Look at what Lady Gaga started. Her MTV Video Music Awards outfit seemed to spark the idea of meat products worn as fashion items, like meat necklaces. I don’t eat beef jerky, let alone want to carry it in handbag form. Nancy Wu, a product design student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, crafted her ’100% Beef Jerky’ purse, entirely out of – you guessed ...

Yes, you read that right. Lady Gaga, who LIVES for shock and awe, took a black Sharpie marker to a white Hermes Birkin, just to give a message to her Japanese fans. We can’t imagine any fans woth defacing a Birkin, but thn again, we’re not Lady Gaga. The multi-thousand dollar bag which has a 5-mile long waiting list was probably easy for Gaga to get (you know, the whole celebrity thing ...

Remember when Fendi released a craft your own/do-it-yourself Fendi baguette kit? Obviously they didn’t learn from the first time and they have just released another one. This version is called the limited-edition Baguette Mezzo Punto, and it includes a canvas baguette, needle, thread and how-to charts to help you embroider the logo—so you can own your own needleoint Fendi. Because you really ...

It seems like every handbag designer’s mantra these days is ‘fashion meets function’. So knowing that I shouldn’t have been taken aback when I first saw this Zambos & Siega Umbrella Purse. The bag itself is a plain, boxy satchel made of wrinkled patent leather. And yes, it’s practical. There’s always that one day when it rains and you left your umbrella at home ...

On Chanel‘s recent show in Paris, models walked down the runway toting handbags sporting the likeness of Karl Lagerfeld on the front, like a mask. The ‘Kaiser’ Karl is known for saying some inane things and designing some questionable things, (like the recent Chanel ‘Miami Vice’ Gun shoes) but this is the most narcissistic act of fashion ever. What do you think of these ...

I can’t decide whether or not this Zimmermann Stud Bag bag looks like some sort of Woodstock-inspired wrecking ball, or an S&M torture device, or just a really cool bag. Honestly, it looks like it should be attached to a stick and used to swing around and beat someone with, but there’s something about it that also makes me want to swing it on my shoulder. Maybe it’s the silk ...

If this isn’t the most ridiculous bag I’ve ever seen, I don’t know what is. The Marc by Marc Jacobs Party Girl Bow Bag manages to be both idiotic and impractical. All it is, really, is a bow with a chain strapped to it and called a bag. There are double zipper closures at the main openings which are practically miniscule, and the bow has tacky tulle overlaying the metallic body. ...

Mulberry is one of those handbag brands that seems to pride itself on classic luxury. So when I came across the Milton shoulder bag on Net-a-Porter‘s website, I was baffled. Are fingerprinted handbags the new ‘It’ bags? The Milton looks like the leather was handled before the paint was dry, or someone put their greasy fingers on the front of the bag. It does have some redeeming qualities: 1) ...

I know this bag isn’t new but it was so tacky I didn’t feel compelled to write about it before. But now that I’ve introduced the Weekly WTF category on What’s Haute, I think it’s worhy to discuss. Michael Kors must be out of his mind. He’s charging $3,000 for a Seiko watch band strapped to some gator skin? The Beverly Gator Watch Clutch is one of the worst bags ...

Wow. A Fendi that has left me absolutely speechless. Perhaps the folks at Fendi have been reading What’s Haute and my thoughts on their awful design so they’ve decided to leave the designing up to us. I guess a Fendi I paint myself would look a lot better than most of their recent creations, but honestly, didn’t we stop the paint-by-number activities at age five? And I thought Color-Me-Mine ...

+ = When you shop at a high-end store like Barney’s, you tend to have high-end expectations, right? I would think that if Barney’s chose to create private label handbags, they’d be so fabulous you’d think they were handmade creations designed by some premier Italian designer. So when I saw this Barney’s branded creation that looks ‘inspired’ by Bert from ...

I learned how to crochet in 5th grade in my home economics class and thought it was the coolest thing to make granny squares (yes that once was cool). But that was then, and this is 2007. Are granny squares really what’s haute right now? The Chloe Katie embroidered bag looks like a craft project you find in some old bin in your grandmother’s attic, except that this craft project costs ...

I’m all for uniqueness, especially in fashion. But Barney’s selection of CO-OP bags are just plain odd. I found three that were especially perplexing: Jas MB’s Limited Edition Hobo is the least expensive of the three (on sale for $339), but equally strange. Why, oh why would anyone want top handles on a hobo? Why would you even want to carry it that way? Isn’t the whole point ...

Sorry for the lack of posts….My apartment was robbed last week and I’m still working things out in regards to that. It’s been both frustrating and exhausting trying to resolve all of the issues that arose as a result of the robbery and I haven’t had much time for posting. I promise to return to posting soon. Thanks for being loyal readers!  Read More →

For those of you who don’t know, that term is used for the point where a good TV show goes bad. For example, once the producers kill off an important character or change a critical storyline, the show usually goes down the tubes. I think the same can be said in fashion, or at least it should be. I have been very satisfied with Gustto’s trademark slouchy bags with large studs. And they ...