Another week, another visit to the shops in serach of the perfect red designer bag.  I ended up in Area, where they have the Chloe “See” large hobo.  The leather on this unstructured bag is buttery soft, and I am a pushover for quality leather.  However it is a very big bag, and hangs quite low down the body.  I also disliked the red bracelets on the straps.  With a bag this big, anything I put in would be at the bottom of the bag – out of easy reach!  It would be fine for carrying Blackberry plants home from the shops, maybe. There are some practical aspects to handbag design that are sometimes overlooked, I think. Look at the dimensions of this handbag and you will see what I mean: 12″H x 18″L x 5″Deep, plus 13″ strap drop.

Sunday was a rainy day, so what better than a day of shopping? Off to Brighton, my nearest good shopping centre, a stylish place that stands out among the tiny towns of Sussex. This town has a Kath Kidston shop – each to their own, but at least it is there for window shopping – plus dozens of other excellent handbag retailers and boutiques.  So it was that I wandered into Area, in the Lanes, to see the fab Designer Totes that were on display in the shop window.  Here I found a Chloe Paddington in black, along with a Juicy Couture oversized Free Style Hobo - also in black and shown in the photo.

The Chloe was priced much higher than Juicy, of course, but on closer inspection, with the help of the well informed shop guy, I discovered a design fault in the Chloe Paddington! I know: it is the end of a handbag dream, but it must be said.  The top closure is made up of the tradmark Chloe Padlock plus two zips and they are open at the end in the way that a jacket zip would be.  Now, think how you have to line up the two sides of the zip on your favourite leather jacket.  Then imagine having to do this twice on your handbag without being able to pull the sides together as you can with a jacket – you get the idea?  Well personally, it would bug the hell out of me to pay nearly £800 for a Designer Bag from Chloe only to find out I cannot do the bag up! I suppose people who can afford  Caribbean cruises would think nothing of this but I want the handbag to justify its price.

The distinctive squishy shape of a Chloe bag is on show here with this cheery pink number, model no. 0017. I know we are fast approaching winter, but there are still occasions for using a pink bag. This one is covered in studs, plus of course the obiolgatory oversized trademark padlock clasp on top. There is contrasting pink top stitching to enhace the lines and you can probably pick up this Chloe Clutch now at under $150. If your bag is stolen you could use DNA testing to get it back.

One trend resulting from recession fever is the growing demand for designer bag rental. This is the answer to a Handbag addict dream – the chance to get your hands on the ultimate and latest genuine designer handbags and tote bags for a fraction of the cost. The photo shows the Chloe Paddington, in green-grey. This beautiful designer bag is big enough to use for a weekend away and of course it gives the essential touch of style that is a pre-requisite when visiting luxury hotels.

The large padlock is iconic Chloe, both it and its key are engraved with Chloe, as are various pieces of the silver-coloured metalware. Sumptuous soft leather outside is complimented by rich cream cotton inside. One to truly make you feel a million dollars. You can rent this bag and dozens of others from handbaghirehq.co.uk.

Even a spy camera would not be able to spot that you have only hired your bag.

The Chloe Paddington made its name as the first handbag from the designer house in 2005 when the first release of purses sold 376 in less than two days. Part of the reason for its success was possibly the way that the Chloe bag used over the top hardware, with decorative padlocks and numerous clasps sprinkled over the exterior of this cute bag. The rounded edges of the Chloe Paddington bag make it very feminine, chic and stylish. The designer touches include the heavy padlock, round handles, square details as well as the pebbled leather effect. The Chloe Paddington has become the girlie club bag, creating a community of Paddington owners who could compare their bags’ addons and, if they run out of things to say they can play with the multiple clasps and ostentatious additions. The Chloe ready-to-wear fashion house has been a presence in France since 1956, when it was established by Gabi Aghion. Chloe has employed many world-renowned designers, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo, who was responsible for the Chloe Paddington. The present creative director at Chloe’s Paris HQ is Paulo Melim Andersson.

The Paddington bag, with its distinctive slouchy, well-worn look and trademark gold lock and key – has been a victim of its own success since it was introduced in 2005. The pre-launch publicity for this Designer It Bag hype was so effective that the Chloe Paddington was a sell-out before the first deliveries arrived.

The desirability and high ticket price of the bag have made the Chloe Paddington an easy target for counterfeit copies. When you look on Ebay you will find dozens of bags described as “authentic Paddington”. But at a price of less than £100, a bag sold as Chloe Paddington from China is NOT authentic.

Chloe has always confirmed that these bags are counterfeit, so do not be fooled by these c heap knock offs. The real Paddington bag has a wholesale trade price of nearly 1000 Euros, so a genuine version can never sell for less than that figure.

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