days, the ideal match for casual outfits. Nonetheless, it could be a fit for business clothing as well if needed.

Bag size: 17”L x 14”H x 4.5”W

Bag price: $450

The Liz bag from Once Upon a Tattoo Isabella Fiore handbags collection is maybe the best of all new items in their Spring / Summer 2010 catalogue. Liz is a mid size shoulder bag available in a very nice and soft pale yellow with brown embroidered tattoo-like patterns. For girls who like darker colors for their bags, there’s a version of this shoulder bag in reverse colors: black leather with beige patterns.

This Isabella Fiore shoulder bag features a front flap with magnetic closure and an interior zip pocket and pouches. The back zip pocket is useful for keeping items such as ID papers handy when traveling, for instance. The bag is made from vegetable-dyed leather lined with fabric. It has a 10” drop single strap with chain links alternating leather and metal rings.

Bag size: 14”W x 13”H x 3”D

Bag price: $395

It is very hard, if not impossible, to pass by an Isabella Fiore handbag and not notice it. These handbags are shocking, so one can either love them or hate them. It seems there’s no middle way. I’ve recently heard somebody referring to those clutches in the latest 2009 collections as being multicolor tacos. Tacos or not, these handbags are surely something to talk about. Older handbags collections were also remarkable, but the style changed a lot, from those “Baroque a Go Go” totes decorated with side tassels to the newest collections such as “Once Upon a Tattoo”, “Geometrics” or “Mosaic”. What’s with mentioning here is that even though the style has changed, Isabella Fiore handbags managed to preserve that “artistic” appearance that brought them the fame and appreciation of the public.

The designers behind the Isabella Fiore brand are two ladies from LA, Jennifer Tash and Tranh Huynh. They managed to bring Isabella Fiore into the attention of several celebrities who became their clients, among them being names like Katie Holmes, Madonna or Kate Hudson. I think Halle Berry was spotted wearing Isabella Fiore handbags, too.

Latest Isabella Fiore Handbags Collections

Watermark

Watermark includes three bags: Sara, a python patchwork clutch with detachable crossbody strap, Rania, an oversized shoulder bag with outside pouch pocket and Mia, a double top zip tote with outside slit pocket fold out.

Geometric

The Geometric collection features Leila, an oversized hobo, Suzanna, a top handle tote with woven flap closure and Amalia, an oversized fan-shaped clutch.

Mosaic

In the Mosaic collection we meet again Amalia, the clutch, this time with a different kind of pattern and with a cute tassel attached. Leila, the Isabella fiore oversized hobo, has now an embroidered side panel. The last piece of this collection is Serena, a double handle top zip balloon tote with woven handles. But these were only the three flagship bags of the collection that we can find featured on Isabella Fiore's website. In fact, the collection also includes the Isabella Fiore Mosaic Susanna Tote, which is as beautiful as the other ones.

Mesh

These handbags are a little bit more sophisticated, suitable rather for evening outfits, although the shape and size of Leila and Francine suggest all day usage.

Once Upon a Tattoo

These three purses are really cute. Liz is a mid-sized shoulder bag with a very nice floral embroidery and with a beautifully rounded shape, Mia is a top zip tote with outside coin purse and Amalia is the same taco-shaped clutch with an exquisite whip stitch detailing and a jeweled leather tassel.

The price range of Isabella Fiore handbags falls within $200 - $700, thus being quite affordable compared with other designer handbags.

The Coach Signature small backpack is a stylish way to have both your hands free, while still having all your needed stuff with you. The backpack is made of signature jacquard fabric with leather trim, it has fabric lining, a back zip pocket, an inside zip pocket and a ring to clip a keyfob or one of those useless but cute accessories we all like to hang to our purses, wallets or mobile phones.

The 32 1/4” back straps are adjustable and they seem sturdy enough to bear a lot of weight, just in case you want to use the backpack for carrying books or a laptop besides your regular items. The drawstring and clip-front closure has a nice design and it’s easily accessible, but not as easy as to be exposed to robberies. This small backpack belonging to the Coach bags originals series is available in either black or khaki. It’s not an elegant bag, it’s not suitable for business outfits, but for casual occasions and everyday use it’s just great.

Bag size: 8 1/4" x 10” x 4 3/4"

Bag price: $258

This Nappa leather clutch can be an excellent purchase because not only it fits a lot of clothing styles and occasions, but it’s also one of the affordable designer handbags (I found it at $185 on several websites). Well, that’s not exactly what I’d call a bargain, but still, it’s affordable compared with other designer handbags which are sometimes way overpriced, in my opinion. Another point for buying a clutch is that we really don’t need to carry all those items with us all the time. Just take a look inside your purse and you’ll see what I mean. I bet you didn’t even know you were carrying half of that stuff. The DKNY Soft Nappa Rose leather clutch features a flap closure with a nicely shaped rose detail on its front, which gets shaped from leather folds on the purse. This makes it look very elegant, just what a girl needs for a cocktail party or other fancy evening events. The ivory color is easy to match with stronger colors, so you don’t have to worry you won’t be able to find suitable accessories or shoes. Besides, I think I spotted it also in black in one shop, so you can get a black one if it suits you better.

DKNY bags are true classics which can get you out of trouble when in doubt what purse to wear with your brand new dress.

DKNY stands for Donna Karan New York and it bears the name of Donna Karan, who is also the chief designer for the fashion house. Founded in 1984 by Donna Karan and her husband, DKNY became a publicly-traded company in 1996, then in 2001 was bought by LVMH, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton who owns it to this day. Donna Karan developed a fashion concept for the modern woman, in which a few interchangeable pieces of clothing and accessories can create a wardrobe that fits multiple occasions and moments of the day.

The idea of her fashion collections is that you never know where a day is going to take you, therefore you have to be prepared to take on all opportunities that may arise. Thanks to her creative approach and to her high-quality creations, in 1993 Donna Karan was awarded the Fashion Group International Superstar Award . She was the first American fashion designer to receive that distinction. In 2007, Donna was nominated one of the Women of the Year by Glamour magazine. DKNY is a design driven company, their stated mission being “to represent the international pulse of New York in the design, marketing and delivery of a complete lifestyle system to a global customer”.

DKNY Bags

As our website is about designer handbags we aren’t going to enter into many details about the fashion house itself and its clothing or shoes collections, but we are rather going to focus on the bags. We won’t find at DKNY the diversity and abundance of models which we encounter at Coach bags for instance, but there surely are enough models to cover several styles, thus offering a solution for any occasion or time of the day.

New DKNY Bags for Spring 2010

DNKY enriched its collection of purses with six new models:

• Soft Nappa Rose clutch (color: Ivory; price: $185)
• Large Pleated Nappa Leather shopper (colors: black, ivory; price: $345)
• Croc Leather Large Tote (colors: Stone, Caramel; price: $295)
• Croc Crossbody (color: Caramel; price: $195)
• Town and Country Crossbody (color: black; price: $165)
• Town and Country Satchel (color: black; price: $245)

As you can see, there’s a bag size for everyone and although there’s not a huge variety in colors, the chosen ones are universal, matching basically anything else. This falls within the DKNY concept of creating lifestyle rather than fashion. One can dress herself from DKNY from head to toe, starting with the underwear and finishing with the fragrance.