Designers and fashionistas are seeing red for Fall 2010! The red handbag is coming back in style with a vengeance in the form of a clutch or tote. Red clutches and red tote bags were scattered around the Paris, Milan and New York runways for Fall 2010. They were a stark contrast to the 1990s minimalistic outfits models were wearing as they strutted down the runways. The red pops of color gave fashionistas everywhere a glimmer of hope that Fall was not all black, grey, white, brown and army green.

The red clutches shown by Chanel, Prada, Marc Jacobs and Hermes showed structured, red leather clutches with outfits of black trousers, stacked heeled boots, white turtle neck sweaters and black coats.The red clutch was not paired with other pops of red such as a coat or sweater. Red clutches clearly are there to accent a black or black and white outfit. The red clutch swings in and out of fashion every few years, making it the perfect investment clutch of the season. Many fashionistas in the bay area may already have a red clutch tucked away their collection, if not, there are beautiful clutches heading to store shelves as we speak. Handbag designers such as Chanel, Nancy Gonzalez and Hermes are showing beautiful, structured clutches in red shades. This is not an orange-red trend. The red clearly blends well with blue tones rather than orange. Dooney and Burke, Coach and Longchamp have more affordable yet luxurious red leather clutches on the market.

The other red bag of the season is the red tote. The red tote is the perfect handbag to bring to the office this Fall. Totes are large enough to fit files, small laptops and ballet flats for tired feet. The Hermes Birkin is highly desirable, yet out of budget for most bay area fashionistas. Coach, Valextra and Dooney and Burke offer sturdy, red leather totes that will be able to handle the day-to-day wear and tear of a work tote. For more casual occasions, the always-fabulous Sunday Tote by Balenciaga is heading to stores in a rich shade of red for Fall 2010.

Red totes and red clutches are the perfect pop of color to keep up the spirits of fashionistas across the bay. They will pair well with the 1990s minimalism trend as well as the full skirt trend for Fall. If you do not already own a classic, well-made, red leather tote or clutch this is the handbag investment to make this year. You will find yourself wearing the red handbag almost every day this Fall, plus the trend comes and goes every few years. This will be an investment piece you find yourself reaching for every few years, for the rest of your life. Happy shopping and stay fabulous.