(Credit:
Boing Boing)
The merits of solar-paneled bags transcend mere fashion, of course, but we're still surprised at how long it's taking for these green-conscious accessories to find their true aesthetic value. Try as they might, too many of them simply can't shake the look of chicken-wire siding or some other material that might seem more appropriate for a prison yard.
As seen with other products, the subtly named "Solar Energy Purse" absorbs ultraviolet rays to power any number of gadgets inside, with a backup battery for those rainy days. Despite this undeniable usefulness, as Boing Boing says, it still looks like it's made from "cut-up bits from your grandfather's old belts and velour loungewear." Harsh, but fair. Especially because they could have hired that student from Iowa State University who designed the "Power Purse."
(Credit:
Ravi Chhatpar)
This high-end designer boutique in a trendy part of Seoul sells these bags at higher than Louis Vuitton's full prices, which is not nearly as hilarious as Louis Vuitton's unique methods in fighting back counterfeiters these days. Just look at this fake set-up of a fake bag seller that sells real bags during a recent exhibit launch party in New York. (via Notcot)
(Credit:
Shiny Shiny)
We've speculated before about LCDs possibly needing to find their way into different products as next-generation TVs loom with newer screen technologies, but this isn't exactly what we were thinking. Then again, if any company was going to make a purse TV, it would be Hannspree.
This is the company, you may recall, that's made a living out of creating TVs in the form of toys, basketballs, giant fruit, and countless other objects. So this handbag LCD doesn't seem especially weird in that context, with a 9.6-inch display, a handle that actually works, and even a genuine leather case. "Sophisticated style that will appeal to any woman that demands tasteful and unique decoration," as Shiny Shiny notes, sneeringly. And for you macho types, remember, in Europe men carry handbags all the time.
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
We never expected to see the day when Kodak branched out into beads and handbags, especially for a target market of females 14 and up. But yesterday, during its launch for its new M-series EasyShare cameras, was that day.
Like Nokia, which began offering beaded wrist straps for its 6085 fashion phone, Kodak will soon begin selling fashion wrist and neckstraps for its cameras (though we suspect they'll fit any point-and-shoot). There are a variety of bead shapes and colors for the straps, including red, pink, silver and black, all priced around $18.
The bags range in size from a brown wristlet through aqua and pink clutches (pictured here) to a larger green bag with in-built purse. Each bag features a compartment that will snugly fit a camera, as well as slide-in holders for SD cards. The larger ones also sport a pocket for mobile phones.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Wiedamark.com)
Some marketers will never understand the meaning of "enough." LEDs are everywhere, of course, having gone far beyond computing to everything from umbrellas and license plates to tables and your mouth. Well, not your mouth, necessarily.
So naturally, some brilliant designer (unintentional pun) had to come up with the "Illuminated Handbag" too. At first glance, we thought it was taken from some footage of a recent volcano eruption or perhaps a studio still from the '50s horror classic The Blob. But nay, it was just an unfortunate attempt at techno-fashion that Red Ferret says was priced at $299--molten lava and alien life forms not included.
(Credit:
Solarjo)
Regardless of what you think of its design, this is no ordinary handbag. The "Power Purse's" name refers not just to its importance as a fashion accessory but also to its functionality--as a portable source of solar energy.
The bag is covered with small solar panels that can power cell phones or any other gadgets through a USB port built into its interior. MobileWhack says the ingenius purse was designed by a student at Iowa State University and marketed through Solarjo, "a company that produces unlikely items from something that looks quite ordinary."
The price is expected to around $300, which isn't all that bad--it is, after all, a designer bag. But there's still no guarantee that you'll be able to find anything in it, with or without a solar light inside.
(Credit:
Fractalspin)
I'd like to meet the person whose thought process went like so: "What should I do with these old diskettes I haven't used since the last century? I could just throw them away, but a better idea would be to affix them to my purse!"
While I applaud entrepreneurship always--I mean, this is America--not every arts-and-crafts project should be an exercise in capitalism. The folks at Fractalspin, apparently, beg to differ.
The site brags, "This is a totally unique black vinyl handbag with six real 3.5'' high-density 1.44MB diskettes on each side." I'll ignore the fact that there are about 19 things wrong in that sentence, and focus on the good: In my world "totally unique" means there is only one in existence.
Please let that be true.
Now that PSPs have discovered their inner diva, the multi-hued swans need to start accessorizing. So Sony wasted no time in commissioning a matching case/purse from designer Samantha Thavasa, whose handbags are second only to Louis Vuitton in many Japanese circles. (Dangling charms are sold separately, according to Techie Diva.) And what a surprise--one of the first colors is pink.
(Photo: Akihabara News)
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