Purses — Christian Dior, Timeless Beauty

Christian Dior handbag fashions began long ago after WWII ended, in 1947. Yet, through all the cultural changes and vagaries of fashion wrought by the past 50+ years, it has never gone out of style. There are good reasons for that...

Dior himself is one of the major ones, of course. Impeccable taste blended with a practical mind led to founding one of the great fashion houses of Paris, the center of world fashion for generations. After his untimely demise in 1957 the torch passed to the equally legendary Yves St. Laurent, a Dior protégé.

But there is much more to Christian Dior purses than simple biography and that's best seen through example.

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The Dior Shrunken Cannage Hobo will serve that purpose well. This classic handbag style, derived from the hobo's tote, has long ago lost any connotations of poverty. The look is rich, the style upscale, the statement timeless. One manifestation does the bag in mustard with an elegant pattern topped by short chains on the handle. At nearly $1400 it isn't just the price that is high. It's the fashion.

Even more upscale is the nearly $4,000 Dior Samourai 1947 Woven Bag. But forget the price tag for a moment. Luxuriate in a fashion design that is sui generis, one of a kind. Grained leather has been woven into a pattern that evokes the Asian theme of the name. The handle tie decorations resemble tiny dragons and they're anchored by small serpent rings.

Even so, Dior handbags are about much more than simply spending a lot of money. That is a waste unless the bag will be used, worn, shown, carried. On that score, no one at any budget level will have any reason to be disappointed.

Whenever you find a fashion item designed by or under the guidance of Yves St. Laurent, you quickly discover that there's much more than mere adulation going on. True, the fashion world contains a lot of hype. Selections invariably involve a certain amount of personal taste. But there is taste, and then there is taste. And, then, there is Dior.

When you see a purse with that simple, unmistakable CD logo you're looking at more than just a marketing ploy. You're seeing a leather good that has generations of the finest fashion talent behind it.

The Dior Gaucho Saddle Bag is a stellar reminder of that timeless truth. This asymmetrical design is simply like nothing else around. The classic Dior "D" is repeated across a gentle tan fabric shaped to look like a saddle. But far from evoking images of stables, this red-leather trimmed purse could be taken to the finest soirée and displayed proudly.

When you set the trend, as Christian Dior continues to do, you never go out of style. You are the style, in any generation. Fashion leaders become the trends because they begin them. A glance at a few Dior handbags will convince the most skeptical of critics of that.