Last spring, my mom purchased a gigantic red patent leather tote by Maxx. Every time she wears it, she always receives tons of compliments. Purchased for a nominal $150, she was one satisfied and fashion forward customer. Encouraged by the vast compliments she received on this bag, she decided to purchase a smaller version for me. This past April, for my birthday, I unwrapped a shiny, black, patent leather, small version of my mom’s bag. I quickly turned my nose up and decided that patent leather was not for me. I returned the bag with out much thought.

If I could have predicted then, that patent leather would have exploded as much as it did for the Fall 2007 season, I would have never returned that birthday gift! This season, patent leather is everywhere. Available at multiple price points, patent leather is an easy way to excite your wardrobe. Every shoe that I purchased for this season was in some form of patent leather, making my shoes from past seasons seem almost dull. The one thing that is missing from my wardrobe is a patent bag to match all of the shoes I have recently purchased.

My friend Dana is an Assistant Manager at Nordstrom in the Handbag department. When we saw each other recently, I asked her take on the patent leather explosion. Her opinion was: “Black Patent Leather is the New Black.” At first, I was hesitant to agree on her broad judgment. I did not understand how she could make such a generalized statement about classic black leather handbags becoming the lesser choice over the patent leather ones? Recently I have been in search of an investment bag. One that is a classic shape, that will hold up through seasonal trend changes. It has been hard to find something that isn’t patent leather. The shine really makes it more dressy and exciting.

A few styles and brands that stick out when browsing through the department stores are: Francesco Biasia, Michael Kors, and of course Marc Jacobs. One of the most popular bags of the season is the Quilted Satchel, which is now being produced in quilted patent leather as well. The designer’s are all jumping on the patent leather bandwagon. According to Dana, most customers are buying patent leather shoes to go with the bags they are purchasing.

Even more popular in the patent trend is the patent leather clutch. It is a great statement for either day or night and is adored by mostly thirty something’s.

See above for a few of my favorite patent leather bags that I have been drooling over this season - you will know where I am coming from for sure.

Author: Amy Lieberman (Want to become a Handbag Correspondent?)