Designer Rafe Totengco

From stylish celebs to everyday glamour gals, designer Rafe Totengco’s handbags are a staple in many chic closets. Eva Longoria, a longtime fan, asked Rafe to design her bridesmaids’ clutches for her 2007 nuptials to Tony Parker. (A similar style of the one-of-a-kind minaudiere is currently available.)

“I design for a woman who likes to stand out from the crowd, a woman who appreciates fashion but isn’t obsessed with it,” Rafe tells Open Fashion. “She’s got her own sense of style: sexy, individual and confident. She’ll mix vintage pieces with high street and designer labels. She likes to have fun with clothes.”

Open Fashion snagged an interview with the popular designer and peppered him with questions. What’s the must-have bag for Fall 2010? What is the one color handbag that every woman should have in her closet? Read on…

"Orchid" clutch by Rafe

How many collections do you produce each year?

I design 3 collections a year. Fall / Winter, Spring / Summer and Resort / Holiday.

What was the inspiration for your Fall 2010 collection of handbags?

This season I was channeling the unique characteristics and lifestyle of the Brooklyn girl, her edgy, yet relaxed sense of style. Foldover totes and cross-bodies serve as stylish yet functional pieces for perusing a vintage flea market or enjoying a bite to eat at hot spot Dumont. Clutches, minaudieres, hobos and shoulder bags are updated in luxe washed leathers, marbled metallics, pleated snakeskin and crinkle patent leathers. Crystals and beads embellish Italian moiré printed suede while studded fringe adorns buttery soft leather. The Rafe girl is checking out the latest art exhibit at PS1 and moving to the sounds of LaRoux on the dance floor at Deity.

Rafe "Ana" foldover tote in chocolate

My inspirations are as varied as the women who wear them. This season’s rich color palette evokes the brushstrokes of artist Francis Bacon with colors that include warm earth tone colors in taupe, grey and brown hues and rich Bordeaux and green shades.

Rafe Studded Grey handbag

What is the one color of handbag that every woman should have in her closet?

A grey bag! Because I consider grey a neutral and it works well whatever the season.

What is the absolute must-have handbag for this Fall?

It would be our “Ana” fold-over tote made of washed lambskin. You can wear it as a cross body or a tote. Two different ways to wear the same bag — who can say no that?!

And now, to copy a question you have posed to other designers: What are your 3 Absolute Style Do’s and Don’ts — and why?

DO…

• Say Please, Thank you and you’re welcome. Good manners are always in style.
• Invest in good quality shoes, they finish your sartorial sentence and your feet will thank you for them over time.
• Take a long good look at yourself before leaving your apartment. Sometimes you catch the oddest things about your outfit upon closure inspection. “Better safe than sorry” I always say.

DON’T…

• Think that just because the 80’s are back, that you should be all over it. Some trends aren’t appropriate for everybody.
• Under dress ever! Make an effort and you’ll feel better, especially when everybody tells you how fabulous you look.
• Bother with cheap handbags made of questionable materials, you’ll be sorry when they start peeling against your skin and on your clothes.

Pop icon Madonna and her 13-year-old daughter Lourdes will soon be debuting a juniors fashion line exclusively for Macy’s called “Material Girl.”

But according to Madonna, it’s her daughter that will be doing most of the designing. “I just stand in the background and go, “That’s cool. That’s not cool,’” Madonna recently told Billboard.com.

Stella McCartney, says Madonna, is to blame (or credit) with instilling in Lourdes (nickname, Lola) the desire to design. “Lola has been bothering me for ages about designing clothes,” Madonna told Billboard.com. “Stella McCartney is a good friend of mine and she got her mind thinking when Lola was a little girl, about 8 years old. She started giving Lola fabrics and inviting her into her showroom and asking her opinion on things, giving her sketch books and stuff like that. Stella always pushed her.”

With an early exposure to fashion design, perhaps it was inevitable that Lola would dip her sketch pencil in the pool, too. “I have a lot of friends who are clothing designers whether it is Gaultier or Dolce and Gabbana,” says Madonna. “[Lola] has been around all of the shoots I have done and all of the campaigns I have done. She is always hanging out backstage. The last two tours I have done, she has been working in the wardrobe department. On this last tour she dressed all of the dancers.”

What can consumers expect to see in the new Material Girl line, set to launch this fall? Jeans, shoes, fingerless gloves, necklaces and other accessories — much of it inspired by Madonna and Lola’s love of dance, reports Billboard.com.

It’s time to peel off the layers and enjoy the great spring dresses.  Here are a few picks to get you started!

I’ll break this up by price categories: Under $30, from $30 to $100, and $100 and above.   To keep things simple, I’m going to stick with casual dresses for this post.

Under $30:

$19.99 from Target: Merona® Women’s V-Neck Dress – Pink Floral

$29.80 from Forever21: Flower Patch Minidress

$14.00 from Wal-Mart: Faded Glory – Women’s Crochet-Trim Print Dress

From $30 to $100:

$39.50 from Uniqlo: Women’s Silk Cotton Short Sleeve Smock Dress

$88.00 from Bloomingdales.com: Aqua Striped Silk Dress

$89.50 from Gap.com: Long Floral Dress

$100 and above:

$248.00 from LordandTaylor.com: LILLY PULITZER Lara Shell-Print Sleeveless Silk Swing Dress

$128.00 (on sale now for $88.99) from Macys.com:  Jessica Simpson Dress, Ruffled Neckline Butterfly Print

That’s only nine dresses.

There are so many cute dresses out there for spring!

Click around and if you find some that you just love, please share them with us in the comment section!

This video is mad blur of pop culture and fashion along with comedy, camp and commercialism.

Styling credit goes to Lady Gaga’s stylist, Nicola Formichetti. Check out this post on his blog: FASHION CREDITS – TELEPHONE BY LADY GAGA FEATURING BEYONCE !!!!!!

In this post Nicola has both screen shots and credits each designer outfit!  It’s fierce!

BTW, the video was directed by Jonas Akerlund.

Now, if only we could scrounge up the $595 to buy them.

If you hurry, you can own a piece of Oprah — her closet, anyway. From March 1 – 11, the talk show maven is auctioning off her previously used clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories.

Check out Oprah’s whole collection on eBay.

Each item has a starting bid of $100. Just three hours after bidding opened today, a red Carolina Herrera dress that Oprah has worn on the show was already up to $810, and there’s more than a week left in the auction!

All proceeds from the sales will go towards financing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa.

1. Boyfriend Fatigue Jacket by J. Crew. ($148) Check out more utility jackets at the J. Crew website.

J. Crew "Boyfriend Fatigue Jacket"

2. Juicy Couture’s “Tony Hooded Military Coat ($298).

Juicy Couture's "Tony Hooded Military Jacket"

3. Old Navy’s “Twill Cargo Zip Jacket” ($39.50). See all six different colors at their website.

Old Navy "Twill Cargo Zip Jacket"

4. “Military Anorak” by Gap ($79.50).

Gap "Military Anorak"

Finally, if long jackets aren’t your thing, there’s an abbreviated version…

5.   Drawstring Casual Jacket at Forever 21 ($24.80).

Forever 21 "Drawstring Casual Jacket"

Nicole Richie in her kimono dress.

Filmy cardigans, kimono silk dresses, and sexy cropped leather jackets comprise Nicole Richie’s “Winter Kate” Spring 2010 collection. Named for the middle names of her daughter, Harlow, the 40-piece collection employs lots of vintage silk crepe and vintage silk chiffon embellished with fringe, embroidery and cotton macrame details.

“The Spring 2010 collection reflects [my] love of ethereal flowing clothes: easy to wear, simple, yet romantic and feminine at the same time,” states her website.

Do you love? Shop Winter Kate online at Nordstrom’s. Prices range from $125 to $495.

More pictures from the collection, below…

Underwood looked sleek and stunning, though I wasn’t loving those chunky white platform heels. White pumps always look so plastic-y. What do you think?

Here’s how the jacket was shown in Rock & Republic’s collection: