Another Stunner from Our Favorite Swindler, Martin

I've covered bags by Martin Margiela twice now, and it's no secret that I'm not a fan of his work. His MO seems to be to take an ordinary household objects (bindlestif, towel, etc.), add a strap, and then sell for hundreds of dollars to all of us suckers who covet designer labels. I had predicted that a tissue box would be his next victim, and that we'd all be walking around with Kleenex boxes around our arms, but apparently I was off the mark.

Meet the Swindlers new creation, the high-priced-bag-made-from-an-ordinary-object-called-a-laundry-bag. Yes, that's right, a LAUNDRY BAG is what Martin has chosen as his next object of the moment, his "it" trend, his money-making scheme du jour.

Use it as a laundry bag, or throw it over your shoulder and invite the stares of confused passers-by. What could be more fun?

Maison Martin Margiela MM6
Long Leather Bag
$385 at eluxury

New Feature: The Good, The Bad, and The Fugly

I've had some free time this weekend because of Memorial and was getting a little bit bored. The solution, obviously was browsing handbag websites and looking for things to post for my loyal reader(s?) This is how I stumbled over to the handbag sale at eluxury.

Now, I love a sale as much as the next person. I don't have anything against them, because they offer me the chance to save money (or really, to spend less of it, but who's counting?) on things that I like to buy. But man: the sale at eluxury was about as disappointing as it gets. It went from ugly, to fugly, to fuglier.

This gave me the idea of a new feature where I will post several bags from a specific designer, retailer, or trend, and divide them into three categories: good, bad, fugly.

Without further ado, the good, bad, and fugly from eluxury's handbag sale.

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GOOD

Simple, practical, no-brainer. Same pattern as Dior cellphones.

Cute, basic black bag with a patchwork twist. You can remove the straps and then use as a clutch

Love the turnlock closure. Grey, like Mugatu, is so hot right now

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BAD

By George, everyone's favorite swindler has done it again! Remember the completely overpriced red bag that involved attaching a handle to a sac of red fabric? This ridiculous "terry beach bag" was conjured up by the very same Martin Margiela. I think he walks around his house and thinks "hmm, what can I attach a handle to, mark up 1000%, and sell to department stores and online retailers? A towel! Perfect!". So, what's next for Martin? The new "convertible tissue box" tote? A shoe on a stick? A case of Bic pens attached to a long strand of dental floss?

This bag proves that designers should not use a boxing match as inspiration. 'Nuff said

No...just....no....(Michael Kors)

Requisite Juicy Couture bag, teetering on the line between bad and fugly

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FUGLY

A valiant attempt at ethereal. I'd maybe spend $5 for this if I was going to a marine-themed party. Maybe.


Hmmmm, how can we design one of the ugliest bags in history? Camo: check! Fringe: check! Totally weird and awkward looking handles: check!


MJ: Did you miss that day of kindergarten when they taught that purple and orange just don't go together?

Small Satin Sac Bag

Dear Mom,

You'll never believe what I pulled off. Yesterday, I bought some pretty red fabric. Then I tied some string around the top and added some more red fabric to make a handle. Finally, I sold it at eluxury.com for $645!

See below for my inspiration.

Your Favorite Swindler,
Martin