We are now in an age when we pay more attention to packaging, recycling and the general waste of cartons, plastics and carrier bags. The UK government has pledged its intention to reduce its carbon footprint by quite a significant amount over the next 10 years. [Unlike China, but that’s another blog for another time, on another site!]

With supermarkets now beginning to charge you for the use of their once free carrier bags and pushing bags for life in our faces, our choice, I have noticed, is very limited. They all seem a tad old fashioned, a mite too colourful and most certainly, almost always emblazoned with supermarket logos. No thanks …

We need to cast the net more widely in order to find suitable large shopper bags. We need to buy bigger and look better. Your two realistic options here are “satchel bags” and tote bags.

The Anya Hindmarch patent trim tote bag, made of smooth patent calf leather on the outside with the inside being lined with nylon, is perfect for those Saturday morning shopping sprees. Alternatively, grab a roomy satchel bag, sling it over your shoulder and head for Sainsbury’s!

If you are going to meet your prospective mother in law – this is the handbag to take - or maybe not - I am not quite sure. Anyway the Cath Kidston bags remind me of the Laura Ashley curtains my mum has in her kitchen and of a newer more trendier bag-version of the laminated shoppers of old ladies. But at the same time they look very pristine and innocent… so we have a split opinion!

Looking at Cath Kidston’s website (Is there a real person behind the name?) I discover that Cath has got some other similarities with Laura Ashley. It is the good home-makers heaven! Apart from the Cath Kidston handbags that I found on the internet, Cath Kidston also sells Homeware, Home Furnishings, Knitting and Sewing and even China!

Guess are really pretty close up. Something I have never really realised. I have to admit that they are not necessarily exactly my style, but I can understand why someone would find them appealing.

Guess are not purely a handbag brand, they are also famous for their other fashion items – besides clothing especially their watches and jewellery are worth a mention. Guess was founded by Georges, Armand, Paul, and Maurice Marciano, four brothers born in Ouarzazate Morocco but who supposedly grew up in the south of France and were influenced by the culture and style in the region. They moved to California in 1977 and founded the company in 1981.
Here are some handbags that you can currently buy online – one even as new as from the Autumn/Winter 2009/2010 collection!!

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Is it just me, or do we girls need a different handbag for every occasion? Clutch bags, over-the-shoulder bags, shopper bags, designer bags…the list goes on. No wonder men just cannot seem to compete in the style stakes, what do they get? Briefcases and backpacks. Not exactly high in the fashion stakes.

Taking the time to choose a handbag is a girl’s prerogative. We need to think about it. Do I really like the colour or is it just because it’s the latest recommendation in Cosmo? Will my £45 tin foil clutch bag still be in fashion in 3 months time? Is the suitcase-sized handbag on display going to fit all my worldly possessions in? You know, those sorts of things.

That’s why the must have is this season’s Tote Bag. You can find a whole range from Radley to Guess and subtle black to hot pink. Large enough to fit all those essential items in and so now.

Let’s look at it from a practical viewpoint; whether designer or Primark, the Tote Bag is also a very secure alternative to the smaller handbag. I can barely locate anything in the depths of my bag myself, let alone some opportunist thief trying to dip his hand in there.

What else that’s great about the Tote handbag, though, is that it’s ideal for shopping excursions and day trips. Say you go to the beach, for example, you throw everything in and keep it all together – sun cream, towel, a little something to read…the lot!

And even better, your Tote bag is unbeatable as hand luggage on a plane. Now, me, I don’t tend to know the meaning of the words “pack lightly” and luggage restrictions only add to my quandary when I’m choosing between my favourite, yet space-consuming, Diesel jeans and my sensible, but totally uncool ,walking shoes, which is why the bigger your hand luggage the more you can fit in your suitcase! Everybody’s happy. There’s logical reasoning in there somewhere….really.

Plus, you’re bound to catch the eye of that cute guy sitting across from you in the café with your funky (and unmissable) handbag…Need I say more?

A big thumbs up for the Tote from me!

This autumn, British accessory brand Jimmy Choo will bring its international glamour and covetable shoes and bags to selected H&M stores.

The collection will be available from November 14 in around 200 stores across the world. It is the first time that H&M is collaborating with an accessories brand, and to celebrate Jimmy Choo will extend its design vision for this collection to women’s clothing to complement the accessories. Further exciting news is that this collaboration includes a men’s collection of shoes, bags and accessories.

“We are privileged to be among the fashion greats who have been affiliated with H&M so far, and to be designing a collection appealing to fashion savvy, street smart women, and to be including some great pieces for men, too. Jimmy Choo will bring to H&M a sophisticated, fashion forward, accessible and glamorous collection – the perfect party pieces to buy now and then wear out that night!” Tamara Mellon, Founder and President, Jimmy Choo.

“We adore Jimmy Choo’s shoes and bags. They are glamorous and sexy, and they add instant style to the simplest of outfits. I like the way we have worked with clothes to accessorize the shoes and bags rather than the other way around. This collaboration is particularly exciting because it’s our first shoe designer collection. It’s a joy to be able to offer top end designer shoes and bags of excellent quality to our customers.” Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor, H&M.

Since its launch in 1996, Jimmy Choo has been such a phenomenal success that the brand name has become part of popular culture – say the words “Jimmy Choo”, and you know you mean shoes. In Hollywood, Jimmy Choo shoes have become a red-carpet essential, and have been worn at the Oscars by winners such as Cate Blanchett, Halle Berry and Hilary Swank among many other actresses. The famous Jimmy Choo shoes will be at the heart of the exclusive collection for H&M, but there’s more. Jimmy Choo has also become well known for its bags, and for H&M there will be a whole range of accessories to complete the look.

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful magic carpets really existed? You might feel a little precarious hovering in the starry sky balancing purely on a little piece of Axminster but I am sure you could get used to it.

Well the magic carpets might not be real but the carpet bag is still very much around. Seeking some examples of these so called handbags in styles and designs I might actually be seen dead with, they seem to have come along way. Carpet Bags are booming!

I have always imagined them to be exceptionally heavy when empty, let alone when full of all the useless bits and pieces I cart around and swap from tote bag to over shoulder bag. A rather aptly named company – Carpet Bags – have some outstanding examples that even I, the supporter of the “satchel bag” might well be interested in.

Some of these bags are probably more useful as an overnight or weekend bag given their size, but there are some exquisite designs that would be suitable for everyday use.

The weekend handbag has a steel frame and solid hand made brass fittings, it even sounds heavy! The poppy design in blue is my preferred choice. Lined with black cotton and equipped with mid length carry straps it would fit snugly over your shoulder and clutched to the side under your arm, even when wearing a coat! It also sports a carpet drop pocket inside that is perfect for storing those items you need to locate in a hurry.

I seem to have become very interested in the world’s most expensive items recently. Having reviewed dresses, luggage, hotels and whatever else, I wondered what the world’s most ludicrously overpriced evening handbag might look like.

Enter a one-off design by Ginza Tanaka from Japan. The first point to notice is that it requires a magnifying glass to see it. More of an evening clutch handbag than anything useful! Let me get the most important bit of information out first, sit down and hold onto the side. This handbag is worth a cool £1 million. I nearly fainted. It’s made from platinum and set with exactly 2000 diamonds, totalling 208 carats. How many designer inspired handbags could match such a feat, I wonder?

Apparently this handbag’s got more than just a pretty face - it deems itself to be versatile as well. Just how versatile can a tiny handbag be, I wonder?

The shoulder strap is diamond encrusted and can be taken off the bag and doubles as a necklace or bracelet. Not bad … what else? The eight carat pear shaped diamond clasp can also be removed and used as a brooch. That’s good… what else? NOTHING that’s what. It doesn’t even come with a waterproof security enabled bag in which to stash your £1 million handbag when you’re out dancing with your mates. Gosh! That thought made me feel a little bit sick.

I just did want to clarify the size of this bag one more time and put this into perspective for you. The picture shows a lady with perfectly manicured and polished hands holding the clutch in her palm - with space either side!

It’s quite hard to get a good black leather handbag. Brown leather is not quite tough enough, but the problem with black is that is can often look cheap, regardless of the actual price tag.

I only own one black leather bag: a small evening handbag. Quite often I dress in black for a day in the office, so I went in search of something that wouldn’t break the bank balance but looked as though it was good quality.

Jane Shilton handbags are exceptionally good value for money, they are also available to purchase online and with the added bonus that if you order by 4pm, they despatch the same day, perfect for appeasing my impatience.

What is even better about “Jane Shilton handbags” is that you can gain an additional 20% discount if you buy a pair of her shoes as well. I cannot think of a better reason to invest in new footwear!

Trawling past the dross of black ladies handbags that looked a little old fashioned I stumbled upon one that ticked all the right boxes: the Melbourne large croc printed glazed leather tote/shoulder bag. It’s reasonably large without being ridiculously oversized. You know it’s too big when you put your keys in and then can’t find them again for days. Though come to think of it, this could be trait of all bags, large or small …

Often, we feature the latest designer handbags, the new must-haves, the bags the celebrities have all got their mitts on, you know the ones, they are the Prada bags and Gucci bags for which you save up months in order to own if you’re not famous enough to be given one for free.

Seldom, however, do we talk about how to look after these little investment pieces. After all, at some point, you are going to have to part with them even if it’s literally on your death-bed and you’re passing down your designer handbag to future generations of fashionistas.

So here are some maintenance tips: for starters, it’s all well and good bunging all your personal belongs into it, but watch out for lipsticks and other bits of make-up because they can cause untold damage to the lining of your favourite friend. Also, leather bags and especially suede handbags rarely respond well to water or ink stains, so watch out for those pens and bottles of water you might be tempted to carry with you.

You can buy specific products called purse protectors if you are one of those ultra- meticulous types or perhaps a quick zip to the local supermarket for some cheap containers.

Your precious Prada bag also needs protecting when it’s not adorning your arm. Consider keeping it covered with a pillowcase or equivalent, just in case some of those other items in your wardrobe happen to scratch it. And, if you plan on only using it occasionally and it resides mainly in said pillowcase, sensible advice would be to take off any additional parts, buckles, straps etc that might potentially dent the material.

Now you know all this, feel free to go and splash the cash. I firmly recommend the latest Gucci number called Babouska. It’s gorgeous!