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.

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.

Jessica Simpson is best known for being a second-tier pop star, dating John Mayer, and the show Newlyweds, but what most people don’t know is that she has an extensive fashion line under her belt. This has includes clothing, bathing suits, shoes, and fragrances, and, according to a recent article, watches will soon be added to the line. As mentioned in the article under the link, Simpson has been working with Pascal Mouawad to design a set of 35 watches for men and women priced between $60 and $250. Some of these will be standard leather band watches and others will be jewelry-inspired fashion designs.

As part of the Jessica Simpson Collection, these will debut in the Fall of 2010 at various high-end department stores and specialty watch retailers. Simpson herself, as mentioned in the article, has been a collector of vintage watches. Although this doesn’t fully quality her to be a fashion designer, many of her other products continue to sell well, including her perfume line. Simpson, however, may seem more qualified on the surface to be a pop star (or reality TV personality), but the sales of her fashion products overall probably go beyond any record and concert sales she’s had over the years.

Nevertheless, on the subject of watches, Simpson appears to be aiming for a well-rounded line to appeal to everyone and the ever-changing fashion market for watches. She – or Mouawad – seems to see that the basic leather band watch is still in for men, while women prefer something more like jewelry that will match with the outfit. None of the watch styles have been revealed yet, however, although most likely any fashion jewelry watches will be based on the most popular bracelets at the moment – charms or bangles with a watch face.

Last year, at this time, handbags were all about the retile prints, the hobo style, and the tattoo look. But, while anything Ed Hardy or Ed Hardy-inspired went south when seen on Jon Gosselin, the hobo and reptile styles are still in. Additionally, many of the fashion collections seen recently in New York and Milan indicate that bright colors and western fashion – although not necessarily on the same handbag – are here for at least a few months longer. While this means that the reptile or fringed black leather hobo handbag you bought last year is still fashionable, the one with the tattoo rose and rhinestones on the front may not be.

One of the more notable western-inspired collections seen on the spring fashion runways is Emilio Pucci. One look at the handbags all of the models are wearing under the link, and “western” is one of the first adjectives to come to mind. Some of the designs by the fashion line for spring include the basic black leather handbag with fringe, but others are embellished with fur and feathers. The blogger on The Purse Page calls it “hippy chic,” but we’d rather call it western fashion.

On the other end of the spectrum are collections by Mulberry and Versace. Both of the spring lines by these design houses use bright colors and patterns, often juxtaposed with black for a sharp contrast. This is exactly what the Versace handbags looked like on the runway: An oversized coin purse style in black with neon highlights. Mulberry, on the other hand, was all about bright colored prints and hobo styles. Some of these satchel and hobo handbags take the animal prints we’ve seen everywhere last year and colors them in with reds and neon shades. Others in the line stick to the basic black look but with a reptile texture. Essentially, Mulberry sees trends from last year in reverse: Understated reptile handbags and colorful, bright animal print hobo purses.

Fragrance sales have been down since 2006, the year in which celebrity-branded scents became full blown. Two news pieces over the past few weeks touch on what might happen to the fragrance industry: More of the celebrity trend and also an ad campaign targeted to get more of the public interested in wearing perfume or cologne. Although the recession has seen sales across all aspects of retail dip, fragrance sales have seen a sharp decrease, mainly because of its use as a luxury item and not a necessity like clothing. Nevertheless, possibilities for reviving the fragrance industry include more than waiting through the recession.

One option is an upcoming ad campaign by The Fragrance Foundation called “One Mighty Drop.” The website for One Mighty Drop is designed to make scents appeal to everyone, including features for designing you own perfume bottle to tips for wearing fragrances. One notable suggestion is waiting 10 minutes after spraying a fragrance. At this point, you’ll be able to smell all three parts to a scent, and you’ll be able to tell if you’ll enjoy wearing it or not. After all, some perfumes can even take up to 30 minutes for revealing the lowest layer.

Another option is choosing which celebrity will be branding the fragrance. While some celebrities with fragrances come and go, such as Hilary Duff or Ashanti, others, such as Beyonce, appear to have more staying power. Since her start in Destiny’s Child, Beyonce hasn’t really left the public eye, even when an album or single wasn’t entirely stellar. Her recent fragrance, Heat, has been selling fairly well and, according to the linked news item, the promotion for it at Macy’s Herald Square generated about $60,000 in one day, with customers purchasing $122 sets of Heat. Perhaps, in the near future, companies like Coty and Elizabeth Arden will be pickier about which fragrance they brand with a celebrity.

Both Vanessa Hudgens and studded handbags are old news. While the actress hasn’t appeared in anything significant since High School Musical, studded handbags have appeared on every celebrity this past year. It’s a look we’ve seen too much of. The basic design consists of a black leather handbag embellished by silver studs arranged in a pattern of some kind. Many of these have been bullet studs, but others, such as on a handbag worn by Lindsay Lohan, have been triangular shaped or dark colored. Of course, because both western style and rocker chic have been in for about this amount of time, studs are nearly on everything – clothing, shoes, handbags, and jewelry.

What’s somewhat notable about Vanessa Hudgens’ purse are the studs used. The handbag is a Balenciaga and appears to be the centerpiece for her outfit, but, instead of a silver-on-black design, her bag uses gold-colored, angular studs placed at various points on the leather. Although gold and silver studs are seen together on some lesser brands – take a look at the selections in the latest Forever 21 offerings – the gold studs on Hudgens’ bag stand out from their color and design. Think of a chunky gold bracelet added to a black handbag and, essentially, that’s what this Balenciaga bag looks like.

Similar handbags can be found on discount and designer-inspired websites like Best Handbag Wholesale. Some of these designer inspired handbags have the same combination of studs on a hobo style handbag, much like Vanessa Hudgens’ bag above, but the stud option include silver, gold, and rhinestones. The bag under the link, for example, has a line of clear rhinestones around the edge of a beige-colored hobo bag. Other similar handbags still keeping up with the western style use studs of several sizes and shapes around the edge of the purse.

We haven’t seen too many celebrities carrying around designer patchwork bags, although the labels, such as Coach, seem to think that combining several materials on one bag is the next big thing. Coach isn’t the only brand with such styles, and Louis Vuitton carries similar patchwork handbags, including a hobo style patchwork handbag seen on Jessica Simpson recently. The bag itself, as seen in the photograph or under the link is a standard patchwork style, with the traditional monogram leather Louis Vuitton material juxtaposed with textured animal print. Beyond that, this bag is simply a variation on the typical Louis Vuitton handbag, with the sharply contrasting leopard print popping out at the bottom.

Both Coach and Louis Vuitton have a few patchwork bags added to their lines, and, for both, the patchwork style is simply a variation on their basic monogram bags. From clutches or hobo handbags, each employs a variety of materials that are stitched together. While the monogram material is included, textured cloth, such as corduroy, suede or solid leather, animal prints, and basic patterned cloth are all part of a patchwork handbag. In some cases, for more sharper contrasts, patent leather may even be added.

If you can’t afford the hefty price tags associated with Coach and Louis Vuitton handbags, many designer inspired lines carry similar patchwork handbags. These combine the similar set of fabrics listed above, but the monogrammed material is designed to appear similar to – but not quite like – the designer brand’s style. Coach is imitated more often on these bags, especially with a sans-serif C design that doesn’t quite look like Coach’s and not quite like Chanel’s. Aside from this style, other designer inspired patchwork bags are cloth only. These cloth handbags use a set of fabrics with varied patterns, such as the pinks, camouflage, and cross pattern seen on the bag under the link.

Trends some and go, and some come back reinvented as a total rehash. Take the ‘70s fashion nostalgia from 1996 to 1998. While it brought back bellbottom jeans that soon became flared leg, polyester shirts and psychedelic accessories soon passed within months. Sunglasses, on the other hand, seem to last longer, although each decade appears to be defined by a style. The ‘80s, more often than not, are associated as much with wayfarer sunglasses as much as they are with Wham! and A Flock of Seagulls and acid wash. The ‘90s, similarly, had wraparound sunglasses and grunge music for most of the decade. The ‘00s? Trends this decade were divided distinctly between those for women and men, and all styles appeared to reflect back to the ‘80s.

The most significant trend in sunglasses for the decade was oversized shades, but these were exclusively for women. This style appeared last in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s but, at the time, was basic. Designer sunglasses at the time often had a black or mock tortoise frame and dark, solid color lenses. Oversized styles for women this decade used the same basic model but became more feminine. Both frames and lenses could be pink, red, or purple and embellished with rhinestones. Juicy Couture was one of the brands for designer sunglasses with such style, although almost all designer lines for women had this style.

For men, the aviator shades were the most popular this decade. The last time aviator shades were seen, outside of a South Park episode, was the ‘80s, in which many male movie or television characters appeared with a basic black or mirrored pair. This time around, though, mirrored shades were out but gradient in, and the frame, instead of being basic metal, could be plastic and colored. This allowed for aviators to be a style also seen on women. Similarly, wayfarer sunglasses had a similar comeback at the end of the decade for both sexes, with a myriad of color and frame possibilities.

Rhinestones on sunglasses are nothing new and this trend has been around for nearly a decade. But when does a pair of sunglasses simply transcend the simple rhinestones design and become all-out bling? Recently, Kanye West protégé Kid Sister was spotted wearing such a pair of iced out sunglasses by A-morir. The sunglasses, a clear shield style, are encrusted with rhinestones and spikes around the edges. While you might not want to get physically close to someone wearing such sunglasses, having bling on your sunglasses beyond a few rhinestones isn’t exclusive to A-morir. In fact, other designers have been adding rhinestones to their styles, as well, with some more subtle than others.

Valentino is one such designer brand, and these iced out shades include many small rhinestones on the side of the glasses. While Vision in Style carries discounted versions of these bling sunglasses. These particular shades by Valentino, which appeared on the market in 2008, have a shield style as well, but the rhinestones are toned down compared to the shades worn by Kid Sister. These sunglasses are designed with a rose pattern on the side and this rose is outlined in small rhinestones which stand out against the black color of the frame and lenses.

Having detail on the side isn’t exclusive to Valentino sunglasses, however. Brands like Juicy Couture have side detail, often in metal or rhinestones on a pair of shield or oversized sunglasses. While the larger or thicker frames allow for such detail, these are often an enlarged logo for the brand. While this is common for women’s sunglasses, some men’s styles, such as those by Hugo Boss, are designed similarly, as well. Although a much more basic style, these side details on a pair of men’s sunglasses are still added to display the brand.