The celebrity world is something the majority of us will never be a part of – there are a chosen few who ever even get to go to awards ceremonies, never mind actually getting nominated! This morning, the nominees for the Academy Awards were announced, bringing the excitement of new fashion to the forefront this awards season. As we saw a few weeks ago, the Golden Globes were given away to actors and actresses wearing some of the newest western style trends. Needless to say, the Oscars are sure to do the same for many of the styles we discuss in this blog.

Here are some of the fashion accessories to look for on the red carpet this awards season:

Belts and Belt Buckles – One major element of this season is not that major at all – in fact, it’s usually overlooked as minor – western belts. The Golden Globes showed several actresses adding belts to their designer gowns, which may surprise some. However, the idea behind mixing dresses and belts builds on the shape of a person’s body, so cinching a belt with a nicely designed belt buckle is being seen at awards shows, movie premieres and at dinner parties everywhere. Consider this approach the next time you are wearing a flowing dress – you might like the results.

Look at the Purse – Along with belts, other accessories like designer handbags are being looked at closely by style experts and fashion critics. It’s not so much about an actress’s choice of dress as much as the full ensemble – that’s why picking the appropriate clutch is crucial at these Hollywood events.  Don’t forget that this is not only important for Kate Winslet – your choice of handbag is also a huge part of your outfit for Friday night.

Adding Sparkle – Finally, the last accessory to add to your ensemble is western style jewelry, which has always been essential on the red carpet ever year. By choosing the right wholesale jewelry, you will bring out the colors and style you are looking to embody. Don’t forget about the depth that jewelry can bring to your already beautiful look.

Chap Stick – As the winter months roll in, the cold air is blowing around, causing all kinds of problems, especially for your lips. The colder it gets, the more likely you are to split your lip or just have chapping problems. Having a chap stick at the ready is a great idea, especially since you never know when your lips will be dry. Keep one in your wholesale handbag.

Moisturizer – Having some lotion or other moisturizing product follows along the same thread as having chap stick. If it’s cold out, your skin can easily get dry and cracked and become unhealthy as a result. Lotion will keep your skin hydrated, but only if you have some in your purse.

Hand Sanitizer – The world can be a dirty place, especially if you live in the city. Taking the subway or merely grabbing a shopping cart can expose your hands to a lot of germs that might get you sick. A travel-size container of hand sanitizer is a great option when a sink isn’t readily available. Take it out of your purse when your hands are feeling grimy.

There are a lot of other items you should always carry in your purse, but these should help you get a good start. What do you keep in your purse?

The proof is in the data regarding handbags, whether imported or exported. In Vietnam alone, handbags generated more than $1 billion in exports for the Asian country, according to SGGP. This has contributed greatly to the leather industry in the country:

“Handbags constitute one of the 26 items bringing in huge profits in the leather export industry, and even though handbags, wallets and suitcases are made of leather, they are a strong commodity by themselves. So far only foreign direct investment companies have exported handbags. Next year, the leather shoe and handbag sector is expected to have an export turnover of $8.5 billion; of which, the shoe sector could reach $7 billion and the handbag sector $1.5 billion.”

Leather is one of the bigger products exported from Vietnam, the article says, with a number of different varieties being sent to European countries and Brazil. This data extends to the US market, with the sale of luxury items like designer handbags up more than 5% in 2011. These numbers will certainly grow in the next year, giving business owners more than enough reason to stay up-to-date with their western style items.

For more information about western wholesale handbags, visit Best Handbag Wholesale, a world leader in the sale of wholesale designer handbags.

For instance, a major part of fashion is the palette that designers use as a basis for their new lines. This year, the choice of many designers is quite interesting…and also very bold. Get ready for 2012’s hottest color: tangerine tango. This, according to an article from Yahoo Lifestyle, will be the go-to color in the next year:

“Tangerine Tango, a vibrant orange is the color of 2012, according to the Pantone Color Institute. The fiery hue is expected to chase the winter blues away next year by injecting new energy and boldness into the economy. So be prepared for the invasion of flaming orange outerwear, dresses, shoes, handbags and even eyeliner!”

The basis for determining the next big color in the fashion world hinges on a number of factors, including pop culture, consumer habits and the fashion shows that debuted summer and spring 2012 lines. Interestingly enough, the article says that tangerine tango symbolically suggests urgency and a call to action – this being totally different to the choice of last year:

“It is a contrast to last year’s hot-pink shade, Honeysuckle, which was supposed to channel cheerfulness and nostalgia.  Over the past several years, designers have taken a liking to orange and the shade has slowly crept its way onto the catwalks across major fashion capitals. And next year,the attention seeking Tangerine Tango is expected to be a take center stage with men’s and women’s fashion.”

What do you think of tangerine tango? Are you excited to add this color to your wardrobe?

According to a story from Google News, reselling luxury handbags has become a boom industry in the major city, where bags are not hard to find:

 “[Byron Yiu’s] Milan Station retail chain, the first of its kind in the fashion conscious city, buys trendy bags — luxury tote or shoulder bags to evening clutch — from the ladies who lunch in Hong Kong’s upscale neighbourhoods. Locally known as “tai tais”, the small and often thrifty demographic, rarely seen without Prada, Chanel or Gucci on their arm, provides the retailer with a steady flow of bags which are later authenticated by Yiu’s team.”

The styles of bags are what is important – not the age of the bags. As long as the bags are genuine, women want to buy them, says the article. As new styles are discovered, it can be difficult to charge exorbitant amounts for the designer bags. However, this is excellent for women who are looking to add new styles to their wardrobe but can’t afford expensive handbags. The business owners are seeing the benefits of this used handbag industry:

“The idea not only turned traditional shopping habits on their ear and made Yiu a rich man himself, but the company set a record for the most popular initial public offering in the Asian financial hub’s history earlier this year. Investors were abuzz with excitement when the firm…went to market in May with an initial public offering oversubscribed a whopping 2,180 times.”

Can you see this type of store becoming successful in North America? I’m pretty sure it won’t be too long until this is a boom industry here in the States!

The world of handbags is vast and ever-changing, especially when it comes to the current styles and types of bags available. Over the last few years, tote-sized bags have been the handbag du jour with celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham using them as not only a fashion accessory, but a useful means of transporting gym clothes and baby toys, respectively. However, the tote is falling out of style, one report says.

According to SFGate, small bags are coming back to the forefront of style choices in women’s handbags signaling a movement towards more elegant fashion:

“The trend parallels a general shift toward more ladylike fashion, and may help generate sales in the handbag market, which grew 10 percent to about $10.3 billion in the year that ended in June, according to Coach Inc. Luxury sales are expected to rise 7.5 percent this holiday season, faster than the 6.7 percent increase a year earlier, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.”

Coach is banking on smaller bags to bring up some major returns in the months to come, says the article. Other fashion houses like Prada and Dior are following suit, putting out advertisements focusing on the smaller bags in their collections. Louis Vuitton took their smallest bag and went even farther with the dimensions:

“Louis Vuitton’s Fifth Avenue flagship store this month displayed a top-handled $1,560 Lockit BB, which at 9.4 inches is more than a third smaller than the company’s Lockit model.”

As I mentioned last week, New York Fashion Week displayed some interesting concepts like men’s handbags, but the biggest story in terms of handbags was the presence of handheld bags all over the runways in the Big Apple. It looks like this trend in wholesale handbags is here to stay, at least until designers change their minds:

“The return of smaller bags may put limits on an oversize trend that began about 10 years ago and by the middle of the last decade had “hit the major leagues,” says Roseanne Morrison, fashion director of Doneger Group, a New York fashion trend forecaster. Women liked big bags in part because they could stuff in everything from their laptops to extra shoes.

Over time, however, the bags fell out of favor. On fashion blogs, women complained that the bags had become so large and heavy that it was like carrying around a boulder.”

It is standard for women to judge and assess each others’ handbags, sometimes asking, “Where did you get that?” Based on each others’ recommendations and handbag selection, the fashion industry makes a pretty penny off of new designs every year. However, this isn’t good enough for some designers – I’m referencing Tommy Hilfiger specifically. As I’ve mentioned recently, New York Fashion Week just wrapped up and the reports are flying around about the latest development – Tommy Hilfiger is designing clutch handbags for men.

Examiner reports that Tommy Hilfiger’s spring 2012 collection featured two styles of men’s handbags that were generally well-received by the crowd:

“The men’s handbag collection designed by Tommy Hilfiger for spring 2012 included the clutch which offered a men’s brief silhouette in a smaller, easier to carry size. The clutch was done in a light burgundy and also cobalt blue; both colors blended well with the overall color palette of the collection.”

Also included was a weekend tote bag for men, promoted as a suitcase of sorts, fitting into carry-on spaces on airplanes.

How do you feel about this move from designers to include men when designing handbags? Do you think that American men will ever carry a clutch bag around in daily life?

According to the piece, look for the economy to affect the way that designers are looking at their wholesale handbags, especially when it comes to making high fashion available to the consumers still wanting to pay full price:

“People are still buying designer labels with high-end department stores posting the largest gains in sales. Luxury department store Neiman Marcus, which also owns Bergdorf Goodman, reported a 17 percent increase in quarterly operating profit on Tuesday as high-end shoppers’ growing willingness to pay full price for designer dresses, shoes and handbags sent sales soaring.”

Although the event still has this evening to finish, the looks for next year have followed the same trends, with bright colors accentuating almost every major line:

“Polished sporty styles and neon citrus colors emerged as strong trends at New York Fashion Week, which ends on Thursday, for spring/summer 2012 as consumers look for more versatile fashion. Dubbed urban sport and athletic chic, the designs featured fabrics such as mesh, neoprene and parachute silk and relaxed yet refined fashion to fit with more casual and active lifestyles, and suit several occasions.”

The actual fits of the clothing seem to be moving towards unfussy, easy-to-wear clothing that not only shows off high fashion, but also doesn’t affect daily life activities like work. This goes the same for the bags being shown – they are comfortable but exhibit the same kind of fashion that people want to spend their money on.

Examine the Bag – Handbags have the ability to affect your alignment, which can cause difficulty in carrying and even some pain in different areas of your body. To avoid these problems, look at how your alignment should be in the mirror – feet parallel, pelvis tucked inward and body comfortably upward. Put on your bag and see how your body looks while wearing it. Try to match your normal body posture with the posture of you with a handbag. This is the first step towards relieving pain from your handbag.

Type Matters – If your handbag isn’t a standard shoulder bag, adjust the straps so that it rests in the right area on your body. This is particularly important for tote bags, slings and other alternatives to the standard designer hand bag.

Making a Switch – Your bag collection shouldn’t just sit in the closet all of the time! By changing between bags, you can not only show your ability to accessorize, but relieve different areas of your body depending on which one you are carrying!

Matching Bodies to Bags – As with any fashion accessory, you know how to match styles to your body type. This goes for handbags just as much as those boots that come up too high on your thighs – pick a bag that hangs slightly above your hip when appropriately placed on your shoulder the correct way.

Leather – The fabric of the fall is definitely going to be faux leather, if the looks on red carpets are any indicator. With the leather western handbags showing up on the arms of many celebrities and on runway models, it looks like designers are focusing on this style as well. Pair leather purses with other leather accessories like wholesale belts for a fully encompassing style for your outfits.

Block Coloring – Usually, the first question asked about the new trends in fashion is about the hot colors. Is pink the new black, or vice versa? Well, fall 2011 is going to be all about block coloring, possibly because of the retro looks that shows like Mad Men have made popular again. Block coloring takes several bold colors and pairs them together in sections throughout one piece. For instance, a dress may have three sections – one orange, one black and one salmon, each accentuating a different part of your form.

Draped Dresses – If the awards ceremonies of last year were the only style-making events, we’d all be wearing draped dresses everywhere. Several huge designers made this incredibly beautiful form-fitting look the center of fall lines at Fashion Week. By bringing attention to areas of gathered fabric, drapery can draw attention away from other areas that you may not want people seeing. Use draped clothing to your benefit!