Edit: Sleek bags under US$500

Finding a handbag or purse does not have to be difficult — though patience will certainly help. Depending on how much you are willing to spend, there are many upmarket brands (e.g. Coach, Furla, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs) that offer quality-made leather bags in sleek designs at a fraction of the price of their higher-end cousins (e.g. Céline, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Burberry). The challenge is searching for these bags and creating a shortlist of the ones that meet your budget and most importantly, suit your style. Here's my edit of the bags under US$500 that I find covetable for a capsule bag collection that's easy to style with (I like minimal designs & colours with no frou-frou):

There are also many other brands that are accessible should your budget range from US$500 to upwards of US$1,000: e.g. Mulberry, Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Reed Krakoff, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Burberry, Dior & Louis Vuitton (canvas totes). 

Trend: Houndstooth, timeless as ever

Houndstooth has always been in. No matter the season or style, we will always find traces of the print, sometimes in the most unexpected of places. I remember houndstooth featured in Alexander McQueen's Fall 2009 collection- it was quite unexpected to see houndstooth being heavily featured in what everyone considered a theatrical and ballsy show by Lee McQueen. Dior has also been known for its use of houndstooth from as early as 1959 and the pattern was considered a symbol of wealth. Still looks pretty posh now!

This year showcases the houndstooth trend quite boldly with reoccurring houndstooth pieces from 2013's pre-fall season through to next year's pre-spring collections. Starting with the pre-fall collections by J. Mendel and Carolina Herrera, what is seen at J. Mendel is an updated houndstooth print in a knitted black and army green/ khaki fabric. Carolina Herrera showcased houndstooth in classic black/ white and an updated red/ white. These pieces are highly versatile and can be worn separately if a full-on houndstooth look is too bold.

Moving on to the fall 2013 collections, houndstooth makes an appearance at Michael Kors and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. Both designers present coats and skirts in houndstooth and Michael Kors goes further to include a head-to-toe look in houndstooth, which can be deconstructed into two separates worn independently. Houndstooth pants or skirts are incredibly versatile and can be paired with a variety of tops- a crisp white shirt would be a good place to start. 

Fast-forward to the pre-spring 2014 collections, we have more houndstooth to look forward to. MBMJ presents three stunning looks with a slightly subtler choice of colour for the houndstooth print, black and grey. The skirts are versatile wardrobe pieces and the dress in the leftmost look is very pretty. It looks to be made of a lighter material, maybe chiffon, and would be so easy to dress up or down. 

Saving the best for last, we can look forward to houndstooth, houndstooth and more houndstooth at Balmain for its pre-spring 2014 collection. The houndstooth trend won't be slowing down anytime soon  (don't think it ever did!). Here there are four distinct colourways for the print: dusty pink, denim blue, a dark navy on black and the classic black & white. I love how the print is used on not just skirts, coats and jackets but also Balmain's signature skinny-fit pants. The ruffled skirts are a playful variation to the  classic houndstooth skirt and the dark navy/black bomber jacket showcases an athletic versatility to the print. Leave it to Balmain to create modern and upbeat houndstooth pieces fit for every fashionable street-styler's wardrobe. My favourite unique piece here is the bomber jacket.

Images from Zalora.com.my, Saksfifthavenue.com, Nordstrom.com

Weeks before writing this post, I had bought a houndstooth tulip dress on Zalora.com.my for only MYR119 (US$37), pictured above. There is a good selection of houndstooth shorts, tops and dresses on the site so I recommend taking a look. The dress has a fitted bodice and a bell-shaped skirt which does wonders for slimming the waist and hiding a heavy bottom. The small size of the houndstooth print is also perfect for my petite frame. 

Images from Vogue.com.