Lori Recommends: The Messenger Bag

We've just received a new shipment of bags from High Fashion and they are ... haute (yuk, yuk). Seriously, what's great about them is their embracing of a decidely un-haute style that's creeping like kudzu into the upscale marketplace: the utilitarian, sometime-tragically-hip, messenger bag.

Now, while "messenger bag" and "haute" in the same sentence may give rise to images of Kevin Bacon bike dancing in Quicksilver, we can assure you that High Fashion's versions are legitimate chic fare. Venerated companies like Lanvin and Britain's Mulberry are all over this. (High Fashion just happens to be a fraction of the price.)

The difference comes in High Fashion's acknowledgment of the messenger's functionality filtered through an understanding of current trends. The result is a bag that has a sense of purpose and place. That purpose is looking great while holding your essentials (we say co-opt it as your new computer bag); that place is the center of everyone's attention.

High Fashion makes great use of functionality to make a fashion statement. Look at how this bag at left dresses up grommets, turn-tab closures and spring clips to highlight the bag's construction. The play between zip and flap pockets creates movement and eclectic style without ever leaving the realm of the pragmatic. Toss in soft patent leather and contrast stitching and you have a bag that does its job and looks great doing it.

There's a future-tech look to the bag that is softened by the choice of materials. The contrasting fabric of the matte black cloth strap is a fantastic final touch.

With a wide range of colors and textures to choose from, these messenger bags can serve you well as a commuting bag or casual-night-out hold-all. Either way the message you'll be sending is one of the posh labor of looking good.

Click on these bags for detailed images: