A clutch is, essentially, a cross between an oversized wallet and a purse. Generally, when a woman doesn’t want all of the bulk of a handbag, particularly the larger hobo bags seen on the market these days, she opts for a small clutch to hold the basics, and this includes money, cards, keys, and basic makeup. For going out to a club or bar, a clutch is often what a woman takes instead of a handbag, although now a wrist-clutch for holdings your basics has become common. Average people aren’t the only ones who use clutches and a celebrity is occasionally spotted sporting a clutch. Recently, Julia Roberts was seen on the set of a new film with a python clutch by designer LAI.

Python has been a hit this past year, so it’s no surprise that Roberts was spotted with a python print clutch. This particular python skin clutch isn’t in the typical bright colored or dyed styles by LAI. Rather, the light brown shade of the python is close to the natural appearance of snakeskin. Although the bag doesn’t retain the natural colors of python scales (none of the LAI bags appear to, apparently) but the light brown color gives this trend a low-key feel, instead of the ostentatious appearance of most python bags seen on celebrities and by affordable brands.

As far as finding a more affordable design, economical brands and wholesale handbag dealers often have their own versions of python clutches and handbags. A similar version can be found on watch and wallet website Time World USA. Their selection of products includes both faux alligator and python skin clutch style wallets, all of which are patent leather dyed in natural, low-key, or bright colors to match a variety of popular styles seen on celebrities like Julia Roberts and others sporting the python look.

Just as singers Mariah Carey and Britney Spears come out with their respective fragrances, the New York Daily News comes out with an article about how celebrity fragrances are bringing down perfume sales. With the exception of Britney Spears’ perfumes, other celebrity-branded fragrances aren’t successful. What’s the main reason? Various average consumers don’t want a celebrity-endorsed product, especially if it’s associated with an actress/singer/celebutante most people don’t care about. What self-respecting woman over 21 would wear Hillary Duff or Paris Hilton perfume? Or what man, for that matter, would find himself wearing Paris Hilton for Men or a David Beckham scent, especially when many classic colognes still smell better?

As mentioned in the article, blind tests of these fragrances showed that the subjects found the fragrances pleasing but, as soon as the celebrity-endorsed name was revealed, the testing subjects no longer liked the brand. Britney Spears perfume, as long as the pop star remains relevant, continues to sell well overseas. Then again, so did Michael Jackson albums after 1992. Once Spears’ career is officially over, her scents will probably do as well as MJ’s Invincible did on American shores in 2002. Other celebrity scents aren’t as lucky but, as long as the artists are selling albums or films, the fragrance aspect of their brand empire is somewhat insignificant.

Celebrity fragrances aren’t usually released independently but through larger names like Coty and Elizabeth Arden. Would these larger brands continue to thrive without the endorsements? Coty, for example, had a hit with Exclamation perfume (the bottle shaped like a black exclamation point, if you don’t remember) in the late ‘80s but over the past fifteen years, most of its products are celebrity related, with the exception of Adidas scents for men and women. Elizabeth Arden, on the other hand, has a plethora of scents and cosmetics to the brand, especially with classics like Red Door, so survival without celebrity perfumes for this particular brand is a given.

Earlier, we discussed how British pop singer Lily Allen was going to be the new face of Chanel, but at least she is one celebrity face who endorses a product. Allen was spotted recently with a blue Chanel handbag in a quilted or woven style that has been seen on several celebrities recently. This particular design is just one of the other textural options done to leather or patent leather this season. Some of the leather handbags we’ve seen have been leather with studs – some of the same color – and others have been leather with an alligator, crocodile, or python pattern, although celebrities with these types of handbags usually have the real thing and not just patterned leather.

While Chanel isn’t the first to use this type of textured leather handbag, the color of this design particularly stands out with Allen’s black outfit. At least on stage Allen has been known for a more flamboyant appearance of puffy ‘80s prom dresses with trainers and, when spotted in the UK, she’s occasionally taken on a somewhat chav appearance of casual sweats, but at least this look seems somewhat more sophisticated for her. Perhaps being the current face of Chanel and having her own fashion line in the UK is rubbing off on her personal style somewhat.

What about the style of handbag she’s carrying? Unlike other trends this season, this Chanel handbag style can be copied easily by a more economical option. Affordable retailers, as well as wholesale handbag brands carry this style. In terms of being close to the high-end designer style, these handbags aren’t that far of a stretch. A similar handbag off Best Handbag Wholesale, for example, has the same type of woven or quilted pattern but made with a leatherette or imitation leather material instead.

Many celebrities seem to release fragrances about the same time a new album or film comes out. Britney Spears is already on tour with her Circus Tour in 2009 and, at the same time, her perfume of the same name comes out. Essentially, releasing a celebrity fragrance and a movie/album/tour at the same time is like saying, “Buy my music… And my fragrance!” Too bad the two aren’t packaged together or even that the latest Britney Spears perfume isn’t sold on the merch table after the show. Spears already has two fragrances to her name, both released to the perfume market before her infamous meltdown and phoned-in Blackout album, and Circus makes a third. But how does it stack up against the others and will more than Britney fans want to buy it?

Reviews of this Britney Spears perfume are already on the internet, and, like many celebrity fragrances, Circus by Britney Spears is, really, just another hit-or-miss fruity perfume. To recap, Spears’ original scent was a floral concoction reminiscent of magnolias, while Curious was an overall-sweet perfume with cupcakes, white chocolate, and floral notes going all over the place. Like Britney Spears’ communication skills, Curious was unfocused. Both perfumes were geared toward teens and Britney Spears fans (hopefully they are one in the same), and have stayed around, so far, because of that market.

Spears has a large enough fan base that this perfume will probably sell well, although, according to reviews, Circus is primarily a milky and floral scent. But, as an improvement over the unfocused palette of scents for Curious, Circus refines this formula and sticks to milky and floral notes. The scent doesn’t seem too artificial but, overall, the perfume is still a fragrance geared toward teenage girls. Will it become a classic perfume? Probably not, but with Spears career not dying as of yet, her fragrances will last as long as people buy her albums.

So far, in regards to fragrances, this blog has discussed which celebrities have scents to their names, but what about what the stars are actually wearing? Do the stars wear their own perfumes, if they have a brand to their name? IVillage published a list of some of the perfumes worn by various actresses and singers, and many of the scents are classic scents. While celebrity perfumes often take a backseat to handbags – can you always smell a perfume when someone wears it? – some of these stars aren’t wearing the latest fragrances but scents that have been around for years. While only a handful of prominent A and B-list celebrities were interviewed at the moment, all asked about what fragrances they wear pointed to timeless – or those lasting more than ten years – perfumes.

As seen on iVillage, some of the fragrances worn by stars include Angel by Thierry Mugler, Tuberose Indiana by Creed, Clinique Happy, Acqua di Gio, and Christian Dior Dolce Vita. Is there a trend among celebrities regarding fruit, water, or aqua scents? Out of this selection, Angel perfume is often described as an oriental and woody perfume, while Acqua di Gio, for both men and women, is essentially a high-end aqua perfume. Clinique Happy and Eau de Dolce Vita by Dior, on the other hand, are both flowery fragrances.

If you want to smell like some of your favorite celebrities, whether you prefer Gwen Stefani or Celine Dion, your best bet is to not wear their celebrity brand perfumes but, instead, find out what scents they’re wearing. More often than not, they’ll be wearing a classic fragrance or the latest perfume by a high-end designer like Armani or Dior. Madonna, for example, lists the Tuberose Indiana as a fragrance she wears but, if she ever came out with a perfume to her name a la Britney Spears or Celine Dion, would she wear her own perfume? Don’t bet on it.

As discussed in a previous post, one of the ways watches can keep up with cell phones for a time-telling device is by going the route of fashion. While this isn’t entirely relevant to men’s watches, it is for women’s and, as a result, many watches to meet fashion demands are being designed like costume jewelry. Whether with multi-colored glass beads or a shiny, metallic band, these watch bracelets – or cuff watches or watch bangles, as they’re often called – are designed like any standard bracelet, except a matching watch face is included in the design. This results in such watch styles as solid cuff styles, charm bracelet watches, and thinner bangles watches.

If you’re still interested in wearing a watch these days, watch bracelets give you various fashion options to choose from, and more than one will be a sure fit for your style. What are some of the options to choose from? While the types of bracelets for watches are essentially three types based on the types of bracelet designs, the materials used are endless. One of the basic materials for watches is metal, and metal watch bracelets can include smooth, polished metal, antique-looking metal, metal with details cut out or imprinted, and metal wire bands that are often embellished by smaller objects, such as glass beads, enamel inlay, or rhinestones. Watches themselves can be designed with beads in various sizes, from large glass, plastic, or wood beads to small seed beads woven together. Plastic is another common material, and watch cuffs made from plastic include softer “jelly” plastic or hard plastic. Similar to beads, plastic can be designed with endless colors, patterns, and textures.

Many of these watch bracelets give you the option of switching bands. While one watch bracelet may not match all of your outfits, owning a few will allow you to have a fashionable bracelet for various outfits you own.

Advertisements have appeared over the past few weeks for a new Mariah Carey scent called Forever. While some blogs, such as The Scented Salamander, have covered this fragrance, the scent actually appeared recently in September. Carey already has two scents to her name, M and Luscious Pink, and Forever, at the moment, coincides with an upcoming album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and single “Obsessed” that was released over the past month. While “Obsessed” gives listeners a glimpse of what Mariah Carey sounds with Auto-Tune effects (and dressed as a guy), what does Forever give perfume wearers looking for something different?

Forever, as described in reviews on various perfume websites, has an overall floral scent, with a composition consisting of neroli, lotus blossom, dewy green apple, tuberose, gardenia, white musk and, woods. Many, in addition, cite that they like that the tuberose isn’t too overpowering in the overall body of the fragrance. Celebrity fragrances, generally, have been by company Coty, but, in the case of Forever, the scent was developed by perfumer Olivier Gillotin.

The scent itself seems fairly straight forward and innocuous, but, as with most fragrances, the question is, who will buy it? As seen on various perfume websites and message boards, those who seem to prefer this fragrance are, in fact, Mariah Carey fans who pre-order this fragrance, much like her upcoming album, to have everything Mariah Carey-related. Although following a particular artist is never a bad thing (unless, of course, you found Glitter enjoyable), this is essentially the strong market for any Mariah Carey perfume. The rest of us? Some have been trying the fragrance at department store counters and it appears hit or miss. Some, from various message board comments, find it smells like a cheap version of a Marc Jacobs perfume. So, when deciding if this is an Elizabeth Taylor Diamond (a classic) or a Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth (a passing fad), what is the verdict? As with many celebrity perfumes, Forever will be the latter in a few years.

Regardless of where you go to buy perfumes – online, the drug store, department stores – you’ll notice that many celebrity fragrances are available. In fact, some celebrities have multiple fragrances attached to their names. Celebrity fragrances are nothing new, as even actors from the ‘60s and ‘70s like Alain Delon and ‘80s pop stars like Debbie Gibson have fragrances to their names. In the case of Delon and Gibson their body of work – movie Samurai and song “Electric Youth,” respectively – inspired the fragrances, but what can you say about Paris Hilton’s line of perfumes? Often, a well-known name attached to a fragrance appears to make the brand sell better. Although fragrance company Coty is more often responsible for these perfumes, the celebrity’s name often helps with marketing.

Although Coty is the maker behind Kate Moss and Shania Twain perfume brands, as well as Adidas perfumes, the celebrity brands sell the perfumes themselves. So, what is the appeal? Aside from marketing, the brief appeal of celebrity perfumes is being able to smell like a celebrity. Although celebrity perfumes generally aren’t found at drug stores – Usher and Antonio Banderas perfumes are an exception – the scent of each celebrity perfume is designed to, supposedly, smell like that celebrity. And, if you wear it, in theory, you could smell like that celebrity, too.

But, how logical is this? One of Britney Spears’ perfumes smells mostly of magnolia and Instinct, the David Beckham perfume, smells of amber, patchouli and bergamot. Does Britney Spears remind you of magnolias or David Beckham of amber, patchouli, and a citrus scent? Quite honestly, given their careers and lifestyles, both celebrities appear that they would smell of a combination of sweat and cigarettes. Unless, of course, Britney Spears covers up the sweaty smell from performing and clubbing with a magnolia-scented perfume but, ultimately, that still equates magnolia-scented sweat.

This blog has often talked about handbags, especially in regards to western fashion. But, with such handbag trends as fringe on suede bags, concho-like studs, and snakeskin, what is western fashion? Often, western fashion is associated with cowboy fashion and, in the present, this includes clothing worn to a rodeo. While rodeos are still done in parts of the south and western United States, these clothes are appropriate for the occasion, whether you’re an audience member or someone riding a horse in the rodeo show.

The quintessential piece of western clothing is a western shirt. A western shirt is characterized as having a yoke in the front and back of the shirt, and this yoke is often stylized with embroidery on front and back parts. Aside from this characteristic, the pockets of a western shirt are described as looking like folded bandanas and the “buttons” of the shirt are typically snaps. A similar common piece of western clothing is a cowboy hat. For a rodeo, a cowboy hat – also referred to as a ten-gallon hat – is made of felt or faux felt, although for other occasions this style of hat can be made with leather or woven straw.

Generally, a western shirt and cowboy hat are paired with jeans, but, more specifically for rodeo wear, a pair of leather chaps is put on top of the pants. Although chaps are associated with rodeo wear, they have practical purposes, as well, and this includes protecting the legs from getting chafed while the wearer is riding a horse.

Aside from clothing, one aspect of western fashion that seems to have crossed over into mainstream fashion is western jewelry. Typically western jewelry consists of silver and western stones, such as turquoise, onyx, or crystal, in a number of combinations featuring the stone. While western jewelry embellishes western wear, the jewelry style can be found everywhere.