One trend we saw somewhat last year was textured leather handbags. This was seen by various quilted styles by Chanel and with black-studs-on-black-leather handbags. This year, it looks like more of the same, but reinterpreted differently. One change is the black studs have gotten larger, and the quilted look has gotten puffier. Chanel continues to carry these purses with a quilted leather look in black and in other colors, but other fashion designers are getting on this trend of textured leather. It keeps the handbag simple on the surface – but more complicated than it actually looks.

One notable textured leather handbag was seen recently on Jennifer Love Hewitt. The Ghost Whisperer star has a black studs on black leather bag, only the studs involved are pyramid shaped and larger than we’ve seen before. Additionally, this particular handbag is made from reused components, older leather jackets in particular. While Hewitt hasn’t been the poster child for any cause (like PETA, for example), it’s certainly a step up from the typical celebrity fashion when someone decides to go green.

Another notable textured leather bag was seen on Ashley Greene, one of the Twilight actresses in the Cullen family. She’s seen here with a Dolce and Gabbana bag that has a textured leather surface – one that nearly looks like bubble wrap. But, would you really squeeze a Dolce and Gabbana bag, no matter how bubble wrap-like it looks?

Reptile skin patterns have been another way to achieve this textured look with a solid color, which can be seen in this black textured leather handbag with a crocodile skin pattern. Why blow your month’s rent on a Birkin bag when you can have the same type of style for less? This particular handbag has a reptile skin textured surface while being designed in solid black.

Dolce and Gabbana already has their standard line and their D&G line for clothing and sunglasses, so why not add a third one? In this case, a third line is a possibility for Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses, as Madonna is working with the fashion line to design MDG. Presently, many Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses follow the latest trends for men and women, including many oversized and colorful styles with rhinestones on the frame. Similar large and aviator frames are the latest designs by his brand for men. By bring Madonna on board, how will Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses look any different?

With MDG set to launch in May, Madonna will also be the face of advertising campaign for the sunglasses, much like she was for Louis Vuitton handbags. But, considering Madonna’s almost 30-year career in the public eye, how much was she known for her fashion rather than simply being a rabid multi-tasker? If bleached hair and cone-shaped bras are the last time you remember Madonna had any fashion recognition (although not influence), you might not be that far off. Even if her current wardrobe is youthful but somewhat on the bland side, who can forget the getups she wore in the ‘80s?

If ‘80s style is what Madonna is courting with Dolce and Gabbana, perhaps MDG will be like the fashion line’s selection of wayfarer sunglasses. At the moment, Dolce and Gabbana’s line has touched on every trend, with the exception of wayfarers, and perhaps this will be the line’s foray into a more retro look, instead of fashion-forward and glam. But, unlike the connotations from her Material Girl line, MDG is more ambiguous. The line of sunglasses could simply reflect the last time Madonna’s clothing was en vogue or it could simply be an attempt for Madonna to try to be fashionable again. Judging by the recent photographs and advertising released for MDG, it might be the latter.

One trend we’ve seen on many celebrities this past year has been the combining of trends. Bright colors with reptile prints. Bright prints on hobo handbags. Western style on a cross-body bag. Animal prints re-imagined in bright colors. The list could go on, but, no matter which two you combine, trend hybrid handbags are more ubiquitous than the actual hybrid style of last year – the patchwork look. But, it doesn’t appear that this trend will end any time soon, as another celebrity was spotted with a trend hybrid handbag, sorts. Whitney Port, one of those reality-TV celebrities from The Hills, was recently seen with a fringed black hobo handbag.

Hobo handbags generally work best in solid colors, as we’ve seen from many celebrities, although animal prints do work on occasion but if, and only if, the bag is a solid print. Typically, a hobo handbag is too large to have embellishments and ornaments all over. Otherwise, the handbag simply looks tacky. In the hybrid of styles on Whitney Port’s handbag, she keeps a solid black style that’s embellished with fringe on the bottom of the bag and laced-up sides. The bag itself works as a high-end western bag or as rocker chic and clearly stands out from Port’s casual look.

Finding a western-style hobo handbag for the average person isn’t difficult, however. One option, if you can handle the less space, is to go with a retro slouch purse decked with fringe, as seen in this link from Western Express, a western wear store. The bag maintains the solid black color with only one embellishment from a concho. The fringe, additionally, lines the front of the bag instead of the bottom. As western style has become a common fashion trend for this upcoming season, such handbags combine high-end fashion with traditional western style.

Perhaps the marketing strategy behind perfumes and cologne should be re-strategized. No matter how large the campaign for certain celebrity-brand scents can be, the myriad of these fragrances only count for about ten percent of all sales. Generally, fragrances with a celebrity name attached sell quickly but then die down. Although some scents with A-list names sell well, this isn’t always the case, and a fragrance that doesn’t do well eventually gets taken off the market.

The latest celebrity fragrance is somewhat ironic. Akon’s Konvict, a his and her scent, alludes to an album of the same name, but the handcuff-styled perfume bottle references a prison more directly. But, name aside, this most recent celebrity scent has a citrus core of lemon, mandarin, vanilla, and almond musk.

Akon, of course, isn’t the only celebrity with a fragrance out. Others preparing to release a fragrance include Rihanna and Jennifer Aniston. Aniston, according to the linked article, has been working on developing a scent for two years and now simply needs to choose a name for it. Right now, the perfume was given the name “Lola,” although “Echo” was in consideration. But, really, two years for a fragrance when, as anyone knows, it might last as long as a movie on the market?

But Jennifer Aniston and Rihanna aren’t the only A-listers with upcoming fragrances, however. Madonna is finally dabbling in a fashion line that will include a fragrance she and her daughter Lourdes Leon develop. Called the Material Girl collection, Madonna will have a line of clothing set to appear in 2011 and scents that go more with her personal brand. As long as it doesn’t include a cone-enhanced bustier dress, the fashion line might be a modest venture for the pop star. Details on what the fragrance will smell like haven’t been released.