The Hot List - A/W 11-12 Bags

Following yesterday's post, I thought I would share ideas on how to accessorize the only way possible this season - with a hand-held mini bag! Yes, large shoulder bags are, for the foreseeable future, a thing of the past, and it's all about clutching yours in your fist, to the waist or to your chest.

To begin, British Heritage brand Mulberry:

I'm feeling black bags right now (more below...), and I love the tassel on this one.

Shiny, black and mini. Perfect!

This time delicious plum.

The coveted one:

By Celine, this bowling bag is the one everyone was talking about.

In close-up detail.

Another bowling bag by Dries Van Noten, this time in navy velvet with a tan trim.

The fur show-piece:

By Ellie Tahari. I'm currently having flashbacks to Clueless (I must watch that film again soon). Guaranteed attention for wearing this.

The monochrome:

Both by Louis Vuitton, these would carry an entire A/W wardrobe.

Love the metal strip and tiny studs on the base!

See the silver padlock?

The hold-all:

The larger bags this season really are all about the above, credit goes to Marc Jacobs.

The white clutch:

Again a white clutch like this one by Miu Miu, similar to Louis Vuitton's, would pair with anything you wear now - jeans, jumpers, suits, LBDs...

And lastly:

The new it-bag:

A shiny white cylinder by Stella McCartney that you just know is full of precious objects wins my vote.

Buy your miniature bag now and I have a feeling your small and discreet accessory will be with you for a while.

To Buy or Not to Buy?

Investments. One can justify anything as an investment when you fall in love with it. Like these Miu Miu lilac shoes:

The ubiquitous camel coat however, I could justify, even from Gucci. When something is this classic and enduring, the expense is worth it.

The same goes for the always stylish and age-defying Chanel suit, for which I have already started saving!

I wonder though if the same can be said for the Burberry aviator jacket, heralded by many as this season's 'must-buy'.

As much as I love this jacket, I suspect that next Autumn's heroine will have become another model to adore and lust-after.

And then there are the things that are so unbelievably you, it is not fashion that is compelling you to buy them, but a sense that owning them only reinforces your own style. That is the case with this Miu Miu bag, which I WILL track down:

I'll be wearing this bag with a camel coat this Autumn and through Winter into Spring. Sometimes one person's disaster is another person's style.