The best handbags are in London!

Did you know that it wasn't until the 1920s that handbags really came into their own.  At this time, they were a symbol for female independence - a woman with a handbag could travel without a man, carrying her own things, which was a revolutionary concept in those days... as don't forget, women used to be considered the property of men, thank goodness things have moved on!  

The Italians and French brands such as Prada, Gucci and Chanel dominated the handbags market at this time, but now, it seems its in Britain where we can find the best handbags, especially in London.

Alexander McQueen, Mulberry, Lulu Guinness, Anya Hindmarsh and Burberry are leading trend setters and some of most important handbag brands around at the moment.

Lulu Guinness always plays on the fun quirkiness of being girly - we love her clutch bags, her use of recycled ideas like the old camera design and the flash sunglasses giving the bag her own personality!

These 2 examples of Anya Hindmarsh's current collection, show how she experiments with different materials and colours to create beautiful designs for different occasions... I'm definitely coveting this red bag!

But of course Burberry are queen's of the statement bag, and check out their new designs above with colour blocking.

As for Mulberry, we're loving this green pastel tote - bring on the summer it says to me!

As for McQueen, their handbags are very stylish, feminine, and chic!  This is a real knuckle duster ... and yet the designs also include these textured clutches and fold over zipped versions that look like hot pants with the fold down magnetic flaps and zippers.  Pure imagination!

So which would you pick for a night out?