When it’s party time, it Mary Frances time.  These perky purses are perfect for your New Year’s Eve outing.  There may not be time to spruce up this year’s wardrobe with a new Mary Frances, but there’s always next year.  Happy 2008!!!

If not, you should click, click, click. Click all around the “shopping” part of handbags.com. You’ll discover more than 220 handbag designers right here, in a brand cloud. Fun names — on top of the biggies like Fossil, Deisel and Francesco Biasia — a few of which I’ve posted below. We love to showcase the emerging designers. Like the ones you find when you’re traveling. Ones you’d see inside the inspired little shoppes of The Meat Packing District or SoHo in NY. Or in San Francisco’s Hayes Street specialty boutiques. Handbags.com is meant to be a pursetopia, purse heaven, purse discovery zone… Ful shoulder bags | Mint handbags | Like purses | Float purses | Saltbox handbags| babee d handbags | MiMo purses | Cleo & Patek handbags (Paris) | Twisted Orchid purses

Do you go home and announce, “Look, I saved 75%!” not “Woo hoo, I only spent $75!” If you are all about that BIG PERCENT savings, then this website might be ~perfecto~ for you: HandbagBlowout. When you go to www.handbagblowout.com, click on the RSS link and you can sign up for email notices too. Here is the bag that was on handbagblowout earlier today:

Have you ever signed up for a credit card to get an extra 10% off? I have, in the past. But why? Should you do this … Or this … Macy’s, Dillards and other department stores offer credit card programs. Why? you may ask.

A. Well, credit cards can be money machines! Target’s credit-card business has earned 12% to 15% of their profits ($400 million to $500 million pre-tax, by my estimates) in recent years. In December 2007, analyst Peter Benedict said, Target’s credit business … has driven a third of total company pre-tax profit year to date. B. Beyond the money, any program promoted by a store is probably designed to encourage loyalty.

Your Job: you need to decide if a credit card program or a rewards program works “for” or “against” you in the long run. The Bright Side to store credit: A spirited salesperson says, “I can give you 10% off today’s purchases when you apply for our Macy’s special credit card. Signing up is fast!” Of course, these one-time discounts amount to real savings. And, the card may offer some year-round benefits. The Dark Side: There are plenty of reasons to avoid a store credit card. A high interest rate is one. If you don’t tear up the card immediately or pay your bill in full, you’ll most likely pay 18%+ interest per year. In fact, look closely, rates at stores like Macy’s start at 22%. Another reason is that too many credit applications can ding your personal credit rating …

In Bankrate’s article titled How Many Credit Cards is Too Many, “Steve Rhode, president of a nonprofit consumer-education organization, (says) that, each time you open a store credit card, 20 points are taken off of your credit score. Because, he says, ‘Historically, store credit cards are issued to anyone with a pulse. They issue credit cards to people who otherwise can’t get credit.’“

A Better Way To Save: So, here’s a better idea for saving money, perhaps. Especially for women who buy four handbags a year (that’s the average), a school bag for her kids each year, a sport or travel bag every year or two, etc. The better idea … this LaCroix handbag … = 20+ points! Buy a purse, get points (no matter what). No fine print. No high interest rates. No dings to your credit ranking. You don’t need to sign up for a new credit card. With this rewards program, you can redeem points next time to get a lower price on your next purse, or a backpack, laptop case, piece of luggage, or whatever you want. Provided it’s one of the 30,000 bags or travel accessories that eBags sells. For every $100 order you get 5 points to spend on a future product from eBags.com. And every point is equal to $1. This is sort of — a big “sort of” — like the way you can earn points for signing up for a new credit card. But — and this is a big BUT — you don’t need to sign up for a new credit card. You can earn points and redeem points on sale items and clearance items, too. After all, with other ways to save money, in this day of credit compression, tardy credit card payments, foreclosures and mortgage swindling, who needs ANOTHER credit card to manage???? Do you? Not me. = 6+ points (eco-friendly Helen E. Riegle) = 3+ pts (patent Via Nova) .

Limited, just one style. But, hey, a great price on a designer name — Kate Spade!

20% off on sooooo many Big Buddha bags, like the one you see here! About thirty styles on sale. Many come in four, five or six different colors.

While not as strong as the patent leather handbag trend, the patchwork trend continues in handbags. As it was seen in everything from skirts to furniture, the larger trend surrounding patchwork was written about a fair amount last spring (2006). During that period, Louis Vuitton introduced a few patchwork bags, and one which was introduced in the spring of 2007 carried a $40,000+ price tag! Coach is still showcasing patchwork, like the $398 tote you see to the above/left. Coach is also selling the $678 bucket bag (they call it a duffle) you see above/right. And Fendi is selling the tan bag you see to the above/center for north of $1,000. On eBags, you see designers like Michael Kors featuring some patchwork patterns. A few of those bags are shown below: Tignanello | MICHAEL Michael Kors | Pietro Alessandro

Whenever a guy Pops The Question — the most important question he’ll ever ask — it’s nerve racking. For instance, as a guy, you need to follow wedding etiquette. Like, before going forward with a well-thought-out, personalized and memorable proposal, a man should ask for consent or a “blessing.” A joint poll by MensHealth.com and TheKnot.com pointed out that 81% of women surveyed prefer the groom-to-be ask for one or both of her parents’ consent. Be sure to mention this to your guy friends. Then there’s the proposal itself. If you know someone who is going to do it, here are 10 holiday ideas from The Knot for doing it between now and New Years. Ideas range from doing it with cake or chocolate to presenting a ring with a tree ornament. Here is another idea though. Pop the question with a handbag! Why not hide your extra-special engagement ring inside an extra-special purse? Wrap the purse as a gift, then hang a bell inside the purse to make sure she opens it right away. Then, ta-da! Opening the purse is sure to surprise your bride-to-be. And, as special bonus and reminder of a thoughtfully planned out engagement night, your fiancee will be able to use the purse for years to come. Do what I did and buy your diamond from Blue Nile (bluenile.com). Then, use the money you save on your diamond to buy her a really special purse. At Blue Nile, you’ll save about 20% to 40% compared to any store in your local mall. An evening bag might be best, right? One that could be carried to parties each holiday, as a reminder of your holiday engagement anniversary. A black embellished Zoe Adams leather clutch (like one pictured to the above/left) would do the trick. Or find one from a popular designer like Kate Spade. Below are three more purse ideas that could help you catch her off guard: La Regale | Rafe | Inge

In American coinage, this leopard print handbag commands $400.00.   Yup, that’s about equal to £195.00 in Brittain! A limited edition silhouette from Ri2K, it was the best selling luxury purse on eBags.co.uk in November.   Brand           | Item  Ri2K London | Rachel Work Bag

Okay, this is probably not the handbag for you, BUT, I know my 10-year-old niece would LOVE it. I know, because I went to her birthday party. From afar, I watched the giddiness of a dozen Disney-crazed, pre-teen girls. I am not talking about Mickey Mouse, but Princess and Hannah type things. For her birthday, half of her gifts were Hannah Montana this, Hannah Montana that. So, here’s a Hannah Montana bag, a messenger bag. You’re right, this isn’t exactly a handbag, but a lot of girls would love to make it their MAIN BAG for school, after the holidays.

                              

This Periwinkle Cottage purse | Mary Frances

With the holidays come the parties. Here is a perfect party purse, if you like ornamental evening bags. My wife, Connie, owns four Mary Frances bags. When not on her arm, she turns one bag into “wall art” … or “bookshelf art” … in our home. She sets the bag on top of three books that are lying flat, just as decoration. A handbag as art! A lot of people put up pictures of handbags, classic handbag art. AllPosters.com has more than 200 handbag prints while Art.com has more than 50. But Connie puts the bag itself on display in our house. It’s surprising how many people visit our house and say, “Wow, check out that purse!” But, over the next few weeks, I’m sure Connie will be drinking her eggnog and chatting up a storm with friends at our holiday parties — while wearing her Mary Frances.

Given the oodles of wallets and accessories available today, you could spend hours wading through them when choosing a gift.   For men alone, there are 330 men’s wallets on just eBags.  And, as you might guess, a woman gets even more choice.  She can pick from more than 500 women’s wallets styles (again, just looking on eBags).  Then there are purse accessories — beyond the wallets.  So, how do we wade through the choices?  One way is to look at the most popular items.  The best sellers.  We can also read what others shoppers say about them — the good and the bad. Looking at best sellers, here are a few little gift ideas for women to give each other, or guys (like me) to give their wives.  These purse accessories are eBags’ best sellers — and that’s a BIG DEAL because shoppers on eBags can choose from hundreds of options and dozens of brands (nearly 500 bag designers and brands on the USA site). #1  CLAVA   Over the past 30 days, this light weight, leather Clava ID | key chain wallet (under $20) is eBags best selling purse accessory.    It’s #1 on the shopping list of many women as we head into the holidays.  The organizer (a mini-wallet) is full of features as best described by this owner who wrote a reviewed it on eBags:  “I am happy overall with this wallet. I like the red color. It was very difficult to find a small, thin, wallet. Great for travel and the airport, when you must show your I.D. a lot.”   The see-through ID pocket on the exterior is handy as writer from Seattle pointed out. #2  KIPLING   The second best selling handbag accessory over the past 30 days has been the Kipling creativity cosmetic bag which is available in six colors.  A San Francisco who said she uses it for business travel wrote on eBags:  “This is a great, sturdy little bag with a nice variety of compartments. I loved it so much that I picked up two more … . I use it for business necessities when traveling (notes, sticky pads, pens, frequent flyer cards); and it doubles as a cosmetic and/or pencil case when I’m carrying a big, slouchy purse back home.”  A woman from Pasadena CA who uses it as her every day wallet wrote:  ”Excellent cosmetic bag. Love how the three separate compartments organize my makeup necessities. Well-built and indestructible. So much better than my outrageously expensive Prada cosmetic bag.”  It’s made of a coated crinkle nylon and weighs a measly 8 ounces. The #3 handbag accessory is another Kipling product.  Click here to see the trim zip top toiletry bag.  The #4 and #5 best sellers over the past 30 days have been from Lodis and Whiting and Davis.  The Lodis accessory is for carrying credit cards and the Whiting and Davis case is a glittery, metalic cigarette and lighter case combo. To see the top 10 best selling purse accessories over the past 30 days, click here:  Top 10 Purse Accessories.