Purse designer Charmaine Ho understands the demands of the modern woman. With clean designs and functional to boot, her “Me Char” line of purses is a nuanced departure from the usual logos, shapes and styles you’ll find in any ol’ department store. Ho draws inspiration from designers Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs for their no-nonsense designs and marketability, as well as her own love for fashion stemming from childhood.
The purses come in vibrant colors and playful shapes that are well suited for those on the run. Ho’s design concepts are based on the idea that a woman with a purse is a woman with power: “It stands for women who are modern, sophisticated and intelligent, who are not afraid to take charge and follow their dreams and hearts,” she said.
While designed for women, the purses have a purposely unisex nature that will make your beau less embarrassed to hold your clutch during a night on the town. Best of all, the entire Me Char line can go from day to night, so you can avoid the hassle of switching from work tote to clutch. The affordably priced purses are currently available in several small boutiques in New York City and are also available online at her Web site, MeChar.net.
Having trouble deciding which of the 21 purses to get? Ho’s favorites are the Power Bag, Dumpling Summer Clutch and Summer Love Clutch, all very sophisticated and classy, but you really can’t go wrong with any of these ultra-chic pieces.
Guys:
Shouldn’t this one be boxed and labelled “advertisement”?
Have to agree with Frank on this one. So, so tired of ostensibly serious publications like Asian Week attempting to pass off advertisements as news. Consumer fetishism and the myopic focus on frou frou that it incorporates dominate the lives of far too many people in this city and the nation (“I shop, therefore I am”). We are encouraged to think of ourselves primarily as consumers of whatever goods are being foisted upon us (often very subliminally) by marketers. Meanwhile, the world around us continues to crumble, especially in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where the American military daily kills innocent civilians in the name of fighting “terrorism” (read: establishing complete U.S. hegemony throughout the globe, exploiting its peoples and natural resources). Small wonder that most of the world’s peoples think Americans are vacuous materialists at best and homicidal manaics at worst.
Christian,
I always knew you had your heart in the right place. Now I think Frank is starting to appreciate your posts as well. My wife always pokes fun of my torn cloths, she secretly throws them away. I always told her that I am here to impress God not man. Chinese, Americans, Europeans, they’re all materialistic. Not enough people care about our human race. The earth quake in China brought out lots of emotions and supports. We don’t need another earth quake to remind us how to be human.
Huang, thank you for your very moving and poignant post. Thankfully my parents taught me from a very early age that as long as we were fed, clothed and housed, we had all that we needed. I was also made aware at a very early age that millions of my counterparts in other countries lacked even the most basic things (i.e., clean drinking water). I’m very saddened by the rampant materialism that permeates our society, especially among its youngest members, a direct result of the marketing that is aimed at that segment of the population. Close friends make many sacrifices (wearing their clothes until they’re literally on the verge of falling apart, forsaking vacations and meals out, etc., etc.) to send their daughter to a private school. Instead of showing her gratitude, she demands that they buy her expensive clothes and accessories to wear on outings with her new, snobbish, vacuous friends (the students wear uniforms at school in order to minimize class differences). When they explain that they cannot afford these items, and she does not need them, she tells them she hates them and wishes that the parents of her rich friends would adopt her. They make it very clear that they are her parents and thus in control, but her utterances hurt them deeply, and both of them have cried in my presense about it. I have advised them to arrange for her to spend some time with children who are not as fortunate as she, and she would soon understand that she has much for which to be thankful. Sometimes all kids need is exposure to the sad realities of the lives of many of their peers.