We’ve seen slouch handbags, crocodile and snake skin prints, and silver studs on many handbags carried by celebrities this year so far, so who is to say that western styles aren’t in? Often, western style is thought of as silver jewelry with western stones like onyx, crystal, or turquoise or rodeo gear, like western shirts, cowboy boots, and chaps, and this is partially right. In terms of western style applied to mainstream fashion, it’s often the latter that becomes popular. But, if you’ve ever walked into a western clothing store, have you seen snake skin or alligator skin boots? In a sense, the materials associated with the top echelon of western fashion are being applied to handbags, as well as jewelry like embellishments of silver and western stones.

Both snake skin and crocodile skin, even printed on leather, are in this season. Whether you prefer natural scale colors or a snake skin bag dyed purple or blue, all options are available for a western type handbag. Real snake skin handbags are available through upscale designers and retailers, while snake skin patterned bags, made from leather or an imitation material, are available through designer replica retailers like Best Handbag Wholesale.

Western style doesn’t only extend to snake skin. Another popular trend this year has been studs. While silver studs may tend to be more punk than western, how the studs – and the type of studs – are used makes a bag seem more western. Handbags across high end brands, designer replica, and affordable brands incorporate silver studs, western stones like crystal or turquoise, or rhinestones into their styles. Some of these studs may be as large as silver conchos. In addition, some suede or leather handbags, such as this black handbag seen on Micha Barton have western style fringe trailing from the ends or top flap of the purse.

Who says a handbag retailer can’t dabble in another aspect of fashion? Online handbag retailer, Best Handbag Wholesale, recently launched a line of flip flops in western styles for summer. Each of these flip flops sold through Best Handbag consists of a thicker sole by Hide N Sole and a thicker strap on top that is often embellished with rhinestones or studs. This strap, in addition, is most often leather or animal hair, with the rhinestones or studs on top. The soles, to match the strap in style, are a solid color, including pink or black, or are patterned with animal skins, such as leopard spots or zebra print.

Some fashion designers include handbags and footwear in their line, so being all inclusive with fashion is a goal of many brands, and retailers, as well. Some designers, such as musician Carlos Santana, as seen in an earlier post, start off in fashion with shoes and branch off into handbags. In the case of Best Handbag Wholesale’s new flip flop collection, the handbags came first and then the footwear line. In some sense, the footwear is inspired by the western style many of the handbags have.

Summer may be two-thirds of the way over, but it’s never too late to get a pair of flip flops, as flip flops can be worn indoors all year long. If you’re looking for some unique style – western flip flops – then look no further. Traditional flip flops are solid colored or embellished with a flower, small beads, or stones, but this collection of western flip flops takes the style associated with western clothing, including western stones like turquoise, and applies it to flip flops. Western styles come and go, but with these flip flops, western style is in during the summer.

Heidi Montag may not be able to spend a week in the jungle, as seen on show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, but she can be seen with a jungle print handbag, as spotted on blog Bag That Style. To be specific, Heidi Montag’s sporting a purple-colored crocodile print handbag on recent occasions. Although python print handbags seem to be everywhere – and on everyone – this summer, jungle print, from zebra and leopard spots to crocodile print – is everywhere. Although Montag isn’t the first one to be spotted with an animal print handbag this month, crocodile seems to stand out in many handbags resorting to a python print for a scales-like pattern.

Although Montag’s bag is probably made from the real deal – or some really good imitation material that’s been dyed purple – the average consumer can find similar styles across all handbag retailers. Wholesale handbag sellers like Best Handbag Wholesale have similar styles in stock. If it’s not purple crocodile skin, it’s purple python. Aside from a solid purple handbag like Montag’s, various other color options are available for you to choose a similar style handbag in your price range.

Aside from reptile print, other jungle animal prints are being highlighted in this summer’s handbag style options. Some possibilities for a unique and style compliant handbag include zebra print bags and leopard spots. If you can’t afford a Balenciaga handbag like Heidi Montag’s, online retailers, especially handbag wholesalers, have several options for you to choose from to find a handbag that has the perfect combination of jungle print and bright colors. In addition, this particular handbag has a slouch, or hobo, style which, even if you don’t like real or faux animal skin, is also pervasive across designer and designer-inspired handbags for this summer.

That ‘80s purse style, the slouch purse, is back but don’t call it that. Instead, refer to it as a hobo bag. Why? I suppose being a hobo – and carrying every single belonging in one of these monstrosities – is better than using a term associated with smaller, tacky handbags from 20 years before. According to purse blog, Bag that Style, both Britney Spears and Reese Witherspoon have been spotted with hobo handbags this past month. As a slouch purse could come in any number of available colors, so can a hobo bag, with Britney’s bag resembling the color of bubble gum – a bubble gum handbag for a former bubble gum pop singer? – while Reese’s bag is more staid and, well, adult.

But, when looking at these large hobo bags, what is the difference between an obscenely large hand bag and simply carrying a duffle bag on your shoulder? Aside from the fact that a duffle bag really doesn’t have much style, unless you’re going to the gym, how much stuff do you need to carry around a hobo bag? Make up? A hair brush? iPod? A dog, a curling iron, and a day’s worth of food? 20 years ago, although the slouch purse had much of the same shapeless style, the handbag was smaller and was attached to a thinner strap. These new hobo bags now have more interior space and a smaller, thicker strap. In 2009, do we really have more junk to carry around than, say, in 1987? And, to think that makeup since the early ‘90s has supposedly been low key and natural.

Anyway, as far as the handbags are concerned, they can be spotted all over celebrities and come in various prints and sizes. Although the bags Reese and Britney are carrying are solid colored, some come in prints, while others are textured with python or crocodile skin. Regardless of how you prefer your handbag, the hobo style for this upcoming season has many options to fit your personal style preferences.

According to the bloggers over at Purse Blog, singer Fergie was seen leaving a fashion show with band mate Will.i.am wearing all Louis Vuitton, from the dark blue Louis Vuitton dress with a large “LV” belt and a matching lighter blue Louis Vuitton handbag. Although the brand of Will.i.am’s clothing isn’t mentioned (although those black pants he has seem to be treading into MC Hammer parachute pants territory), Fergie’s outfit is coordinated, if a bit garish. While the texture of the dress and the handbag seem to go together and the shoes and the belt buckle are coordinated, the outfit really could just do without the large “LV” belt buckle. Yes, the Black Eyed Peas are pop hip-hop and, yes, urban gear may be more acceptable on Fergie than any other Top 40 pop star, but, even from 50 feet away, the gold colored belt buckle screams of imagery from the “My Humps” music video.

Anyway, seeing a LV handbag in natural light gives the handbag a different perspective for this season than from the Madonna photo shoot. Yes, Fergie’s outfit is dark, but the coordination of the handbag with the texture of the dress pulls it together. As far as the handbag – actually a clutch – is concerned, the design is rather unique for this season. Summer is often associated with lighter colors, or pastels, and handbags are designed to go with them. Louis Vuitton is also known for lighter colored handbags – wasn’t it about three years ago that everyone has a white and tan LV handbag with “LV” in brightly colored letters patterned across the leather surface? – but this is a significant change. Not only is the color darker but so is the style. Where else, except for on Ed Hardy handbags, are you going to find leather studs and not have the purse look too punk?

A promotional video on YouTube shows Marc Jacobs collaborating with Madonna for the handbag collection by Louis Vuitton for this past spring and summer:

Although Jacobs has used a few unconventional models for the handbag brand in the past, including Dakota Fanning and Chloe Sevigny, Madonna is slightly more conventional. While the video has her being photographed and choosing which fashions to use for the photo shoot, the video is essentially promotion for the latest line of handbags by Louis Vuitton. So, how do the handbags look for this season?

From watching the video, one aspect that stood out is how much more interesting Madonna’s clothing is than the handbags. Although the photos are supposed to include the pop star’s somewhat outlandish style choices juxtaposed with LV’s rather conservative handbags, in the case of promotion for a brand that is known for handbags, the handbags disappear into the photographs. Is it the lack of style? Is it the darker colors? Is it that they, frankly, look like large Coach handbags from a distance?

All are part of the reason why these handbags don’t really do anything. At one point, Louis Vuitton handbags were known for brighter colors, or at least brighter colored letters on a white field. Now, these handbags for this past spring and summer season are brown or copper colored. In terms of pairing it with typical summer clothes, the darker colors make the handbags stand out against a typical summer outfit which, in 2009, is probably a lightweight maxi dress. But, in these particular photos? Just on a visual level, the darker clothes Madonna’s in and the darker backgrounds just swallow up the handbags. If you’re considering one of these designs, picture it against lighter or neutral colors first before purchasing one.

Animal prints come and go, with snakeskin and leopard prints popping up at the end of every decade or so. So, with that pattern of fashion, it’s no surprise that snakeskin is back in, with Lipstick Jungle star Lindsey Price recently spotted with a python-print handbag. The picture of Price with the handbag can be seen on blog Celebrity Arm Candy.

As far as this bag is concerned, this pattern both permeates the designer, replica, and no-name handbag markets. Why is python, and all snakeskin patterns for that matter, popular at the moment? Aside from the cyclical nature of fashion, bright colors and patterns are in at the moment, with lines like Coach designing both adult and teen-geared collections with bright blues, pinks, and oranges or using a patent leather finish on the bags. Or, on the other hand, you have the Ed Hardy collection, with bright tattoo patterns, embellished with rhinestones, on either a dark field to stand out or on another brightly-colored field. In the case of the python print handbag from Best Handbag Wholesale, as seen on the left, the handbag itself isn’t even only python print but python print tinted with blue. Other options on the website include the same pattern fully tinted with lavender or partially with fuchsia or purple.

If you’re looking for a python handbag on a designer level, the handbag, or clutch will probably be made of real python skin while replica handbags and designer-inspired handbags will probably be made of leather or pleather and printed with a python pattern, such as the bag from Best Handbag Wholesale. Some bags, such as the ones seen in this picture – and the one seen on Lindsey Price – have a natural python skin pattern to them, while others – real or printed – use or mimic the pattern of the python’s scales and tint it partially or fully with a different – and brighter – shade.

With the current economy, it’s no surprise that Coach’s sales are down for handbags. But, the other half of that argument is, how long can you go with a design before everyone and their mother gets tired of it? Coach’s solution to that seems to be their new line, Poppy, with bright colors and patterns to appeal to a younger demographic. While the traditional brown-and-tan “C” pattern still seems to be popular with adults and college-age women, it’s irrelevant to high school girls by seeming too conservative and, frankly, too 2003. With the ‘80s styles coming back, such as skinny jeans, off-the-shoulder shirts, and bright colors and patterns, having a staid-colored handbag just doesn’t go with the outfit.

The line, according to an article on Forbes.com, was launched on June 26 but, after visiting Coach’s website and comparing this line with their handbags from fall 2008, the designs look too similar. Coach, aside from trying to appear to a younger audience by using bright colors and atypical textures, doesn’t seem to be straying much from designs used the past year. Out of the slideshow of the collection shown on Coach’s website, the design aspects of these new handbags include bright colors, including pinks, oranges, and blues, and patent leather surfaces. Other options, as seen in this brief peek, include sequined-covered handbags.

What about the “C” logo? Some of the bags still have it but sans serif and in brighter colors or as a patchwork-style handbag with the older material mixed up with other colorful pieces of material. Aside from these new exceptions, the only way anyone would know these were Coach handbags would be by the metal label. The bag designs, themselves, are standard handbags, with some slouch, or hobo, bag styles being used, but most of the bags in this collection, it seems, are a larger, square-shaped bag with a strap attached. For a better picture of what Coach is offering through Poppy, blog Nitrolicious has a few snapshots of the clothes and the handbags.

In the world of high fashion, it’s often designer or bust. Anything less than a name brand isn’t worth wearing. But, what about for the financially-conscious individual? The fact is, if you want style, there are more options between blowing $1000 on a pocketbook and searching through the racks at Walmart.

If you want a piece of style on your arm, one option is a replica handbag and, in terms of handbag terminology, this isn’t the same as a knockoff. Quality of the handbags aside, the difference between these two designer imitators is the legality, with replicas being sold through licensed dealers and knockoffs not. While both can be bought online, a knockoff handbag is often sold in the same category with pirated DVDs. In terms of style, a replica handbag will hold up better with a sturdier design and is typically based on current styles by the designer brand but altered slightly so that, up close, the replica and the designer look somewhat different. For example, a popular replica Coach handbag will have the famous “C” design done with “G”s or a “C” without a font instead. A knockoff handbag, on the other hand, will have a pattern nearly identical with the designer bag, but the actual design of the bag, including zippers, shoulder straps, and metal labels may come off easier or will feel flimsy.

If having a designer look-a-like is your thing, many handbag dealers like Best Handbag Wholesale carry designer inspired bags that are based on current trends. Nevertheless, if you have to have a designer name on your bag, other clothing retailers, such as Kohl’s, Target, and H&M as mentioned previously, carry secondary designer lines that may bear the designer’s name on the products, which often include handbags. The third option for a name includes outlet stores which are often some of the first places a fashion enthusiast turns to for designer clothes, shoes, and handbags.