Pet owners warned over latest celebrity craze - the pooch pouch handbag for mini fashion dogs

By GEORGE WEYMAN

All the rage: A woman takes her dog for a walk in a 'puppy purse'
Animal charities are warning pet owners to keep their dogs on a lead after the latest in a range of carry cases for small dogs was launched. Dog owners can now carry their pet in a small fashion bag, slung across an arm and hanging loose from the waist, in a style made popular by Hollywood celebrities Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson. But the bags, which cost as little as £22, could cause serious distress for dogs, the RSPCA has warned.

It has joined animal welfare charity Four Paws in condemning the bags, which have helped create a boom in small dogs like Chihuahuas and toy Yorkshire terriers. "A dog is not an accessory and people should not be influenced by fashion," an RSPCA spokesman told the Daily Express. "The RSPCA is concerned about the practice of carrying dogs in handbags as some celebrities do. It could actually become distressing to the animal. "A dog's welfare should always be of primary importance."

The charity warns the growing demand for miniature puppies so popular with celebrities has fuelled a cruel and illegal puppy smuggling trade from Eastern Europe. The puppies are often bred in filthy conditions before being taken to street markets, it claims. The abolition of EU border controls means there are no checks on whether dogs have been inoculated or are old enough to be transported. And the dogs are often traumatised by the experience, with as many as 30 dogs a time being crammed into the back of car boots in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland for a painful journey to Britain. Animal welfare charities warn the latest trend in dog handbags can only increase the demand for small pups. Designer carriers are considered de rigueur for celebrity dog owners and such upmarket labels as Gucci, Hermes and Louis Vuitton report a roaring trade in the pooch 'purses'.

NYC Conducts Major Chinatown Raid

Shop Online for authentic designer handbags at eFashionHouse.com - Online since 1996

Women's Wear Daily
Published: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
By Ross Tucker

NEW YORK – New York City police officers conducted raids on an entire city block of buildings in Chinatown this morning and have started the task of seizing loads of counterfeit fragrances and accessories. Investigators involved in the bust said at least eight buildings were targeted in the sweep. Undercover investigators made purchases of counterfeit goods from as many as 56 vendors who had set up shop in the buildings.

Kevin Dougherty, president of private investigation firm Counter-Tech Investigations, which was involved in the investigation, said it would likely take two days to empty out the contents of the buildings. The majority of items seized so far have been handbags, scarves, belts, watches and fragrances. No arrests have been made, but city officials will move quickly to issue violations of health and safety codes, effectively shutting the buildings down. It’s a strategy that has been successfully employed elsewhere in the city and puts the burden of counterfeiting on the shoulders of landlords.

Intellectual property lawyers and brand owners believe the raid could signal a turning point in the battle against Chinatown counterfeiting operations.

Spring eyes the bright side

By Cherly P. Allen
IndyStar.com

There's no chance of going unnoticed in the season's playful and brilliant hues

The fashion forecast this spring looks brighter than ever. Eye-popping shirts, dresses, jackets and accessories already have begun to adorn the racks and shelves of department stores. You can tickle yourself with fuchsia, sparkle in ocean blue, mellow out in lemon yellow or look poised and chic in lime green.

"It's been many seasons since we've seen such a vibrant, fun color palette in fashion," says Sonya Cosentini, a T.J. Maxx style expert. "We're seeing fresh, bold colors and graphic prints on everything from casual to career looks."

Green, in particular, is a big trend for spring, says Suzanne Guymon, communications director for Dillard's. "It looks great with black early in the season, transitioning beautifully as the perfect complement to white as the weather gets warmer."

Men's dress shirts are sporting subdued lavender, aqua and orange. Golf shirts are bright in sunshine yellow and vivid red. Last summer's popular sellers, such as Bermuda-length shorts and baby doll blouses, will be updated in bright plaids, stripes, florals and geometric patterns. The classic swing jacket will also see an infusion of color this spring -- grass green, bright white, cobalt blue and red.

The swing jacket is the perfect transition piece, Guymon says. "In addition to looking great with a classic trouser, it works well over a sheath dress or partnered with a fashion denim jean." The season's colorful prints offer a simple yet chic way to update your wardrobe, Cosentini says. "Pair a dramatic print top or dress with simple neutral accessories. A sense of balance is key."

The great thing about this season's hues is how well you can incorporate them with traditional fall solids, says Juanita Beck, ladies department manager for Stein Mart. "It's a natural transition," Beck says. You can sport a pair of solid gray or black slacks with a pastel scoop-neck sweater or silk blouse with quarter-length sleeves."

"We're just starting to get the spring stuff in," Beck says. "We've got such a variety. There's a lot of silk out this season with busy bright patterns -- polka dots, jagged edges and florals."

Accessories are also sporting bolder and brighter colors -- from pastel solid clutches and straw handbags to lime green plaid shoes and deep red beaded necklaces. "I've seen a lot of red," Beck says. "It's kind of a mixture of bright color in the jewelry as well."

_________

What You Need to Watch Out when Purchasing Designers Handbags from Online Auctions

from I & Fashion, Fashion & I

First of all remember that a handbag reflects your personality! That's why you need an authentic handbag that you will have forever and be proud of.

First thing you have to see when you are about to bid on a designer's handbag is: Does the auction states and guarantees that the handbag is authentic or full money back? If not, you should ask. Make sure you can get a full money back guarantee if the handbag is found to be fake. Authentic handbag sellers don't mind guaranteeing full money back if the handbag is found to be fake. They know their merchandise and they would not jeopardize their reputation to make $50 extra on a fake.

Be extremely cautious if the seller has no feedback. The lower the seller's feedback the greater the risk you are taking in purchasing from him/her. On the other hand, the higher the sellers' positive rating, the more likely you will at least get your money back if the item is found to be fake.

Does the seller offer multiples of the same and/or new items at a very low price? Does the offer sounds too good to be true? It might be. Some times the merchandise is counterfeit, but the pictures might reflect authentic merchandise. Check out how much the other sellers are selling the specific model. Is the seller you are buying from selling way too low? Be cautious.

Does the seller have hidden feedback? Some sellers hide their feedback after a negative feedback left from a bad transaction. Why the seller hides his/her feedback should make you think twice. The seller should have his/her feedback available for buyers to see. This is what differentiates sellers that work hard to keep satisfied clients, and people that try to make quick money selling fakes.

Are the photographs in the auction taken from another website that is selling authentic merchandise? Look for inconsistent pictures in the listing. If the picture is taken from someone else, you never know if you are receiving authentic or fake merchandise. Further more, even the seller sometimes might not know that he’s selling is a fake.

Be very cautious if the seller is very new and holds a private auction. The seller should have a decent feedback before choosing the option of private auction.

If you have even the smallest doubts ask for more photos. If you get excuses from the seller and he/she is reluctant in providing more photos, think twice. Also, if the seller provides you with more photos, again look for consistency. Is there a date on the photos? If so, were the photos taken the same day?

Remember: Always ask. The seller should always provide answers. The seller wants your business. An honest and professional seller will always reply with clarifications you might need.

Does the seller have negative feedback reflecting dissatisfied customers? You don't want to buy from someone that has many negatives. If you do not feel comfortable do not buy because it is cheap. Even if seller sells authentic merchandise, he might be selling defective merchandise that could not otherwise sold in a boutique.

Check out this small but extremely important detail on the picture: DO NOT BUY a Gucci, Prada, or Louis Vuitton if there is a round tag hanging from the handbag. Those tags are attached on the fakes.

New York Fashion Week: Coming this fall: a season of versatility

DESIGNERS OFFER LESS-OSTENTATIOUS, ACCESSIBLE CLOTHING FOR SOPHISTICATED WOMEN

By Donna Kato, Mercury News

Peter Som Canary Chantilly lace T-shirt, plum ombre plaid satin swag skirt.
(Richard Drew / Associated Press)

Carolina Herrera Corduroy double-breasted vest, embroidered blouse, suede riding pants and corduroy fedora. (Bebeto Matthews / AP)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Yellow track dress with pin worn with gray painted beret, black jeweled sunglasses, smoke wristlet purse and cubist bracelet. (Seth Wenig / AP)

Zac Posen Red and black embroidered dress. (Kathy Willens / AP)

Vera Wang felt jacket with felt jabot over short-sleeve coat with bias stone silk chiffon drape-neck top and silk gauze skirt. (Richard Drew/ AP)

NEW YORK - Early on during Fashion Week, mass retailer Gap presented its fall collection by new designer Patrick Robinson on models posed on a raised platform. The press, buyers and stylists walked around the staged area to get a close look at the anorak jackets, slim-fit cargo pants, chunky sweaters and henleys the Bay Area-based company plans to offer six months from now.

It wasn't high fashion, and the prices are sure to be far, far less than the average cost of a skirt offered by most of the 100-plus designers who showed this season. But after a week's worth of ready-to-wear collections, the significance of the Gap's presentation became apparent: It underscored the intersection of fashion and economic reality, reflecting the current mood among most of us wondering if a recession is about to hit and whether we should save instead of spend. It's also another example of the pairing of accessible fashion with established designers.

For the Gap, the show introduced Robinson, who was the designer behind Perry Ellis, Anne Klein and most recently, Paco Rabanne. His name alone will bring in style-savvy customers who now think of the Gap only for casual wear and basics. There wasn't a specific direction that emerged from the fall collections this season. The message was one of individuality for the woman who wants to look sleek. With jackets, vests, skirts and trousers overtaking the runways, next fall will mean versatility for those confident enough to mix up proportions and try new shapes. "There's definitely more of a sportswear than a couture influence this fall," says Tom Julian, longtime fashion analyst and director of trends for McCann Erickson, a global advertising agency. Women are less inclined to be ostentatious and more willing to buy if something looks like a good investment, has versatility and might do for more than a season or two.

While certain luxury goods are still selling well, according to retail analysts, the willy-nilly spending on It bags and high-end labels of the moment has slowed, adding pressure on designers to offer just the right items for fall. "Fashion has been increasingly dressing up for the past several seasons and is in the feminine frame of mind," says June Rau, Nordstrom's fashion director for the western region. "Women will take certain pieces they're familiar with and work it into their wardrobe." The overall aesthetic is "polished and precisely put together," she adds, and what will make a jacket or a skirt look fresh is a color choice, a winter floral print or a fuller, boxier shape.

American designers seem to have decided on a more practical approach for fall, what with all the basic black, bundled silhouettes and traditional, winter fabrics. Much of it was richly sophisticated, as if they realized that there was more substance to courting a woman rather than an ingenue. Rather than showy gold glitz, it was a warm, mustard-gold shade that prevailed on runways. Marc Jacobs, whose runway ensembles at first glance always appear odd and unwearable (cocoon-shaped coats with ballooning backs, belted below the hips? Long knicker-shorts with dropped crotches?), remains the most-watched American designer. For the first time, his slot was the last show of the week this season, and except for a color pallette that included winter pastels, his clothes were unlike anything seen all week.

The coats were at once long and lean, voluminous and complicated. The evening gowns were melancholy and slinky. And once you got past the tricorn hats and lust-inducing handbags, there were sweaters and pants and jackets that could be construed as . . . classics. While frivolity was scarce on most runways, there were still plenty of fanciful and luxe touches. Metallic jacquards showed up in the collections of Vera Wang and Angel Sanchez. Fringe swung from bags, boots, skirts and vests at Zac Posen, Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson. Fur and feathers were flying on the catwalks of Badgley Mischka, Monique Lhuillier, Naeem Khan and Behnaz Sarafpour.

Themes and designer inspirations were made apparent at many shows. Michael Kors, whose signature is luxury American sportswear, sent his models out in oversized specs and "Mad Men" fedoras, wearing coats and belted shifts that would look grand on Eva Marie Saint. A huntress theme at Carolina Herrera translated to autumnal colors of squash, pumpkin, China blue and brown along with tattersall plaid. Riding jackets, capes and feathered hats were aristocratic touches that made the point. Diane von Furstenberg related an entire story for her collection, starting with a muse who sews diamonds into the hem of her dress to flee from Berlin to Shanghai, then moves on to the art deco glam of New York. No era is specified in her program notes, but the clothes had a touches of the 1920s, '30s and '40s in the form of flapper dresses, belted jackets and loose-fitting trousers.

The Bay Area has reason to proudly proclaim designers Peter Som, Derek Lam and sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte as its own. Their presentations each season have become must-attends by influential magazine and newspaper editors and top retailers. Som had one of the best shows of the week with a collection that was both dreamy and practical. A blue and black metalassé full skirt and fitted black washed patent leather jacket was fresh and edgy for a designer who usually sticks to pretty. Among his best pieces were side-draped dresses and skirts.

This is Som's debut collection for Bill Blass, and he captured the late designer's essence with a number of trouser suits, cocktail dresses, gala gowns and substantial ruffles. Also noted were a few Som-ish touches in the playful details, prints and color combinations. Lam took inspiration from Isak Dinesen, the pen name of Karen von Blixen-Finecke who wrote "Out of Africa" in 1937. His collection played with proportion, serving up elegant suits and layering that flowed from one garment into another. While the dark tones and tailoring could have been too heavy, the clothes were lively, with movement and drama. In just a few seasons, Rodarte has become one of the top draws during Fashion Week with meticulously constructed garments that come close to couture. The designers Mulleavy, who now live in Pasadena but grew up in Capitola, offered more of the stringy, webby knit separates and ethereal ballerina frocks that they did for this spring. While the dancer dresses were confections of froth, it was the gorgeous, airy knits that will be coveted for closets this fall.

At the House of Lanvin, the Return of French Chic

For more information about the Lanvin Kentucky Tote, click here.

By CATHY HORYN

PARIS — A few moments after the last dress appeared at the Lanvin show, a garnet-color silk drape that swept the boards of the Salle Wagram and was worn with a single strand of pearls, the applause started. It grew thunderous when the designer, Alber Elbaz, took his bow, and it followed him backstage, crowded and hot, as people pressed forward — the models, the photographers surrounding him — and then another spontaneous cheer went up.No show of the spring 2005 ready-to-wear season, which ended here on Sunday, received such a response.

Mr. Elbaz's collection was perfect because the clothes themselves were imperfect. They were made of washed cotton and silk faille, often with raw edges. Some of the jackets, shapely, with wide lapels, were creased at the elbows, as if they had already been worn, and Mr. Elbaz's many skirts came not just in different volumes but also in subtle degrees of volume, which you can get only when clothes are made by hand.

Contemporary life is messy and fast-paced, and for that reason clothes should look relaxed, but few designers are able to adapt French technique to that modern ideal better than Mr. Elbaz. It might be a single-buttoned jacket in white silk with a loose back (after Balenciaga), worn over a knee-length black skirt that looks as airy as gazar, or a plain raincoat in taupe faille that is manifestly Parisian in its silhouette.

Mr. Elbaz's starting point was Venice and Fortuny, to which he added a blend of Lyon silk and Madame Grès drapery, and tribal patterns from Uzbekistan. Lyon, Venice, Uzbekistan: unwittingly, he had taken the Silk Road.

But there is nothing remotely casual about his brain. Few young designers would have the audacity to propose a teacup-shaped skirt with a silk top draping over it — the proportion would rattle them — or see the simplicity of putting a navy charmeuse shirt, its sleeves rolled up like a man's, with a slim black faille skirt.

Among those who came to the Salle Wagram on Sunday to watch were two of Mr. Elbaz's former bosses: Ralph Toledano, now the president of Chloé; and Pierre Bergé, the former chief of Yves Saint Laurent.

By contrast, the clothes that Stefano Pilati showed in his debut collection for Yves Saint Laurent lacked air. They came close to falling on French clichés of seduction: the nipped little waist, the high heel with a pompom on the toe, the short skirt gathered bustle-style over the fanny. At this stage, there's no need to point out that Mr. Saint Laurent's clothes represented all things French, but what made him modern, especially in the 1960's and 70's, were the things he rejected about French life, particularly its stuffier bourgeois codes. And Mr. Pilati, strange as it must sound, embraced them in this collection.

While he was right to want to impart a sense of line at Saint Laurent, even if the short lengths and fussy skirts will be cruel to most women, Mr. Pilati needs to get his head around what made Saint Laurent clothes click with women in the first place. That doesn't mean duplicating the safari jacket or the smoking, only understanding why they mattered — and then finding a contemporary expression, as Mr. Elbaz has done at Lanvin.

Mr. Pilati has the talent. It was evident in a deep purple suede coat and in his spree of polka dots. But he needs to relax, break up the outfits, and be more daring than respectful.

As Loulou de la Falaise, who was Mr. Saint Laurent's assistant for many years, said on her way out of the Lanvin show, French chic looks cool again. "It's not about showing off," said Ms. de la Falaise, whose own collection of seersucker trousers mixed with chiffon Liberty prints and cotton tuxedo-front shirts picked out in lace effortlessly underscored that point.

Olivier Theyskens at Rochas and Lars Nilsson at Nina Ricci have also given a fresh spin to French dressmaking. The news at Rochas was blurry floral prints and a more relaxed attitude for day, though Mr. Theyskens's best gesture was to hint at undressing in his immaculate clothes. He did this mostly at the back, with a glimpse of a couture foundation or a half-open seam that suggested a dress being unzipped.

Mr. Nilsson continues to expand on Nina Ricci's sexy underpinnings, adding bras he worked on with the corsetier Mr. Pearl, while giving more substance to the clothes: gray taffeta jackets subtly pinstriped with white threads and charming wrap dresses with hazy polka dots and a hem of Jacquard-weave lace. His palette, too, is more expansive, with raspberry and a deep raisin tone added to the Ricci buttercup.

Rounding out a strong Paris season was Valentino's glossy collection, which, along with VAL belt buckles and chic Empire dresses in lilac, had major Tressie hair (you know, older girls, Barbie's friend). An American retail chief compared the collection to a candy store of treats, and later was seen bounding toward Ladurée, the pastry shop. I guess he couldn't wait. Valentino's plissé dresses and his creamy whites, mixed with coffee and gold, made for a sweet hit parade.

Things about clothes that boys just don’t get

By HADLEY FREEMAN

Fashion should be about self-expression, not worrying about what pleases men – if they don't like it that's too damn bad, says style expert Hadley Freeman, left. Here she offers her wardrobe wisdom to help you feel more confident and look even better

BAGS and why we love them
Women love bags for the same reasons they love shoes: they don't make you feel fat, you don't have to get undressed to try them on, size is either a non-issue or simply not related to your stomach, and they don't necessarily suit Kate Moss any better than you. Get one with a strap just long enough to shove on to your shoulder or hold in your hand. Don't be an idiot and get one in suede, cotton, canvas or some other non-waterproof fabric that you have to worry about getting dirty. You can find perfectly decent bags on the high street but they tend either to look like they're made for 13- year-old girls or for Her Maj herself.

This is yet another reason, on top of the more obvious status symbol cachet, why more and more women are forking out for designer handbags. Plus you will probably give your bag more of a battering than you will a summer dress, so it is worth spending a little bit more on something that is well made and won't fall apart after three outings and one rainfall. A smidgen of practical justification – but just a smidgen, mind.


DRESSES: God's gift to women
There is no garment more liberating to women than a dress (except maybe a nice hotel bathrobe, but we're not allowed to go to work in those yet). A good dress will never make you feel fat, can be worn with flats or heels, and everybody can find a style that suits them. None of these statements can be applied to trousers, which squeeze round your waist and thighs, often make your bum look the size of Ecuador and slip down ever so immodestly when you sit – and yes, I am including jeans in these criticisms. With judicious layering you can wear a summer dress all year round, and the fact that you need to deal with only one garment in the morning is the sartorial icing on this fashion gâteau.

To the old rule "the higher the hemline, the lower the heel," one could add "the higher the hemline, the longer the sleeves", merely to compensate in terms of flesh coverage. The joy of most dresses lies in their kindness to most body types by sculpting them into a more flattering shape. (Warning: the wrap dress is, contrary to popular belief, kind only to the chosen few. If you have a curvy bust, narrow waist and flattish stomach, well done, you have found your uniform. If you fall short in any of these departments, its much praised jersey fabric manages to be both unflatteringly clingy and immodestly loose.)

JEWELLERY and when fashion just gets obnoxious
There is no point to real jewellery except to show off how rich you are. The only excuse would be if you were living in some soon-to-be-toppled economy where you had to convert your life savings into something that wouldn't be worthless tomorrow. All too often women think that if they're going to get the jewellery out they may as well go the whole hog – a statement piece. Think oversized clanging earrings, hideous brooches, whacking great necklace dangling down a cleavage. Accessories are the sprinkles on a cake – there to improve, not form the whole meal. They are not essential and, when done badly, definitely an over-sweetened detriment. But when employed with a sage and delicate hand they make the difference between generic blandness and decorative indulgence.

HEELS: The highs, the lows – and when fat is better than thin
The whole theory behind heels is that men, allegedly, find them sexy. A spindly spike creates the illusion that the woman is an airy Tinkerbell-like creature who can float through the air, carried only by toothpicks beneath her feet, such is her lightness. The brilliant thing about the thick heel is that it doesn't look like you're trying so hard to be sexy and this, in itself, is sexier. There is something undeniably tragic about seeing a woman teeter about on her spindly heels all in the name of male approval, whereas a woman who wears thick heels oozes confidence.


The stiletto is the oddest concept, and it would have been interesting to see how it was first pitched: "Hey, I know, guys! Let's make shoes that force women to walk on their tippy-toes all day. Crank up the machines!" And yet, here we are, hundreds of millions of women hoisting themselves daily on to the balls of their feet in the name of fashion, spending hundreds of pounds on shoes they literally cannot walk in. Stilettos make women: a) grumpy, b) lazy (due to immobility), and c) pathetically slow. This is not to deny that high heels can be fun.

Yes, they're glamorous and yes, they're quite fun to dance in for a few minutes. But there are so many pretty, dainty flats to wear to parties, and you'll dash about like a veritable dynamo, leaving men in your wake wondering who that fabulous creature was. Wear stilettos and you'll spend the evening slumped uncomfortably in the corner before you give it up, take off your shoes and show the world your cracked heels and hammer toes.

SIZING: The high-street myth
Billions of women bow down daily to the altar of size, basing their mood and general sense of self on whether or not they are able to fit into the size 10 trousers today. If it's a yes, you'll skip down the street to the bus stop, patting small children on the head and waving jauntily to the newsagent as if you were starring in a Judy Garland musical. Can't even get them over your thighs? A cloud as dark as pitch swamps your horizon, you're filled with self-loathing and disgust and cancel that lunch with your friend because you have decided never to eat again.

Yet sizes alter between shops and designers because there are no stipulations about what the measurements are – everyone knows that one store's size 10 is another's size 12. Many high-street stores need to bear in mind that a large majority of their customers are teenagers and therefore their sizes have to be a little smaller to avoid putting negative digits on some of their labels. But that does seem a bit tough on the adult shopper.

So although sizes should not be seen as a negative reflection on your personal appearance, they should, nonetheless, be taken pretty personally. A store whose sizes seem to be so angrily unwelcoming is a store that is saying it doesn't want you as a customer. Respond in kind with a spin on your heel and your purse remaining tucked inside your whatever-sized jeans.

VANITY: The joys thereof?
When people knock fashion the most common criticism is that it's a vain, self-obsessed pursuit. But the fact is that feeling pride in one's appearance instils happiness and self-confidence. I concede that at times this does cross over into extremes resulting in quite the opposite, with women labouring under a lifetime curse of self-hatred and physical contortion – and this is very wrong. But it seems similarly anti-female to insist that in order to be a true feminist, one is not allowed to have any vanity. This is just a breath away from the old anti-feminist stereotype about hairy armpits which has made a current generation of girls loath to describe themselves as feminists in case this makes them sound in favour of body hair as opposed to equal pay.

Patriarchal society or not, everyone likes to look good. Even Ann Widdecombe went blond, and, as this proves, this is not just about looking good for the boys – it's about looking in the mirror and having a little smile. DATES and why they are the one event for which you really needn't worry about what you wear. Of course you want to look nice, but you know what looks best of all? You feeling comfortable, relaxed and confident about your appearance. You could find the shortest, slinkiest, sexiest dress in the world, but if you spend the whole evening tugging at your cleavage and pulling down the hem you may as well have worn a sack for all the seductive signals you're giving out.

Don't wear stupid shoes you can't walk in, and don't wear anything that will give you hypothermia; just stick with an old favourite that always makes you feel good and has garnered you compliments in the past. A girl laughing and dancing and making sparkly conversation = attractive; a girl whingeing about being cold and insisting on getting a taxi for a 200-yard journey = a colossal pain.

Taken from The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable by Hadley Freeman (Penguin, £15).

JEANNE LANVIN

LANVIN designer handbags tall black patent leather tote kentucky bag. It's a tote or shoulder bag. It's the ultimate designer purse. A perfect find for the designer purse connoisseur. A tall black patent leather trimmed with black grain leather. Double rolled and stitched straps. Fully lined. Inside pocket. LANVIN silver and gold tone medallion hangs off one side of the handle. Black leather strapping completely around the top of the bag and down front and backside. Adjustable notches can be used to change the size of the bag. The Lanvin Kentucky bag measures about 14 x 13 x 5 inches with double straps about 20 inches each. The drop is about 8 inches. The Lanvin bag is called the Kentucky bag. It is constructed of patent calf veau verni. This model has been handcrafted with the most natural leathers and treated in order to respect their authenticity. The irregular aspect is inherited from the natural beauty of this leather.Guaranteed authentic. Comes with sleeper bag.

Lanvin is a Paris clothing label founded by Jeanne Lanvin. Jeanne Lanvin was born in 1847 and died in 1946. She was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house. Lanvin became known for her mother and daughter outfits and exquisite robes de style as well as her modern and global approach to the fashion industry. Lanvin was the eldest of 11 children. At age 16 she was an apprentice milliner at Madame Felix in Paris then trained at dressmaker Talbot and 1889 set up as a milliner at 22 rue du Faubourg Saint Honore. The House of Lanvin is one of the most famous Paris design houses of our time.

from The History of Fashion

Madame Jeanne Lanvin's active fashion career spanned 50 years from the 1890's up to the New Look just after World War II. In 1867 Jeanne Lanvin was born on New Year's day of 1867 in Parus, France. She was the eldest of 10 children of a pair of Paris journalist. She started her career at the age of 13 in the year 1880 at the hatshop of Madam Felix in the famous fashion street of Paris, the Rue du Faubourg Sant-Honore.. Then she trained as a dressmaker at a house called Talbot. In 1889 she started up her own millinery shop in the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore and added womenswear to her line.

In 1901 the Lanvin name was added toi the French Fashion Yearbook (or directory of designers) and she became very popular.. In 1895 Jeanne married the Italian aristocrat Count Emilio di Pieror. In 1897 her daughter Marguerite was born. She divorced Count Pietro in 1903. However, she remarried in 1907 to a journalist named Xavir Melet, who later became the French consul in Manchester, England, although Jeanne did not live in England much.

While making hats in the first decade of the 1900's, she also made dresses for a younger sister and her daughter. Lanvin's clothes came to the attention of other mothers with daughters, who asked her to make dresses for them, so in 1909 Jeanne began making dresses for sale (in addition to hats) and her reputation grew in Paris as a designer of mother-daughter fashions. As can be seen from the pictures shown here of early 1910's (Edwardian era in England) of the clothes she made, she made no distinction between women's and children's wear, the youthfulness of both being an important aspect of early 20th century fashion. Demand by young women for her clothes, persuaded Jeanne Lanvin to open a Haute Couture section of her house, selling very high quality -mother/daughter fashions. Jeanne's love of Botticelli, stained glass windows and Impressionist paintings was the inspiration for her romantic clothes. She dressed the Princesse de Lucinge, Sasha Guitry's four wives, and numerous other celebrities of the day. A tulle collar worn on top of a black daydress, is shown here.

The Lanvin Logo

Paul Iribe, the famous illustrator, created the Logo shown on the right, for the house of Lanvin, from a drawing by Jeanne herself stressing the bond between here as a mother and her daughter Marguerite (called by her ......) shown on the left. Jeanne Lanvin's daughter Marguerite was a beautiful child and young adult, adored by her mother, with a brilliant sense of style. Her mother loved to dress her in wonderful creations. In the early 1920's she made a very aristocratic marriage to a French Count. She was one of the leading fashion icons of the 1920's and 1930's. She changed her name to Marie-Blance abd became the Comtesse de Polignac, continuing to wear her mother's beautiful gowns. In 1913 Lanvin created her famous "robes de style" based on 18th century designs. These small waisted, full skirted dresses remained popular for many years and were fore-runners of the New Look which Dior brought out just after World War II.

In 1914 influenced by orientalism, she turned to exotic evening wear in Eastern-style velvets and satins. During the 20's Lanvin made a simple Chemise dress which later became the basic outline for the twenties. Over the following years, she introduced several interesting developments. In 1921 a Riviera collection introduced Aztec embroidery. In 1922 a Breton suit appeared in the Lanvin collection. This comprised a gently gathered skirt, a short braided jacket with lots of small buttons and a big white organdy collar turning down over a red satin bow. A sailor hat topped the outfit.

In 1919, just after World War I ended, Jeanne introduced what was called the "Wartime Crinoline". It was a big change from the Hobble skirt in fashion just a few years earlier (started by Poiret) and ladies preferred the new mid-calf length fuller skirt, with the waist in the proper place. One of her designs from 1919 is shown here.on the right. With this look, a parasol, a wide-brimmed hat and a fan were compulsory accessories if one wanted to be "de rigeur". Many of her evening gowns were fringed with monkey fur, ostrich, steel beads, velvet ribbons or silk tassels.

As the 1920's came in, dancing was the craze, so dresses got shorter, withe fringes at thehem, and a flatter chested silhouette was popular. Hair was much shorter than in the Edwardian decade and so the Cloche hat became popular. Headbands were also a craze to keep the hair in place while doing dances like the Charleston. Jeanne Lanvin kept up with all these new crazes by designing the clothes the young twenties ladies wanted. Jeanne Lanvin dressed film actresses like Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and Yvonne Printemps in the 20's and 30's. She also had clients like the Queens of Italy and Roumania, and English princesses.

Her work was easily recognizable by her skilful use of embroidery and her fine craftsmanship as shown here from 1923. She used a particular shade of blue so often that it came to be known as "Lanvin Blue". For Jeanne Lanvin, women were meant to wear clothes of unabashed feminity, in colours that were pretty, and whose shapes had a "young girl" look. She often set the mood with narrow empire-waisted dresses and long trailing sleeves. In 1926 a menswear division was opened by Lanvin, and so she became the first couturier to dress whole families including sons and fathers. Her branches were opened in Nice, Cannes and Biarritz.

The fabrics that she used were silk, taffeta, velvet, silk chiffon, organza, lace, tulle, etc. She used a lot of free-flowing ribbons, ruffles, flowers, lace, mirrors, etc., and liked ornamentation like applique, couching, quilting, parallel stitching, and embroidery. The house of Lanvin, like all other houses, suffered throughout the 2nd World War, although she kept designing. In 1946, Jeanne Lanvin died at the age of 79. Her daughter Marie-Blanche took over the running of the house, till she herself died in 1958. Antonio del Castillo, a Spanish designer, joined Lanvin as designer in 1950 and returned the house to great success. He remained until 1962. In 1963 Jules-Francois Crahay, a Belgian designer, took over the reins of the house, and remained till 1984. In 1982 Maryll Lanvin, the third generation of the Lanvin family, started designing for the house. The Cosmetic giant L'Oreal acquired the house of Lanvin in 1990 and has appointed several designers thereafter.

During the 90's in addition to presenting his own collections, Claude Montana has also been designing for Lanvin. Giorgio Armani also designed for a while. From 1997 to 2001 Christina Ortiz was the chief designer for haute couture. From 1997 to 2001 Lanvin's ready-to-wear collections were being designed by ex-Versace, ex-Herve Leger designer Ocimar Versolato. In August 2001 an investor group led by Shaw Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media baroness, took over the house of Lanvin. They appointed Israeli-born designer Elber Albaz as the new creative director of Lanvin. His first collection was Fall 2002.

Alber Elbaz

In October 2001, the house of Lanvin announced the appointment of Alber Elbaz as the new creative director. His first collection was Fall 2002. Click on Alber Elbaz to read more about him.

Spring/Summer 2003 :

Alber Elbaz presented Lanvin's Spring/Summer 2003 collection in Paris in October 2002 which was very well received. This is an outfit from that collection. He beat the drum for Africa and produced a graceful collection of rugged linens, raw edges and proud heads.

Fall/Winter 2003 :

Alber presented the Fall collection for the house of Lanvin during Paris Fashion Week in March 2003. On the right is an outfit from the collection which had a ladylike-meets-military theme. Elbaz pushed delicate classicism towards an inspiring new edge. He used extravagant materials - satin ribbon Chantilly lace, couture-grade silk, python skin and fur - and worked them alongside more modern exposed zippers and ribbed jersey.

Spring/Summer 2004

During Paris Fashion Week in October 2003, Alber Elbaz showed his Lanvin collection for next Spring. A dress from this collection is shown on the left. His particular focus was seamless draping, possibly the trickiest of all technical challenges. He showed slinky thirties-era glamour. He wrapped satin and taffeta around the body, with edges tied in loose flat bows or flicks out from sides of dresses. Silver or bronze sequined dresses looked divine and right in step with this season's styles. He described how the collection evolved by saying "every dress was done three times and everytime I cancelled something, in the end we only did dresses made out of one piece of fabric. This was new for me, very light, almost timeless. I added masks to give a mood of carnival of happiness and enjoyment." If you want to read more about Alber Elbaz career, click here.

Fall/Winter 2004 ready-to-wear

Alber Elbaz presented the Lanvin Fall collection in Paris during Fashion Week in March 2004. An outfit from the show is pictured on the right. this is a glorious feather coat which seems to fly away. Alber is a favourite with celebrity ladies because of his signature touches. His taffeta trench coats, satin ribbon details, his use of jewelry. This time he pinned crystal flower brooches on day dresses and put shredded chiffon roses in buttonholes. Some of his creations were so innovative, like a twisted loop at the back of a short black silk dress that opened to transform into a train. Another was a draped silk apron that untied to leave a bare shif beneath. He showed vests which could be worn over or under coats and detachable collars and cuffs to change your outfit according to your mood.

Spring/Summer 2005

During Paris Fashion Week in October 2004, Alber Elbaz showed his Lanvin collection for next Spring. A dress from this collection is shown on the left. This collection emphasized the success that Alber is having, showing generous skirts and puffy silhouettes drenched in exquisite colour from intense purples through sophisticated neutrals and pastels. He used Greek pleats along the lines of Madame Gres' creations and flowy gowns like Fortuny's tunics. His embellishments were strands of pearls, ribbons or blue stones, and he even added brass-bobbles to pockets.

Autumn/Winter 2005

The much beloved Alber Elbaz' Autumn/Winter collection for the house of Lanvin, was shown during Paris Fashion Week in March 2005. On the left is one of the beautiful Little Black Dresses included in the show, this one with a high waist line and a fluttering chiffon skirt. He has been most successful at Lanvin because of his soft dresses and simple coats. He played with different silhouettes in a masterful way, short and wide for a swing coat or full skirt and long and slim with a mini trench coat. A sharp tuxedo coat dress or a playful feathered dress, along with a grey jersey column that was grace itself.

Lanvin's Success

Alber has become much beloved by Lanvin clientele. He uses not only black, or the white he chose when Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons asked him to participate in her London store, but also vivid satins in parakeet green or fuscsia, or a bright red trenchcoat. He says that his boss offers him freedom and respect so that he can mix sportswear with couture grace, comfort with elegance.

Spring/Summer 2006
Paris Fashion Week

Alber Elbaz presented his Lanvin Spring/Summer 2006 collection during Paris Fashion Week in October 2005. A grey satin sleeveless knee-lenth dress from the collection is shown on the right. It has applique black satin flowers on it. He went for the eighties look, with a lot of black clothes worn with obi sashes or a Japanese hair ornament. Shoulders were sharper this season, and neckties gave some clothes a masculine air. He used Japan and cherry blossoms as inspiration for his cocktail dresses. He did use a few witty details, like a zipper deliberately left half closed on the back of a dress. Kimono dresses, delicately wrapped, were charming.

Getting a Handle on Louboutin

from Women's Wear Daily

PARIS — Christian Louboutin is outfitting his business with a new platform of controlled growth. Key legs of the plan include a concerted push into handbags, a rollout of boutiques and more aggressive protection of the brand's trademarks, especially Louboutin's signature red soles. In an exclusive interview, Louboutin and Alexis Mourot, his chief operating officer and general manager, outlined a plan that includes:

- Building handbags, which represents less than 5 percent of sales today, to 20 percent of the business in three years.

- Expanding the company's network of freestanding stores to 36 locations in the next three years, up from nine at present.

- Trimming wholesale distribution worldwide to give the brand maximum exposure in the best doors.

In recent years, Louboutin's growth has been explosive and the designer — known for an exacting, hands-on approach to design and quality control — tapped Mourot from Marc Jacobs International to exert a tighter grip on various aspects of the business, from the supply chain and distribution to brand management.

Retail sales of Louboutin products reached 170 million euros, or $248.2 million, last year, according to Mourot, and revenues have been advancing in excess of 40 percent annually.

"The only thing that stops our growth is our production capacity," said Louboutin, dressed in a striped blazer and vivid orange corduroy pants. Mourot said he's streamlined the order-taking process, and negotiated a "number-one priority" status with all the brand's factories in Italy. "It's great to have a good product, but it's even better to have great products delivered earlier and better," he said.

On the distribution front, Mourot has been weeding out smaller doors in the U.S. and Japan, particularly apparel-driven boutiques where designer footwear gets little prominence.

"The sell-through is always better when you're well represented and when you're not mixed with the clothes," Louboutin explained. "And when we're in a shoe salon, we want to be the best one with the best representation."

Wholesale represents 88 percent of revenues, a proportion that will change as Louboutin boutiques, both company-owned and with retail partners, open up around the world. Coming this year are new locations in Las Vegas; South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif.; London; Jakarta, Indonesia; Singapore, and either Beijing or Shanghai, plus a second store in Moscow and a third in Paris.

Mourot said he envisions up to 10 stores in the U.S., "but no more." An agreement with Hong Kong-based Pedder Group calls for 12 stores in the next four years in the Asian region, excluding Japan.

At present, the U.S. accounts for 52 percent of Louboutin's sales; Europe, the Middle East and Russia, 30 percent, and Asia and Japan, 18 percent.

Louboutin introduced handbags about two years ago, and has even collaborated with a local graffiti artist on some styles. Recently, however, he assembled a dedicated team of designers, merchandisers and production experts to build the business and respond to growing demand from customers, especially for daytime styles.

Part one of his fall 2008 collection includes a range of functional bags — some with built-in pocketbooks, others with intricate passementerie embroideries — along with jewel-like evening clutches and pouches with chain handles. A coin-purse-style clasp with two heel-to-heel stilettos is a signature feature on many styles.

Mourot and Louboutin said existing stores would be expanded or reconfigured to better display the expanded bag ranges.

As for trademark protection, Mourot declined to give specifics on recent cases, citing confidentiality agreements, but he vowed to become more vigilant in protecting the Louboutin trademark, with the red soles now recognized worldwide as the designer's property.

And, while it's fast approaching big-league status, Louboutin's company retains an informal and familial atmosphere — his headquarters a jumble of separate offices, showrooms and ateliers on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau that ensures a constant game of "Where's Christian?" Louboutin said he's keen to keep things that way: "It's still a very young adventure."

Anya Hindmarch's designer handbags getting a lot of press lately

ANYA HINDMARCH ossie handbag in bronze metallic leather

Anya Hindmarch: Dave's got a brand new bag lady
She turned a £5 cotton shopper into the most desirable handbag around and was trying to save the planet. Now the superstar designer is helping David Cameron do the same for the Tories

Interview by Cole Moreton

When Anya Hindmarch says that she loves Baroness Thatcher, I want to run. "She has been such an inspiration," says the designer, and I want to leave her sitting there in her boardroom, calm among scented candles and £600 handbags, and flee – down the stairs, past the willowy beauties in the office and out on to the streets of Battersea. I want to find a betting shop, and say to the man behind the counter, breathlessly: "A fiver. On Dave. To say he loves Maggie."

If he can make sense of that, the odds will be high. David Cameron, Conservative leader, often seems embarrassed to be in the same party as the elderly, wild-eyed Baroness Thatcher. But here is Anya Hindmarch, the nation's most fashionable designer of handbags (go on, name another) who is a good friend of Dave and the glamorous organiser of this Wednesday's Black and White Ball – the glitziest night of the Tory year, when the New Cameronians will strut their stuff – enthusing about her debt to the Iron Lady. "I started my business young," she says. "I was 18. Lady Thatcher was pushing the nation to say, 'Get on with it. Get out there. Get going.' Everyone was buying shares ..."

She makes it sound as thrilling as naked skydiving. Perhaps it was. Plenty of people came down with an equally nasty bump, but that's forgotten now in Tory circles. So was Thatcher, but watch this space. As she speaks I think, hmm, Dave must be for turning.

Anya Hindmarch knows what people want before they do, you see. That's her job. The woman sitting straight-backed at the big white table, dressed in black, is also an alchemist. She sniffs out moods, plucks fancies from the air, and combines them with leather and cloth to create objects that sell for a lot of gold. If she says Thatcher is cool again, she's cool again.

Twice Glamour magazine's Designer of the Year, Hindmarch will have 60 shops around the world by the end of this, her 40th, year. Madonna carries her bags, as does Scarlett Johansson. To those of us who can't tell a Prada from a Lada, she is best known for I'm Not A Plastic Bag, the £5, limited-edition tote that caused near-riots when it went on sale last year. The unbleached cotton bag was meant to help save the planet by easing pressure on landfill sites, but also made her a household name. On the day of release, 80,000 people queued to buy one.

"It was unbelievable," says Hindmarch, but that's false modesty. "We planned to get as much drama and hysteria into it as possible." Why? "I wanted to make people aware that doing what I used to do – going to the supermarket, taking 30 plastic bags because I've got five children, going home and putting all the bags in the bin and, ultimately, the landfill – is stupid."

The queues were replicated in the States and around the world. In Taiwan, 30 people were hospitalised in the scramble. "It was awful." Sales of that bag have now stopped, except on auction sites. But how do you plan for "drama and hysteria"?

"The fashion formula," she says, quietly but quickly. What's that? "If a designer who would normally sell a bag for £500 suddenly sells one for £5, the access point to the brand is much lower. Add an incredibly important cause that everyone is starting to think about. Get Keira Knightley wearing it, and other beautiful chicks who are very influential. Then there is scarcity value, which was not manufactured – we just had no idea how many we would need. That's quite a potent formula."

The attacks on her were potent too. The bag was made in sweatshops, wasn't it? "Categorically not. It was made by a fantastic factory which makes for the biggest American companies and is audited externally every month." Shipping it here from China was hardly planet friendly though? "That's naïve. We're not going to be able to make something that will create the awareness we need for £5 in England. My God, I wish ... but we can't." But some shops sold it in plastic bags, didn't they? "No. We told the stores not to let anyone do that. Some customers did take a plastic bag from the counter because they had been queueing all night for their girlfriend and didn't want to get a mark on it. You want to smack them, but there's nothing you can do about it."

The bottom line was the message. "People who bought one are spreading the word. We did something I am proud of." The transportation was carbon offset. "I'm not convinced by all that, but there are big wins we can make. Let's focus on those."

That sounds very much like Dave. "Oh God. Stop it!" Like Cameron, she grew up in a happy family, has lots of money and lives in an exclusive area (Belgravia, in her case). Like him, she has the ability to make you forget all that when you meet her. You can almost see her lugging shopping from Sainsbury's into the back of her Land Rover, without a nanny or personal assistant in sight. Almost.

"I'm thinking Jude Law," she says on the phone to one of her sons, who wants to know how to get his hair cut. Hindmarch is married to James Seymour, a director of her company. He was a widower when they met and had three children already. They have had two more together. "Actually," she says, flicking the phone off, "I'm thinking of Jude Law pretty much all the time!"

She's nice. That's disconcerting. The girls downstairs stared as if they'd never seen a slightly overweight, poorly-dressed man before, but she even apologises for eating a quiche and a mountain of broccoli while we talk. She's deadly serious about business, but admits with a laugh that fashion is "a bit frilly". It's a form of brainwashing isn't it? "Yes," she says cheerfully. "I'm fascinated by it. We will look back on this era, with those stick-thin women with those huge lollipop heads, and go, 'What was anyone thinking? How could that ever be attractive?'"

That's Anya Hindmarch talking. The name on the bags the stick girls carry. The daughter of a self-made man. Born in one of the posher parts of Essex, she didn't go to university after convent school. She went to Italy to check out leather goods, and came back with a handbag that "all the cool girls were wearing". She sold them – thanks to a friend of a friend – through Harpers and Queen. Hindmarch still designs the understated, handmade bags herself, from whatever inspires her. "Fifties architecture, at the moment."

But come on, why bags? What is there to get hysterical about? "I love bags," she says, "because you don't have to try them on, you don't have to be a certain size, they can completely alter your mood." Really? "Ha! It's weird talking to a guy about this. A girl spends a ridiculous amount of money on a handbag. It's madness. But why? They are mood altering. When an actor gets into his shoes, he gets into the part. It's the same thing for a girl with a handbag," she says. "It is a form of self-expression, which is very important in life. It's showing our colours. It's tribal."

How does she square an environmentalist's dislike of waste with blowing a fortune on a bag? "Look, there's a huge industry behind this. There's an awful lot of people downstairs I employ, all of whose families are supported. That is the way the world works. I'm a commercial girl." And a modern girl. A leading member of the "new gang" of successful, young and fashionable Londoners she says are committing to the party. The environmentalist Zac Goldsmith was alongside her on the organising committee for the Black and White Ball, but many more creative and successful friends have "come out of the closet" in recent months, she says. "They all agree we need a change."

Guests will pay at least £450 (and up to £35,000) for a ticket. Charles Moore, the former Telegraph editor, called last year's party "an ordeal" featuring "someone dressed like a Russian prostitute sprawled on a bar playing an aluminium guitar". But that wasn't organised by Hindmarch. "I hope it will be elegant and beautiful. We've built eight Chelsea Flower Show gardens inside a tent."

This being New Tory, the flowers will be exquisitely tasteful, but not just for show. "We're donating most of the plants to schools and parks through the Conservative Social Action Programme. That's probably as much as I should say on politics." Probably. Let's press on anyway. It's the Notting Hill Party now, isn't it? "The people I have spoken to are not the Notting Hill gang," she says, a little crossly. "They're from all sorts of backgrounds. People who have got off their bums and done something."

Very Thatcher. Hanging on the wall of her office in a frame is a handwritten letter from the baroness, thanking Hindmarch for the navy blue handbag she sent as a gift. And guess what? Dave loves Maggie now too, it turns out after this interview. To many people's surprise, on Thursday he presented this "towering figure" with a Great Briton award. Anya Hindmarch knew what was in the air. It's what she does. Shame about the bet, though – with a big win, I could almost have bought a handle.

8 Style Musts If You're Front Row At NYC Fashion Week (Or Would Like To Be)

by Huffington Post

1. Well, let's see, no sooner had I written a piece entitled "The Death of the Designer Handbag," than I see the Wall Street Journal has written almost exactly the same article in last weekend's paper. I predicted it, the WSJ blessed it, so, I think it's fair to say that as you're sitting front row (or in any row for that matter) at the shows here next week, it's not about making a fashion statement with your new tricked out handbag. It's all about the non-descript handbags today. Want to be cool sitting along the catwalk? Don't flash a logo.

2. So if it's not about the bag, what does stand out? The watch. Now, here, it's ALL ABOUT logo, my friends. I am personally feeling a larger face, preferably round; silver or gold, diamonds or no diamonds. There are no set rules here, almost anything goes. This is a category worth spending on. A great watch can make the most basic outfit look totally chic.

3. Fashion shows are dramatic--they are theater--so dress a bit the part yourself. Add a special something to your look. You'll know you've hit it when you're just a little hesitant to step out your door, but excited with what you've pulled together....that's when you know you're on to something. Take a bit of a risk, and have fun doing it.

4. Sunglasses. 'Nuff said.

5. If you're deathly shy, bring your blackberry. You can keep your face in it until the show gets started and look very popular and very busy in the process.

6. If you're definitely NOT shy, bring your lapdog.

7. Wear the designer's clothes to the show, particularly if you are planning to duck backstage after the show to lay a congratulatory peck on the cheek. There is no greater flattery.

8. Lastly, if you really are sitting front row, you probably don't need this piece of advice but I'll dispense it just in case. Pay attention to the condition of your shoes. I can't tell you how many runway pictures I've scanned where front row attendees invariably have their legs crossed and one foot is front and center...a ratty looking shoe, center stage in someone's shot of the $10,000 gown. Ugh.

In my next blog I'll send up photos of what goes on behind the scenes at a fashion house: the fun, the stress, the insanity leading up to the fashion show. Stay tuned and as always...stay well-dressed.

Italy's Prada plans for June IPO-WSJ

NEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Italian luxury fashion house Prada has scheduled its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) for June, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The report, quoting a source familiar with the matter, said the company was planning to list despite worries of a U.S. economic slowdown spreading to Europe's luxury market. The source was quoted as saying the IPO was scheduled for the latter half of June.

Prada, whose designer Miuccia Prada is known to set trends in clothing, shoes and handbags, has said it aims to list in 2008. In December, it said it had appointed banks to coordinate the deal. The company has previously ditched listing plans due to market volatility. "There is nothing new to what we said in December, which is that we are considering an IPO for 2008, and there is no schedule yet," a Prada spokesman in Milan said on Thursday.

"We are meeting with our advisers and we will be evaluating the timing in due course." (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Milan)

Melie Bianco Handbags - A Modern Day Wonder Under $100

DesignersLA now carries fashion forward Melie Bianco handbags
which retail for under $100

Sky Valley, CA (PRWEB) January 28, 2008 – Dedicated to offering its clientele designer handbags at off-retail prices, eFashionHouse.com, named Best of the Web by People magazine’s StyleWatch, continues to find ways to pass on even more savings to its valued customers by carrying famed Melie Bianco handbags. Known for creating handbags that are “chic” and “affordable,” Melie Bianco is fast becoming the talk of the town among fashion editors and style mavens alike due to her fashion forward styles and entirely attainable prices.

“We are so excited to carry Melie Bianco in the DesignersLA store. If owning a designer handbag made from the finest craftsmanship for under a hundred dollars seems to good to be true, than you don’t know about Melie Bianco handbags,” says Anna Miller, eFashionHouse.com owner and operator. “Not only do Melie Bianco handbags fit our young, edgy clientele but they work with our customers who are on a budget or don’t like dropping thousands of dollars on a beloved designer handbag.”

A local Los Angeles designer, Melie Bianco handbags can be seen on the arms of Hollywood starlets but are priced so that non-celebrities can be just as fabulous, which is why her collection has been featured in such fashion magazines like Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Self and People StyleWatch and on TV shows like Today Show and Good Day New York.

Made from the softest “butter-like” faux leathers, Melie Bianco handbags feature sleek modern designs, like distressed patent leather, silver python and gathered hobos. Plus for those who are looking for an alternative to leather, all Melie Bianco handbags are made from faux leather (but you’d never know it). And at such affordable prices, $56-$76 depending on the style, Melie Bianco handbags make the perfect gift for friends and family.

One of five eFashionHouse.com online stores, DesignersLA has been operating since 2003 and only carries Los Angeles-based fashion designers. The site carries a wide range of LA designers from local legends like Bells & Whistles and Melvone to household names like Juicy Couture and Trina Turk. Inventory includes handbags, jewelry and more and all items are 100% authentic and below retail.


About eFashionHouse.com
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She operates the website http://www.efashionhouse.com/ and sells high-end authentic designer handbags and accessories at off-retail prices. EFashionHouse.com was named Best of the Web by People Magazine StyleWatch for Discount Designer Handbags and Purses. eFashionHouse.com should not be confused with any other website selling a similar product or using a similar name. EfashionHouse.com is the home of five fashion ecommerce stores: BrandsBoutique, LuxuryVintage, DesignersLA, ItalysOutlet, and ValueBags. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer & Ecommerce Entrepreneur. She’s been reselling Designer Merchandise online since the early 90s. eFashionHouse.com has an extensive Press Page and a Fashion Blog Network. Visit the site for more details.