The Valentino Maison studded tote reached the “It” status last year, repeatedly spotted being toted by the girls in ‘Gossip Girls’ and the women in ‘Lipstick Jungle’ in various colors, too many, i lost track after the red and the white. This combo of brown body and black handle is interesting but it reminded me of a Philip Lim tote with the same color combo, in a good way since i remember liking that bag too. The thing about this bag is it costs USD700 more than the patent leather version. Would you pay that much more for the exact same bag minus the glossy checmical coating? The leather must be buttery soft, i am sure, but i would rather stick to the patent version, in a more exciting color such as turquoise and put the extra USD700 elsewhere. This one is available at Bergdorf for USD2,495 if you prefer the natural.

Image is courtesy of bergdorfgoodman.com