Bag the Best

Bag the Best

They say that the contents of a hand-bag can say a lot about a person. But what about the bag itself? Evening bags, especially, often make loud statements in style. Be it parties, marriages or discotheques, designer-wear evening bags are definitely the accessories of the season.

Says Nitai Mehta, owner and designer of the Adity Boutique, Colaba: "Everything starts off as a necessity and goes on to become a luxury. The same applies to bags." These bags basically meet two needs. First, there’s the very functional kind, which must carry anything and everything, from umbrellas to a change of clothes. Then there are those that contain nothing more than a mobile phone and some loose change.

Long slings are definitely out. As for laces, they are fading out, though die-hards still go back for more. Batuas shoulder bags or handbags all worked upon with beads, tube beads, mini tassels and sequins are must-haves today. Popular colours include shiny blacks, dull silvers, tea golds and white metals.

The style, of course, depends on your own sense of style. For the more adventurous, a batua looks great with a pair of sexy trousers. Adity has lined up a wonderful collection with traditional Mughal embroidery, zardosi work, Swarovski crystal and motifs from the Parsi gara with prices ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,000.

Rinaldi is another outlet that offers an exclusive range of evening bags. Rina Shah, the designing hand behind the store, is totally against cruelty towards animals. An environ-friendly store, Rinaldi does not use leather. Instead, makes use of an Italian synthetic material that has a very leather-like look. It has a huge collection of bags and batuas, embroidered with original Swarovski crystals in hues of blue, red, black and gold. You could also try something from their collection of rock embroidery. Take your pick from the price range of Rs 3,500 to 20,000. And yes, every bag is hand-made.

If you want to go in for some great looking but-not-so expensive bags, try Cheemo at Linking Road. Besides the regular range, they have an excellent collection of the heavily beaded ‘carpet’ bags. The best in the collection are the all-bead brightly coloured flowers on a black background. Just a little off Linking Road, you can visit Leather Fashions. The store stocks a wide variety of imported bags, besides designs by owner Pradeep Karamchandani. Apart from their Fendi-like beads, the range also includes bags in metal mesh, robot material, animal prints, fur, crochet, diamonds, sequins and the ‘crush’ batuas with zardosi embroidery all within a range of Rs 595 to Rs 3,200.

So chuck out your staid black number and examine the colourful options around you. And once you’ve narrowed down the list of possibles, go for one that has that exclusive ‘designer’ look and talks loud!