Handbags are to New Yorkers as cars are to Angelenos: They need to be visually impressive, physically durable and, most important, able to basically hold your entire life. Check out some hot news in the world of chic yet reasonably affordable city bags.
IIIBeCa Once the design director for Marc Jacobs’s accessories, Joy Gryson has since been supplying Manhattanites with her own high-end lines, Gryson and Olivia Harris. However, it’s her latest endeavor, IIIBeCa (inspired by and pronounced like the neighborhood), that really nails it. Four crisp, clean styles come in an array of colors and are all priced under $200. Our pick? The North Moore Satchel. The best part of the deal: A trio of NYC-centric organizations (the 9/11 Memorial, Family Focus Adoption Services and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) each receive 3 percent of the net proceeds.
Loeffler Randall If you’re like us and follow Loeffler Randall like a cult, you’ll be ecstatic to learn that the New York-based shoe gurus are delving into bags. Available now, the six fall styles are perfectly sophisticated while still a little funky. We’re obsessed with the studded attaché, dubbed the Rider ($595), but we’ll most likely choose the larger Locker tote ($495), simply to schlep all those cultish shoes on the subway.
