It’s weird how I have been telling my girlfriends that I need a nice satchel and I ended up drooling over a hobo.  Right now I’m actually in a quest for a satchel, but I find this Kooba Dakota irresistible.  Every season there is always at least one bag from Kooba that I really like. In my opinion, their design is always stylish but not overly trendy.

When I’m shopping for clothes I’m always drawn to V necks because they are more flattering for a non super model body like mine. Therefore, I’m guessing that the V piping on the Kooba Dakota is what drew me to it. Not only that, I also love the buckles on the ends of the strap.  They give an interesting yet unusual accent to the bag.

This bag comes in four different colors, but I like this one the best (blue).  Even though it is described as blue, it has a lot of gray tone on it that makes this color very natural looking.

Buy from Kooba or Nordstrom for $ 595

The cool thing about this bag is the wicker part, when you look at it closely you can see that the wicker has 3 colors; ivory, gold and silver. The gold and silver are very subtle yet they still give the bag some shimmer. As you might already know, I love anything shiny and shimmery.

The wicker design definitely gives this bag a casual look and the generous 15″W x 14.5″H x 5.9″D size made sure that you can fit your everyday essentials.  However, I don’t normally wear light colored bag as my everyday bag, since I don’t want them to get dirty. That’s just my personal preference.  For the past month, I’ve been using a Tod’s bucket bag that has an open top, and I find it very convenient. I used to stay away from an open top bag like this one because I’m afraid that I might loose my stuff, but so far so good and I just love how easy it is to get my stuff in and out of the bag.

From Bloomingdale’s for $995

This Marc Jacobs Elise bag has a simple classic shapes, but the buckles on the sides, the zippered pocket and the push lock flap pocket dressed it up nicely. This one is definitely not a boring bag.  Pre-Order from Nordstrom for $895.

I’ve seen the rectangular version before, they are pretty nice. I love the leather, the woven handles and the shiny hardware. However, it was kind of too plain Jane.  I find this “Skorpio” ring tote far more interesting, even though they have similar name.  First of all, I love the balloon like shape.  It makes the bag look softer and more feminine compared to the usual squarish looking tote.

Second, I love how the handles are looped through the body of the bag and the grommets make it look more polished in a subtle way.

This not a very big bag, it measures only 13″W x 9″H x 7″D therefore very suitable for petites. Pre-Order from Nordstrom for $895.

In last night’s episode, Nate’s rumored new love interest Bree (Joanna Garcia) is carrying Be & D’s Cosette Satchel in Navy, $895 available at www.beandd.com; select Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue. Jump to see more pictures!

In a future episode Serena (Blake Lively) is seen carrying the same Be & D Cosette satchel in Green Python (below), $1490, exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Since studs, zippers and chains are hot this season, many designers have gone overboard with them. I’ve seen bags that are literally covered in zippers so that it’s not even funny anymore. Just because zippers are in, it doesn’t mean that you can just cover your bags with them and call it fashionable.  Take a clue from Rebecca Minkoff for incorporating the trend tastefully.

Buy from Saks Fifth Avenue for $550

Buy from Forzieri for $570

As the name clearly implies, this Dautore bag has a linking strap.  The unique design of the strap is the main feature that attracts me to this bag. The description of the bag says “intricately linked straps — reminiscent of block-stitched lanyards”. When you look closer, you can see that the linked straps are made of two different colors of leather, which I think add a little more dimension to the strap.

I always love it when designers come up with something different but still manage not to make the bag look too “out there”,  like this bag for example.  This bag will get you noticed in a good way, but not in a “fashion victim” kind of way.

The slouchy shape and the roomy size also won me over.  I’m just not too crazy about the colors.  I love bags that are richer in color.

This bag comes in two colors: Amazon and Argila (which is the color of the other link on the strap).  Buy from Bloomingdale’s for $580

Gustto Malia

Gustto Gola

Just when I thought I ran out of cute bags to write about, I came across this Gustto Tribal collection.  I can’t decide which bag I like more so I just put both pictures up.  I just love the rich camel and deep brown color combination; they make the bag so much more interesting while the croco print adds texture and lushness.

These bags also come in another color combination: Black and brown.  However, black and brown is not much of a contrast and those colors tend to hide the details of the bag, such as the cute shoe lace looking ties that add a touch of youth and playfullness to the bag.

I love how these bags still manage to look good while having all the practicality that good bags require: Front pockets, handles,  shoulder straps, zip tops, and generous sizes. These bags prove that you don’t have to sacrifice looks for functionality.

Pre-order from Gustto. Malia is priced at $695 and Gola is priced at $545

I love how the hardware and leather shoulder straps work together.  The grommets on the sides also add glam to the simple shaped bag. However,  I’m not so sure about the rectangular gold tone name plate in the middle since I’m not a big fan of bags that display their brand too prominently.  Seeing that it is such a beautiful bag and the size of the name plate is not huge, I can let this one slide.  Besides, it is not a brand that mall rats typically carry on their arms.

Now, on to the python.  I honestly could not tell if this bag is made of real python or embossed leather.  Judging by the price it could easily be embossed python. However, it might also be a reasonably priced real python.  Regardless of its material, I still think this is a beautiful bag.

Buy from Singer22 for $625