This week, we will be discussing two polar opposite types of bags – tiny little clutches and those huge, dog-holding tote bags. At a glance, clutches and totes have nothing in common, except that everyone and their mother has had them out this past week!

First, we have the beautiful and always fabulous singer Rihanna out with a cute little baby blue Miss Martini clutch from Dolce and Gabbana. As always, Rihanna matches her bag flawlessly in a baby blue button up top and khaki skirt. Very tasteful!

Elsewhere, Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria was seen not once, not twice, but THREE times with an Adriana Castro Annie bag. That shows serious commitment to such a small bag like the Annie clutch. However, it does look quite fetching with a number of different outfits, so bring it everywhere!

On to the totes! So many celebs with huge tote-style bags! Primarily, I focused on Leighton Meester and Anna Paquin, of TV’s Gossip Girl and True Blood respectively. Leighton’s got herself a gigantic Celine Croc Luggage Bag on the set of her show. It’s definitely a bit out of place as just a standard bag, but would be excellent on an overnight to Paris or two! Anna’s got herself a Chloe Marcie Satchel, which isn’t quite in the tote range, but could definitely carry an outfit or two. She looks busy, so I’ll leave her alone – she just got married this past weekend, you know!

Filming has begun on the smash hit show Gossip Girl and starlet Blake Lively was seen in Paris! Sure, Gossip Girl and Paris will be good, but even better is Lively’s Fendi tote, which completes her entire look. The beige exterior, smart buckles and short straps perfectly highlight the simplicity of her lush green dress and floppy hat. Look for the ensemble on the next season of Gossip Girl.

Lively’s fellow Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester was also seen on set with a stud-free handbag, which is quite a relief. Meester was seen carrying a dark purple Lanvin Mini Pop Bag on her way to filming a scene for the show. Although the purple Lanvin doesn’t quite go with the pink dress, Meester looks good carrying the bag anyway. Her wardrobe could use some serious work however. Sorry Leighton!

And last, but certainly not least, the queen of pop Britney Spears, was seen out with an adorable Coach Julia Leather Small Bag. The Julia (which Ms. Spears had in a fuchsia berry type color) features a smooth leather exterior with long straps for carrying or slinging over the shoulder. Britney was wearing an orange tank top and what’s this? Studded shorts? And studded boots? Just when I thought I was free of this hair band chic, the studs sneak into the picture. I’m just going to focus on the cute western-style handbag.

There’s always hope for next week, I guess.

• Large-oversized bags – Oh, man. It seems like the oversized is never going to go out of style. Year after year, handbags get bigger and bigger. This may not seem like anything new, but don’t be surprised if the bags get even larger in the next few months. Now Paris Hilton will be able to fit two of her dogs inside!

• Soft embellishments – 2009 saw the implementation of huge additions to handbags, like hoops, chains and other large items, but 2010 is being dominated by softer add-ons. These range from rouching (the gathering up of fabric to create a ruffled style) to pleating and weaving of exterior fabric to give handbags a lighter look in color and texture.

• Studs – As mentioned in a previous post, studs are making a comeback, courtesy of Lady Gaga, who loves to adorn her fashion accessories with little metal touches. You’ll see more and more of this in the fall and winter.

The hot colors for winter (reds and grays) have already been popping up this summer on the arms of some of the biggest celebrities and fashion icons in the world. Judging from this slow roll out, these colors and the aforementioned styles will begin to permeate the fashion world and the department store closest to you in the next 4 or 5 months. Get ready to hop on the newest trends in handbags!

Jessica Biel carries a western style handbag. Photo from Bag That Style.

The Jerome Dreyfuss handbag, small enough to be considered a purse instead of a hobo, has all the distinct qualities of western styles. The brown leather purse’s most notable and visible characteristic is the brown fringe in front. Not too long and neither too sporadic, the fringe gives it a clear western look from a distance. Aside from this aspect, the pictures of this handbag reveal a detailed border around the leather, reminiscent of the detail that goes into designing a pair of cowboy boots. Together, these two elements elevate an ordinary brown handbag to a unique western look.

Western styles come in several price ranges. If you’re looking for a similar handbag like Biel’s but can’t afford the hefty price tag, consider designer inspired options. As western style is practically pervasive in high-end fashion these days, handbags that emulate these looks keep the same style but offer it at a much lower price. At Best Handbag Wholesale, such western handbags have the same brown leather body as Biel’s bag and are embellished. Aspects like fringe, side and strap detail, and rhinestones and conchos elevate an ordinary bag into a trendsetting style.

Animal skins were one of the more prominent designs seen this year that harked back to western style. Python skin was in, as well as alligator and cow skins. For the high-end designer brands, the real skin made up the bag but, for designer-inspired bags, this meant the skin pattern was printed onto leatherette. While the skin in most of these cases was dyed, it was sometimes left natural. Snakeskin boots have always appeared to be a western luxury item, and this year saw the same type of style applied to handbags.

Aside from animal skin, many western embellishments found their way onto ordinary leather handbags and clutches. The most prominent was studs – most rounded bullet studs but others the size of conchos. Although a studded leather handbag was often associated with a rocker or punk chic instead of western fashion directly, punk aesthetics are never orderly, and all studded handbags seen this year had all pieces of metal laid out evenly and orderly. Adding rhinestones to handbags and clutches was also laid out similarly. Additionally, fringe was seen on many solid black handbags, lined across the edges and the bottom. Even with the smaller cross body bags, some fringe was also prevalent.

Kate Moss is seen here with a black fringe western-style handbag. Photo from Glamour UK.

Celebrities, aside from washed up hair band musicians, are the latest to sport this trend. Kate Moss, for example, is seen with a black leather fringe handbag. The handbag itself, judging the picture, has about a foot of fringe attached to the bottom and partially lining the sides of the purse. While no turquoise or quartz stones are to be found on such handbags, the latest trend appears to be taking an otherwise-ordinary purse and adding something significantly western to it. In the case of Moss’s handbag, this includes lining a black leather handbag with long, thick fringe.

What are some other possibilities for “western”-izing an ordinary handbag? At Best Handbag Wholesale, this includes adding western stones, such as those named above, onyx, and coral, to a solid-color bag. Other options could be to have a standard bag colored with cow print or adding other western embellishments, such as a belt buckle. While the trend of snakeskin appears to be going out (at least for now), other animal prints are still popular, including cow hide and alligator. Studs, additionally, have been another western style that, similar to fringe and animal print, seems to still appear on celebrity purses.

With the exception of western shirts, many pieces of western clothing and designed from suede and leather, including chaps and cowboy boots. Even ten-gallon hats are occasionally designed with leather. For Best Handbag Wholesale, many of the handbags are designed from leather or leatherette to resemble the natural material. But leather isn’t the only western-appropriate material used, and cowhide, or cowhide-like material, is used on many products, as well. Sometimes, both leatherette and cowhide are used on the same bag.

Especially for women’s western fashion, stones are important. The typical western stones are turquoise and crystal, but onyx and coral are used commonly, as well. This creates a diverse color combination with staid and bold shades from turquoise and coral stones in use. In general, these stones are used for women’s western jewelry, but, for others, they’re used for other accessories. In fact, many of the handbags and belts at BHW are decorated with turquoise and crystal-like stones, often on the same fashion. For bling, these traditional stones are incorporated with small to medium-size rhinestones. The resulting product is bright and showy but not antiquated like a rhinestone cowboy.

Each western style suede tote bag from Best Handbag Wholesale has a basic two-tone design made from leatherette. The design includes a faux suede body in beige, black, or a brighter color like red or pink. Added to this is dark brown leatherette that looks more like leather. The brown leatherette frames the tote bag on the bottom and on the handle. The overall look of the handbag is of a combination of leather and suede – but at a fraction of the price.

As BHW’s specialty is western fashion, these tote bags are embellished for some western character. The most notable western feature on these bags is the large belt buckle closure, a common characteristic on many of BHW’s western handbags. Aside from this, the strap and bottom leather-like portions are embellished with studs and rhinestones, with rows of small metal studs and larger rhinestones alternating on the bottom edge of the bag. For a modern western look that hints of bling, one of these tote bags is stylish and spacious enough to carry all of your daily needs.

Khloe Kardashian is seen here with two western inspired handbags. Photo from Celebrity-Gossip.net.

As far as western style is concerned, the top two bags are the ones most western inspired, while the lower white one is simply a white leather handbag. The one most prominent, the studded hobo purse by Christian Louboutin can go either rocker or western, but, considering the studs look rather organized on the black leather, it’s more appropriately western. Studs on western clothing, especially those from Best Handbag Wholesale, range from smaller studs on handbags to concho-like studs on belts. As far as the outfit is concerned, this bag matches the black leggings and leather boots best.

The other handbag, or the one behind the studded bag, is more traditionally western inspired and can’t really be debated like the studded design in the picture. Western fashion is often inspired by Native American designs, including blankets and jewelry. This particular bag resembles most of all a blanket woven by a southwest Native American tribe, such as the Pueblos. Whether that’s the actual inspiration or not, this aspect, as well as the designer of the bag, remains unclear, but the diamond pattern in red, white, and brown seems less fashionable – but more western – than the studded handbag in front.

Crosses are a common feature on many western handbags, and some of our new handbags feature this image. The crosses are displayed on one side of the handbag. Some of these are a simple outline of metal studs, while others are a cross designed with faux turquoise stones. Aside from the cross, each of these western style handbags has a hobo design, although these bags, with a smaller size, resemble more slouch purses from the ‘80s. The texture of the bag, in addition, is that of patent leather, and colors available for the body of the bag range from black to bright green and pink. The cross, whether in turquoise or rhinestones, is consistently black.

Another new western style handbag is somewhat designer-inspired, as well. One feature for various designer handbags the past few years has been a patchwork appearance. The patchwork style combines various materials in different patterns to make the body of the handbag. In this case, this can be a variety of cloth, patent leather, and other textured fabrics. For the new handbags, the patchwork style is made from pieces of faux leather and cowhide, with the cowhide in its natural color and the leatherette dark and bright shades.