The Importance of Owning your Very Own Luxury Designer Handbag

Luxury designer handbags will never go out of style - that's the truth. Owning one straight of the catwalks of Milan and Paris means you got the clout to bust pass the wait list and own one of the most sought after investment pieces. But most women who own the lux handbags are no overnight fashionistas, these women if not born with expensive tastes, have cultivated an elegant eye for quality and excellence when it comes to fashion standards.


Though these are often the IT-list of luxury designer bags - Christian Dior, Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton,  Chanel, Balenciaga and Prada - these design houses' leather craftsmanship go back centuries. Only with that rigid and painstaking process of craftsmanship are they able to pull fashion forward. They are able to maintain their classic and cult status among the elite 10% and celebrities. Take any lux bag from any of these houses and pair it with any go-to outfit of the moment or Pre Owned Designer Shoes, and you can expect to liven up your look with class. Because these statement pieces also represent icons of their time, many handbags are designed and named after extraordinary people who exude that style and allure that designers would easily pay tribute as their muse.

Take for example, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco who inspired the Hermès’ Kelly Bag and the French actress, Jane Birkin after sharing a flight with Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas, Jane Birkin explained she badly needed a leather weekend bag that suited her lifestyle. And in 1983, the Birkin bag was born, and not just a weekend tote for the French chanteuse, but an iconic bag soon became emblematic of the elite.

Princess Diana was snapped with Christian Dior’s Constance Bag, which soon became the Christian Dior's Lady Dior Bag.  Even fictional fashionistas like Carrie Bradshaw were able to elevate luxury designer bags into mainstream consciousness, making her Fendi Baguette a coveted bag.

You can expect compliments from friends with these timeless bag pieces because just merely acquiring them is a year-long waiting game for some and a jaw dropper for many, consider that a luxury handbag price ranges from $1,500 to over $250,000.

Each design house can call upon a sudden surge in its price tag, and no one can demand to complain about it. Complaining just means you can't afford it. Still, these fashion gems are not fast-fashion throwaways, they are good market investments as well.  Overtime, their rarity and demand can skyrocket and even earn you extra if you decide to part with your luxury hand bag.

5 Ways to Stay Beautiful: Great Facial Skin Care at No Cost!

Banish those blemishes by taking time to care for your face. Imagine, dirt congealing in your pores after a long day from work resulting in those pesky pimples, blackheads, comedones and whiteheads. A nightly skin ritual should do the trick, if you care about face and want to fight off aging this early, a regular deep pore cleansing is a must.

What are Comedones?
Comedones are those inflamed pustules under the skin that after sometime becomes closed off by a black colored cap of skin. Comedones are a build-up of oil, free radicals and yes, bacteria on the face. So be kind to the skin on your face, you only have one beautiful mug and you should love it more than anything - its the first thing you see in the bathroom each morning. Know what it takes to keep your face fresh and its pores clog-free.

Wash your Face - how easy is that? A good scrub just before bedtime can be satisfying, enjoy that soft sensation massaging dirt off your face. Never go to bed without washing your face and never lay down forgetting to remove your make-up. This should be a good hygiene habit like brushing your teeth. Don't be too lazy or tired, or forgetful, this isn't a difficult thing to do. Clearing your face of make-up and smog residue from the streets will allow your pores to breathe for the night. Not washing the dirt off will allow dirt to congeal creating more comedones.

Stay golden, not greasy! Highly emollient face creams may give you that creamy soothing texture when applied and feels soft on the skin, but such creams easily clog the pores, this further encourages the skin on your face to create more oil than needed.

Avoid skin irritants. Irritants and chemical ingredients such as additives and binders are usually found in bar soaps and facial scrubs. Be more choosy with what you choose to put on your face, the way you're fussy about what you eat. There are many ways to achieve that facial glow and number one on that list is to be mindful of the products you use on a daily basis.

Drink plenty of water. One can't stress this enough! Keep yourself hydrated throughout the day, this is essential if you want great skin from within. Besides the basic 8 glasses of water a day, you can also opt for natural teas or fresh fruit juice. Some go the extra mile and drink a gallon of water daily.



Say yes to that facial massage. Make bank and visit a professional beauty esthetician, once a month is ideal. Peak your skincare by visiting a dermatologist as well and get a beauty treatment plan to improve your skin. A good facial improves blood circulation, increasing the flow of oxygen-rich red blood cells to your skin.

All this beauty regimen is pretty much Do-It-Yourself! Meaning girls, you should love yourself more! Drop that cellphone before bedtime and do yourself a favor, stick to that beauty routine because all you need are your hands and some ME time (let's say 10 minutes nightly) to stay beautiful!

Shoes: Some Tips for This Season

Buying shoes is a staple among the fashion savvy and trendy, but you have to keep these pointers in mind when you’re aching to burn some cash for some hot picks for this season. 

Invest in year round shoes.  You’ll definitely have staples to use all year round but if you’re choosing seasonal items don’t invest too much in them.  For example, it’s fine to go for fastfood fare like Topman for fashion items that are specific to a season, such as Summer 2014 for example.  You’ll be wearing them for a couple of times in the course of a year so it’s not practical to spend too much on them.   

Wait for Sales.  Sales are pretty common in any shoe shop, so if you don’t want to buy cheap, buy smart by watching out for deals!

Spend on what counts.  Shoes, coats, blazers should be your main spending priorities—simple shirts and other clothing items don’t need to be brand label level clothing.  Just pick the part of your wardrobe to accentuate and wear clothes around those items. 

Spend for comfortable shoes.  Spend as much as you can on your shoes and your bed. If you’re not in one you’re in the others.

When the Money Monsters Ate the Fashion Wunderkinds: The Death of Coutorture.com and Fashionologie.com

As if losing Coutorture.com wasn't devastating enough, revamping Coutorture.com into Fashionologie and then dumping both and turning into mainstream fare called Popsugar.

What I love and remember about Coutorture is that they have all the collections from runway shows catalog per season and goes as far back you could imagine. Fashionologie has a directory of designers (a wiki of sorts) that showcased what they've done, where they came from and whether they're emerging or pro or just outdated or still active in the biz. I just love that part because that's the link I send my non-fashionista friends to.

What really happened was- the Sugar Network went shopping and hoarded all the promising and ingenious fashion blogs out there. They played with it for awhile, kept a few gems until they didn't know what to do with the blogs anymore. That they had to chew them back in again and spat out that thing redirects Coutorture and Fashionologie fans to PopSugar.com ~ WHAT A TRAGEDY!

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Stella McCartney Tours Asia

Stella McCartney took a trip to the Far East to open several of her flagship stores with a ultra luxury event culminating in Hong Kong with supermodel Kate Moss.

Not to be outdone by HK though, the Stella McCartney event in Beijing was purely spellbinding!

Contortionists and plate spinners abound

The second Stella McCartney shop in Japan opened in Roppongi Hills, to much style as well, using simple and natural materials and getting crazy with the amazing eponymous topiary.

There were cakes and Japanese cream puffs in the 127 square metre shop which reflects the brand's intimate and personal side.

Stella McCartney's plexi-glass clutches on display.

Stella seeing to detail before the show at the British embassy in Tokyo.

Stella spent the last month boosting her brand's profile in Asia's key fashion capitals with much success

Byzantine Couture Hit the Dolce & Gabbana Runway at Milan Fashion Week 2013

Walk fierce and wear a fresco: a rich historical tableaux of religious iconography took center stage at the latest D&G collection in Milan. Mainly inspired by Sicily’s Monreale Cathedral and perhaps a recent resignation of a pontificate.

Golden mosaics, A-line full skirts, the classic Sicilian silhouette revisited and fabrics in cardinal red- all stunning with a crown to cap it off.

Posh Victoria and her Spice Boys

Fashionable familia ever! The Beckhams were game-on at the press night of Viva Forever last December 11 at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, England. Viva Forever is a Spice Girls musical about girl's venture into instant celebrity thinking it would last forever.

The Spice Girls – Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, and Melanie Chisholm – took on the red carpet together while Victoria Beckham attended the event with her lovely family.

Little Harper Seven maybe outta sigh at this family outing, but the Beckham boys- Brooklyn, Romeo & Cruz- are really rocking their Burberrys with their posh matriarch. Victoria, however was adamant to wear only her eponymous label.