Made of the softest calfskin which takes on color perfectly, the Loewe Barcelona is not only divine to look at, they also are divine to touch. Inspired by the colors of Barcelona’s hot spots – the Parque Guell, Batllo House, Boqueria Market and the Soho Born. Priced at around GBP650, the Barcelona tote is available in blue, green, red, pink and ash. A classic material, in my opinion.
Image is courtesy of Loewe
It is not an eye popping bag but it is an embodiment of a Loewe product – timeless design, quality material and impeccable workmanship. A man has to let go of that Nike or Adidas travel bag he adores to the core in the high school and moves on to a classic travel bag in one time of his life and besides that classic Vuitton Keepall, this is a worthy handsome alternative. Available in Loewe stores for GBP925.
Image is courtesy of Loewe
Hmm… Yummy color pallet. Love the purple, blue, orange and red!
Image is courtesy of Loewe
The Loewe Anagram is such a beautiful work of art that it makes everything else it is on beautiful too. This Ada bag is a classic, vintage-inspired shape, of which given the recent vintage resurgence, could have been passed on as another vintage-inspired bag. However, the beautiful tan leather and the Anagram logo just give it an additional classy touch. The Ada bag is available at your nearest Loewe stores. Price is around GBP1,600.
Image is courtesy of Loewe
David Villa might not have reached the mega celebrity status like Beckham, Kaka or Ronaldo but I think he deserves some celebrity limelight on. Despite his relatively small frame, IMO, Villa always looks gorgeous and well groomed with good hair in place and facial hair at the right places. One thing I have noticed is that, he loves Louis Vuitton. Three occasions, three different Vuitton pieces. It is always nice to see a world-class football player wears or carries something classier than an Adidas. The most right picture is Villa carrying a Loewe bag, not a Vuitton, but I am digging his overall look.
Hi Purseholic
I am buying a gift for my wife’s 37th birthday. We have been married for 12 years now and I am looking for something rather expensive and special. I am torn between a watch and a handbag. My wife wears a Seiko watch which I bought for her 5 years ago. She also owns three designer handbags from Gucci. Coach and Prada. My budget is S$3000 for a handbag and up to S$5000 for a watch. I don’t think she has any preference in particular but in your opinion, which one will a woman prefer? A watch or a handbag?
Alvin, Singapore
Hello Alvin
I am not very sure which one your wife would prefer but generally speaking, the art of horology is not something that the fairer sex would appreciate. Even if they do, it would be more for its looks rather than the mechanism that runs inside the watch.
In your case however, I am leaning more towards a watch for your wife as she has already own three designer bags and only one watch. Nevertheless, I am going to give you recommendation for both and you make the final call yourself.
Seiko is a decent watch and it runs for years but a Swiss made timepiece is a different thing altogether. For SGD5,000 or less, you could get a Tag Heuer. My sis just recently purchased a diamond-paved Tag and is very happy with it. Choose from one of the Tag Heuer Aquaracer watches above. They are fine watches, water resistant up to 300m and obviously versatile enough to be worn from day to eve. These watches are indeed running on Quartz rather than Automatic, then again, she would not mind. The brushed stainless steel version with diamond-paved bezel costs around SGD5,000 (left) while the stainless steel and yellow gold version costs around SGD3,000 (middle) or SGD4,000 for extra diamonds (right).
Now for handbags, I am thinking either a Louis Vuitton Brea GM in Epi Leather (around SGD2,500) or the classic Loewe Amazona 36 (around SGD2,500) would make a good addition to her small collection.
Trust me when I say that all the Tags and bags above are rarely seen in Singapore hence pretty special.
J Purseholic
Write to us at askme@purseholic.com
Images are courtesy of Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton and Loewe
Hi Purseholic
Just curious, what are the bags on your wish list now?
Jay, Singapore
Hi Jay
I don’t wish to burst your bubble but honestly there is not any one bag high on my wish list for now. Blame it to the designers who, in my opinion, have been slacking on the man bag department lately. For the next season, however, there are some bags that might trip me back into love.
Gucci Unisex Hobo bag for Fall/Winter 2010
Gucci Fall/Winter 2010 promises the return of the unisex Hobo bag. Like the Jackie and the Bamboo, the Hobo is one of the house’s most iconic bags, made popular mostly by Peter Sellers. I have been waiting for Frida to bring this back into Gucci collection for a few years now and this is exciting me. I just hope it comes in a leather version instead of just the suede version because Singapore climate is just not forgiving to suede.
Givenchy Biker Bag Nightingale
Another bag I am coveting is the Givenchy Nightingale, which reached its IT status thanks to the Olsen twins but is now the house’s staple bag. Givenchy made the man bag out of the classic starting this year with at least two variations for its men’s Fall/Winter 2010 collection. I have not seen the bags in person so I am not sure whether it stands well to the original. However, even if it does not suit my taste eventually, I might just get the large version of the original. Givenchy is opening in Paragon Singapore soon and hopefully it satisfies the society’s cravings for the Nightingale.
Tod’s D Bag Bauletto
Of course, there are also some women bags that I love so much I hope the designers would have the sensibility to pick up the cues and come up with the man bag. If the bag is not girly to begin with and it could be a man bag just by blowing it up, why not? I am talking to Alexander Wang for the Rocco bag and Derek Lam for the Tod’s D Bag Bauletto here.
Hermes HAC 40 in black Clemence
Lastly, there are some classic bags on my list but they will wait simply because: one, I still have not got the moolah to spare and two, I still have other priorities in life (more holidays, more properties, cars, watches and art pieces, to name a few). Those babies are the Loewe Amazona 44 in dark green Ostrich and Hermes Birkin 40/HAC 40 in navy blue Fjord.
Just FYI… if you happen to be feeling generous, I will take any one of the above any time.
J Purseholic
Write to us at askme@purseholic.com
Images are not owned by Purseholic.com