Westfield & The Pursuit Of Perfection: Statement Bags

Up until now I’ve been fairly conservative with my Pursuit of Perfection posts – but that kind of conservatism doesn’t really reflect the true nature of fashion. You can’t play it safe all the time. So this post is about bags, not leather briefcases or tasteful satchels – statement bags. You can afford to push the envelope when it comes to accessories like shoes and bags.  Sometimes an injection of colour or design from an over the top accessory elevate the most simple outfit. I’m also eschewing high street in favour of high end here. Westfield Village has all the designer fashion you could ever want so let’s see whats on offer. Even if you can’t afford them everyone enjoys a bit of window shopping right? 

One of the biggest trends for AW14 menswear are blankets – that is, blanket sized scarves (I refuse to call them mankets). Burberry perfected this look on the runway and it was seen from ready to wear right through to accessories. If there’s a must have bag this season it’s this one. As well as the blanket version there’s a Mondrian inspired design as well as a hand painted floral version. 

Longchamp make fantastic bags but I’ve always found them a bit on the safe side for my own personal taste. I guess someone at Longchamp felt the same because they brought Jeremy Scott back to the fold to create a few exclusive limited edition designs. They’re actually based on a popular toy range from the 80’s called ‘Madballs’ which I was obsessed with as a child. Jeremy Scott is currently taking over the fashion world one Moschino show at a time and I appreciate that it’s not to everyone’s taste. But you can’t deny that this is serious statement bag. 

For me Versace perfectly encapsulate Italy and its maximalist aesthetic culture. If anyone is capable of making a statement bag It’s Donatella. This Versus backpack is uncharacteristically minimal in design compared to the average Versace accessory but it’s also a knowing reference to Liz Hurley’s decade defining appearance in ‘that dress’. This is as close as any man will ever get to appropriating that particular look. It’s strange how evocative the placement of one simple gold safety pin can be, maybe we should call it ‘that bag’.

I always think of metallic leather as being ultra-masculine – invoking the shiny chrome fender of a muscle car. This Louis Vuitton number looks more like something that fell off a Transformer than a bag but I think it’s that quality that I really love about it. 

Having a Prada bag is a bit of a status symbol for women but I’ve never really felt it was the same for men. They originally started out as a luggage company so while the bags are eye-wateringly expensive they are very well made. These camouflage totes come in a range of different colours but classic green camo is a trend for men that never really goes away. While well into 3 figures it’s one of the cheapest Prada bags you can buy. That can be our secret though.