After figuring out the perfect frock comes the need for the perfect handbag, and the past year has been a beacon of beautiful purses that make heavy contenders for that particular category. In this roundup in honour of the year gone by, we pick out the top of the heap and pay tribute to the designs that keep fashion evolving.

The Rocco by Alexander Wang

Some may have complained about its weight, or its shapelessness, or how the former leads to the latter, but this design by the new breed of Asian-American talent has become so popular that everybody, as in everybody who has the slightest interest in shopping, knows what it’s called and would love to have one despite its obvious flaws.

That oh-so-familiar shape of Louis Vuitton’s Speedy, modernised by a batallion of little stud feet and stylised by a quilt pattern that tries so hard to be nothing like Chanel (Marc Jacobs, listen up) got followers of fashion going crazy about this purse. This is evidenced by the fact that most editions of the bag sold out really fast.

Even members of the Volturi fell in love with the Rocco (InTheirCloset.com ^[2]).

The leopard-lined Peekaboo by Fendi

When the Peekaboo was released in late 2009, it got everybody thinking, “Hey, that looks like a relaxed, non-stuck-up rendition of the Kelly!” And that was just the beginning of what would be a very successful handbag line by Fendi.

We weren’t very excited back then, but when the leopard-lined milk leather Peekaboo came out, we were utterly smitten. What makes this purse so special is the aesthetic of a bold trend encased by an elegant, creamy hue of calfskin that’s a walking oxymoron all on its own. The feline fierceness of leopard restrained by the refinement of luxe leather is more intelligence than we could ask for in a handbag design. Frankly, we don’t know why don’t see more of this version of the Peekaboo here in Dubai.

100% fierce, 0% sleazy.

The Alexa by Mulberry

You know the new way to market a bag these days. Name it after someone with considerable influence and popularity and you’ve got yourself a winner.

That’s not quite what happened with Marc Jacobs’ ostrich BB bag (named after Bryanboy) but a blogger hardly had a chance in a time when people had no idea what a blog was. Mulberry picked someone more popular, and more appropriate after whom to name their bag, Alexa Chung, a model-slash-journalist-slash-TV presenter, and the handbag has been a runaway success ever since it hit the shelves at boutiques and department stores.

And new respect for patent leather has been found.

The new handbag line by Victoria Beckham

Announced a few months ago, the top-dollar Victoria Beckham handbag collection came out last week at both brick-and-mortar and online stores and sold out within an hour on Net-a-Porter.

It wouldn’t have been considered nearly as successful if the collection had reasonable prices, like say around $1,000. But no, the purses were sold from $1,800 to nearly $14,000 for the boxy crocodile little handbag, which by the way also sold out within a few hours of debuting on the luxury e-tailer. If that doesn’t exhibit success then we don’t know what does. And for that reason alone, Vicky B’s handbags have made it to our list. After all, boring and safe as they may look, they’re the ones that will last a lifetime.

They’re going to appeal to old ladies – the same people who have $14,000 to spare.

Bamboo-handled bag by Gucci

Over six decades after it was first released during World War II, the bamboo-handled purse by Gucci made a comeback in 2010 and has since blurred the line between eco-fashion and non-PETA-approved handbag making.

On the one hand, it uses bamboo, a sturdy natural element that is more Third World practicality than First World luxury. On the other, the utilitarian wood is set-off by exotic leather such as alligator skin. What statement does the bag make? Is it for environmentally sustainable fashion? Is it trying to set PETA’s heads into a dizzying spin of confusion? That’s the beauty of it. We don’t know what it stands for yet it still makes our hearts race.

Try and make up your minds about this, PETA supporters.

The Roady UAE edition by Yves Saint Laurent

Nobody does luxurious shopping totes like YSL, that enigmatic French brand that is one of the top aspirational brands among many women’s fashion collections.

Imagine our delight when we discovered that Yves Saint Laurent had released a UAE edition of the popular Roady shoulder bag, etched with the Emirate it was bought in (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) and limited to just 15 for each of the two cities. Designed by Creative Director Stefano Pilati, the UAE’s own Roadies come in colours that hit close to home – dark pink, dark fuchsia and blue Majorelle.

The UAE loves YSL, and the feeling is mutual.