SALVATORE FERRAGAMO BAGS & SHOES

I always feel somewhat bad for the negative tone that the media tends to take toward Jennifer Aniston, but if she’s going to continually choose roles that involve her being single, lonely and/or unhappily childless, I can’t really defend her. She seems to be playing right in to everyone’s expectations of how she’ll act and who she is.

A good start to changing her image for the better would be for her to wear some more interesting things in the red carpet. At the premiere of her most recent movie, The Switch, Aniston wore a perfectly nice Lanvin nude and black cocktail dress with a Salvatore Ferragamo Crocodile Clutch and relatively modestJosie and Lottie nude heels. The look is neat and attractive, of course, but it’s also the exact same thing that she always wears, combined with the exact same hairstyle and makeup. Switch it up, Jen – it might do you and your career some good.

I’m normally quite a fan of Vanessa Hudgens’ style when she’s out and about in Los Angeles, wearing her normal clothes and being photographed by paparazzi. Not only does her aesthetic verge just a bit on punk (in a glam way), but her bag of choice seems to be Balenciaga, which always makes me like a starlet more.

When she gets on the red carpet, though, things tend to go ever so slightly awry. At the premiere of Charlie St. Cloud, which stars her boyfriend Zac Efron, I liked her Salvatore Ferragamo Etched Box Clutch and Jimmy Choo sandals, but I’m not sure that silver was the strongest choice to go with this outfit. I’m also not sure about her champagne-colored Reem Acra dress. I don’t hate it, but it just sort of hangs on her and without complimenting her lovely figure. Zac, for his part, wore Prada.

I’ve never particularly liked any of Eva Longoria’s acting (well, I was a Desperate Housewives fan for a season or two…), but she seems like she’d be a fun person to go shopping with. She seems to enjoy bags from a variety of designers and at a variety of price levels, with only one requirement – that they be beautiful, obviously.

“Beautiful” is one of many, many ways to accurately describe the Salvatore Ferragamo Ostrich Sofia Satchel. Ostrich is perhaps an under-appreciated exotic, but photos of this bag make it easy to see why designers continue to use it for their bags. It’s textured, fairly durable and looks beautiful in a structured design – what’s not to love? Oh, speaking of things to love, don’t miss Eva’s Goyard luggage in several of these photos.

It should come as no surprise that Jennifer Aniston carried a Ferragamo honey-colored beige clutch to the premiere of her new movie, “The Bounty Hunter,” Tuesday night in New York. After all, the stunningly toned and youthful actress, who paired it with a Donna Karan Collection gown straight off the spring runway, has long been a fan of houses, like Ferragamo and Bottega Veneta, which have built legacies based on discreet, yet chic, luxe.

In her latest film, an action comedy co-starring the handsome Gerard Butler, Aniston incorporates Ferragamo’s timeless Sofia Bag (the company describes it as “the cult bag of the recent collections”) in her wardrobe. In the movie, Aniston wears a black skirt and pumps that get lost as the story unfolds, but her simple black Sofia bag remains at her side at all times, despite the film’s pursuits and chase scenes.

What I like about this bag is its soft, full, rectangular shape paired with large metal Gancino clasp. I love how Aniston nonchalantly carries it with its semi-rigid handle in one scene but then, when she needs her hands free, tucks it under her arm for a casual day look. I also happen to think the detachable strap makes it ideal for city dwellers to wear as a crossbody bag; wear it up above the hip for a younger edge.

It makes for a great business bag but is still very fashionable at the same time. The Sofia bag, as I learned, has become such a hit that the company carries it as part of its permanent collection year-round, updating colors and fabrications to suit particular trends or fashion-forward styles. Aniston likes hers in black, but it’s also available in coral, white, black patent, dark grey and mercurio.

Some Salvatore Ferragamo Bags in the past have felt too overreaching for my tastes, but this one–with its clean, soft lines–really oozes style and a relaxed, savoir-faire attitude that Aniston so personifies both in her on-screen roles and in real life.

$1,650 for leather & $1,750 for patent leather at Ferragamo bags stores worldwide. Ferragamo Sofia Bag also at Saks

The more I see of the Fall/Winter 2010 shows, particularly the ones from Milan, the more I become certain that the fashion industry glitterati have clandestine meetings after the season has been presented to decide what the trends for the next season will be, just so everyone else is on the same page. That, or it’s secretly just one supergenius (or supercomputer?) behind every major collection, and that’s why everything from Gucci to Fendi to Ferragamo bags this season has been so cohesive – not just within each collection, but across much of what has been shown at Fashion Week as a whole.

So, this is what we know: the 60s and 70s are being brought back, this time in a conservative and subdued way to match the mood of the culture. Classic shapes, particularly in accessories, are as classic as they’ve ever been. Brown is officially a thing, as is suede. The look of sueded croc is also gaining favor, after being embraced for the past few season by the bag designers at YSL.

Salvatore Ferragamo collection hit most of the high points of fall trendspotting, and the materials were lush and beautiful. A few of the shapes were too plain for me, but high points like asymmetrical croc clutches with tortoise shell closures made me forget all about them. That’s probably a good metaphor for how fall is shaping up, in fact – the key will be finding the bags that take tradition to the next level.