Fashion Binge: 2013: The Year Of The Liebeskind Berlin Bag

Feliz 2013! Hard to believe FashionBinge (she likes to be personified and referred to in the third person; she told me so herself) is going to be SEVEN years old this year. That's like 123 in blog years.

Anyway, new year, new bag.

$248, Liebeskind Capri tote, Nordstrom.com

I've gotten much much better at "shopping with intent" and buying only bags I can invest in and use for years (for ejemplo, my Olivia Harris black leather tote that I bought in 2010, and my lovely neon yellow Cambridge Satchel, and yes, I firmly believe neon bags are still "in,") instead of buying a super trendy, super cheap bag, using it approximately one and a half times, tiring of it, and then donating and/or helping it retire to a wasteful existence in a landfill. (Oddly though, I'm actually an enormous hypocrite, because I bought this $30 canvas striped duffle from Alloy back in July, and I'm still carrying it ever since.)

I'm trying to stick to that thou-shalt-invest-in-fewer-bags credo, but Liebeskind's leather handbags have been singing their sweet siren song to me every time I pass their storefront window on Lafayette Street -- newly opened in the Irregular Choice space this past September -- or come across one of their bags online. The German brand (also, THEIR BOOTS!) does big-girl bags with a fresh take on textures, shapes and colors. These bags have burrowed their way into my brain, and now I'm pretty much imprinting on their Capri tote, Jacob Black-style. (Halp! I'm in love with an inanimate object! Wot! Is that weirder than being in love with an infant? Y/N?) And ohai, those totally reasonable prices: like, Prada/ Proenza at sub-Coach prices. Realness.

Check out some of Liebskind's leather bags after the jump, and maybe soon I'll stop pretending that I'm not going to pick one up very soon.