Handbagista

Ted Rossi NYC breaks the mold. You know the mold. You’ve heard all of the same adjectives used over and over to describe the latest and greatest handbags. Words like chic, classic, edgy, hip, urban, stylish, modern—they pass through the pages of fashion magazines until your eyes cross and you don’t know who to trust. But at least one fashion designer is being honest with you: Ted Rossi NYC.

Ted Rossi NYC is a new titan on the handbag fashion world, whose only purpose is to do away with those tired, and meaningless, adjectives. No longer do handbags have to be the same old, same old, where the only thing different is the fashion model used to pose with them.

No, words like chic, classic, edgy, hip, urban, stylish, and modern have no place with Ted Rossi NYC. Formed in 2003, the company has set out from the start to create a new line of leather handbags and other accessories, crafted for customers who are willing to pay for some truly different, something that will stand out on their arm.

The latest collection from Ted Rossi NYC is no exception—for them that is. For the rest of the fashion world, the 2005 Ted Rossi NYC collection is a standout, a lineup that refuses to tow the line with the trinkets and “classic” cuts that make up most of the rest of the fashion world.

This new lineup features vivid colors, pure golden hardware, rich skins, touchable velvet. We’re talking leather that you didn’t know existed, or skins such as true python, whipsnake, and crocodile.

In a handful of short years, Ted Rossi NYC has had an effect. Its lineup of bags and accessories have already graced the pages of top magazines such as Vogue, US Weekly, Nylon, Star, German ELLEGirl, Life & Style Weekly, and have already been seen on television shows such as the View and MTV Germany.

For your own indescribable piece of handbag fashion look for Ted Rossi NYC in such high-end stores as Neiman Marcus, Searle NYC, Kitson, DKNY, Henri Bendel, Intermix, Lane Crawford, and Searle NYC. Or keep your eyes open on the street. They’ll be sure to stop such a standout as a Ted Rossi NYC handbag.

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written by Julie

FreshCreation NYC handbags, a handbag collection that emerged on the scene in 2003, could be considered a true grass roots enterprise.

Founder and designer Devon Weber, long passionate about fashion, apparel, and creating, operates FreshCreation NYC on her own from her home in the Queens section of New York City, designing and making each bag by hand.

Weber realized her calling after working as a stage manager.

With the FreshCreation NYC handbag line, Weber achieves designs that truly stand out from the crowd.

The bags are inspired by her personal penchant for vintage materials and styles. Weber, a self-described clutch addict (she owns more than 50), has made clutch purses the backbone of the FreshCreation line.

The Fall 2004 collection favored leathers, silks, and tweeds used in combination with one another to form striking, unexpected designs. Among Weber’s goals for her FreshCreation line are to create purses that are distinctive and eye-catching, but not overly exclusive.

She strives to use luxurious fabrics sparingly, so that the end result might look worthy of a high-rolling client - but can be afforded by shoppers on a budget - which makes up for 75% of us!

Weber hails from Los Angeles, California, and migrated to New York City in 1998. As a child, she spent many hours making clothing and accessories for herself and her friends.

She went on to complete studies at Sheridan College of Art and Design for Fine Arts and Nassau College for Theatrical Arts. (Weber currently attends New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.) She was plunged into the creative atmosphere of theater working as stage manager for productions at companies both on and off Broadway.

While Weber thrived on being exposed to creative actors, designers, directors, and writers, she says she soon realized that she would never be content until Weber herself could create.

Restless, Weber took on the responsibility of being a stylist and designer for a friend’s band; the experience solidified her realization that her true desire was to work in design.

Adding Weber’s love of handbags to that realization spawned FreshCreation NYC handbags. Currenly, FreshCreation NYC handbags are available in boutiques in Los Angeles and New York City.

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written by Karen

A biography, Cristobal Balenciaga style perhaps starts at a not so opportune moment in world history. The Spanish Civil War, which began in 1936, transformed Cristobal Balenciaga’s homeland into the testing ground of modern warfare. Communists pitted themselves against nationalists and fascists, with other forces providing the bullets and bombs. Before this horrific event in Spanish history, Balenciaga ran a modest but burgeoning fashion business of three couture houses. With the onset of tragedy, however, Balenciaga fled. So began the most exciting phase of a biography, Cristobal Balenciaga style.

When war struck in 1936, Balenciaga first fled Spain for London. A year later, he found his way to the heart of international fashion, Paris. There, he opened The House of Balenciaga in 1937 on the Avenue George V.

He launched what would become one of the highest reaching careers in history. Balenciaga quite literally changed how fashion is designed. He began in the 1930s, when he designed suits with tucked in waists and hips that were rounded. His gowns of this era feature unprecedented wide skirts. He essentially invented the New Look of 1940s fashion before it was supposedly invented by Dior. When his invention, the New Look, became passé in the 1950s, Balenciaga turned away from it and created another fashion revolution. His inventions of the 1950s thus were soft shapeless suit jackets.

The brilliance of all of Balenciaga’s works perhaps comes from his uncanny ability to make the best out of any women’s features. Instead of highlighting the defects in the classic womanly shape, Balenciaga tended to hide these defects and accentuate only the positives. In this way, Balenciaga was a genius. He could make any woman, no matter her size or shape, look like the bell of the ball. As he himself liked to boast, a woman did not need to be a runway model to get away with wearing his dresses. The dresses themselves could get any woman on the runway.

For instance, Balenciaga created a furor in the 1950s with his set-back (or standaway) collar. This unique collar gave women the look of a long neck, like the neck of a swan. He originally designed the style for the famous New York editor the sole reason to disguise the fact that this woman had no neck! For many of his clients, who were rather short, plump, and older, Balenciaga invented shorter sleeves, which magically could endow any women with the appearance of greater height.

Perhaps a biography, Cristobal Balenciaga style ends on a far quieter note than it began. After rocking the fashion world in 1956 with the invention of his “sack” dress, and amazing the runways with full shapeless jackets and dolman sleeves in the 1960s, Balenciaga retired. With as much trauma as the shells and bullets of the Spanish Civil War, Balenciaga dropped a bomb on the fashion world in 1968. He retired to Spain because the fashion of the day displeased him. He died four years later.

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written by Gail

Did you know that more than $25 billion worth of counterfeits are sold over the Internet each year?

You heard right.

That’s billion with a B.

It’s a scary figure for everyone involved. Designers are aghast as their good brand names are dragged through the muck.

Buyers are scared to death that their supposed brandname purse is actually a fake.

Imagine spending hundreds of dollars on a handbag to later find out that it’s a Balenciaga replica purse, a fraud. You probably would never dare bring that Balenciaga replica purse out in public for fear of someone figuring out the truth.

That’s the major problem with shopping on the Internet. Sure, it is full of steals and deals, but usually what sounds too good to be true is, of course, not true. It’s liable to be a fake. This is especially the case with designer goods like handbags.

These bags are worth the hundreds of dollars they go for in retail, but when buyers see them at huge discounts on online auction sites, they can’t resist.

These counterfeits may even look real, and the seller may claim that they are real. Chances are, however, that the reason that someone can sell a Balenciaga or other high-quality bag for 50 bucks is because it is a Balenciaga replica purse, a rip off.

The Internet is not regulated by American or international government bodies. So it is nearly impossible to clamp down on con artists and scam jobs. Even if local or federal authorities shut down a bogus handbag dealer, the Internet is way too accessible to slow them down.

In a matter of days, even hours, that same bogus handbag dealer could be up at another domain selling the same replicas and counterfeits.

What can a lone consumer like you do? First off, always shop online well aware of the dangers that await you. And follow the axiom, what sounds too good to be true is probably a crock. However, if you come across a deal, say, on a fine vintage Balenciaga motorcycle bag and the dealer swears it’s legitimate, check with the site’s return and customer satisfaction policies.

If they protect you, go for it.

As for buying a Balenciaga replica purse willingly, understand that even replicas that admit they’re replicas violate the law. You’re better off saving your money and buying into the lore, luster, and look of the real thing.

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written by Julie

Charles David handbags had a simple start.

From California, the now well-known handbag designer started in the States in 1987 as a wholesale importer that specialized in European shoes. But oh what a difference a few successful years made. After building a reputation as a distributor, Charles David dove into designing its own shoes and Charles David handbags.

In just a few years, Charles David set up its own design teams, as well as factories in Spain and Italy.

This has allowed them to continue to deliver the finest from Europe to the hungry hands of American women, but they have the ability now to infuse their bags with their immense creativity.

Charles David is also renown for picking up on trends as they begin, and being able to deliver on them to their clientele in their own unique way.

As with many designers, a lot of Charles David success can also be linked to the designer’s connection with Hollywood. The designer opened their first retail store right on Melrose Avenue in 1988. And the discerning Los Angeles shoppers ate up the bags and shoes and spread the word.

Hollywood stars such as Debra Messing, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Garner have been known to carry Charles David. And the bags have been featured in fashion mags such Vogue, Teen Vogue, Marie Claire, Lucky, and In Style.

The result is more than 16 years of success, 25 of its own retail shops, and more than 1,000 retail stores in which Charles David handbags and shoes are proudly displayed.

Of course, it takes more than a few celebrities carrying around your bags to make a designer successful. We cannot undervalue the style, the comfort, and the quality which can be found in every Charles David bag.

Even today, all Charles David lines are manufactured in Spain and Italy, as well as in factories Asia. And the bags are also still designed by the crack in-house designer team.

But no matter how many factories they have, how many retail stores open up with their brand in the front window, Charles David handbags will still pack the same quality - and all your stuff, too.

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written by Julie