Bottega Fall 08 Trunk Show

Last week I received an invite to the Fall 08 Bottega trunk show and wasted no time in calling and making an appointment. Trunk shows are where customers get a sneak peak at the upcoming seasons collection...mainly clothes, shoes, handbags, and the IT color for the season. Trunk shows are also when the wait-lists and special order requests first open up - for the fall collection, orders arrive in September and for the Spring collection, orders arrive in March. Most stores do not ask that you pay ahead of time or even leave a deposit, the only thing they need is a credit card number and thats usually only after they confirm the availability of your request. Most are by appointment with your SA but usually if SAs are free, they have no problem catering to walk-ins. Before DZ went on her camping trip, she reminded me to take pictures of the show and after about 40 minutes of drilling my SA for all shes worth, I finally got up the nerve to ask if I could take pictures for my blog. She happily agreed and even tried to help me find the best lighting for some of the bags :) Here are some of my favorites, though not all, from the show:

Soft Croc Satchel. No surprise this was the first bag that caught my eye, shown here behind glass but my SA also brought it out so that I could try it on. The strap is not long enough for this to be a shoulder bag but trust me, for a person who usually doesn't like bags that only work as a handbag, I would NOT mind toting this baby around! The croc is super duper soft and the bag is surprisingly light. The smaller version does work as a shoulder bag but I still liked the larger version better and my SA agreed that the larger size was more economically smart since the price difference was only about $1000...thats not much when you're talking about the difference between $20000 and $19000! Needless to say, both sizes were waaaay off from my budget :( I also tried on the iconic Knot clutch in pink crocodile and of course fell in love...I desperately wish I had more fancy events to go to since at least I would have a reason to purchase one of those clutches...I'm not picky, I would love it in any color/leather!

My beautiful ostrich purses! I have to say, after trying on all the exotic skins at Bottega, I'm back to being obsessed with ostrich. Ostrich bags are by far the softest! I wasn't such a big fan of the orange tote but I L-O-V-E-ed the purple clutch! If I remember correctly, it was about $4500+...still a bit steep for my budget :P

This picture doesn't do the suede bags justice...these are much cuter in person and I especially liked the suede clutch. The suede bags are finished off with a brown croc trim. However, the winner was definitely the croc double flap envelope clutch. Again, the picture didn't quite capture the color of the clutch which is actually a much deeper purple than shown here.
Purple python clutch. I'm still not a fan of python, probably more so now that I have felt what they feel like :P The scales just sort of feel like they're going to peel off at a moments notice. I asked my SA how it was possible for them to have the python clutche since python is outlawed in CA. She explained on a normal daily basis, they are not allowed to hold or show any python products in the store. But if a customer was to order a python bag, they are still allowed to order and sell the bag.

Purple goat skin tote. This bag was pretty cute and in person, the goat leather had sort of a glossy finish. The best thing about this bag though was the wavy weave pattern.

This clutch is nothing to go crazy over but the color was what got me. It sort of reminds me of my purple Reissue but just without the metallic finish. The color is called Turbulence and will be the Fall 08 color for Bottega. I immediately asked my SA if I could order one of the classic bags in this color and so begin my search for the perfect classic bag to go along with this purple. The below 3 bags were my top choices:

I liked this bag since its a modern play on your grandmothers bag from way back in the day. The only thing is even after my SA took out the tissue paper, the bag was pretty stiff and wasn't so comfortable as a shoulder bag. Antique gold hardware.

I then moved onto this bag which is sorta like a cheaper version of the Cabat. Super cute on your shoulders but I couldn't help feeling like I would be carrying around a expensive beach bag. The SA said this would be a great everyday handbag due to this shape and size. Antique gold hardware.

So I finally settled for the Campana which I felt like was more appropriate for my age group. It features the typical suede interior with a clip and magnetic closure. I also took the liberty to order the zip-around in the same purple color...two birds with one stone! So now my SA is checking to see if Bottega is already planning to make the Campana and the wallet in Turbulence. If not, then it will be special requests which will be 20-30% more BUT she reminded me that I would be the only customer with the Campana and wallet in the purple :)

There was also these SUPER cute leather oxfords that were probably the cutest I've seen yet but I wasn't ready to commit to the $1000 price tag :P Another highlight that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of was the purple soft croc Campana that my SA took out for me to see...it was almost cruel for her to tease me with that bag :(