Sonia Rykiel for H & M - Los Angeles, CA, 2009

Next to online shopping, perhaps the greatest advance of the 21st century thus far is the introduction of major league designers on the shelves of lower-priced stores. Never in a million years did Mlle B think she would ever see the likes of Isaac Mizrahi at Target or Vera Wang at Kohl's, but, like men landing on the moon, the incredible happened. Last spring H & M brought us knitwear queen Sonia Rykiel and along with her, one hell of a bag. Available only to customers who purchased something from the line, it's a sturdy, brushed matte burgundy with fabulous rubber handles.

Incidentally, it's pretty much impossible for Mlle Bagatelle to look at this bag and not think of the incredible late Malcolm McLaren, creator of what is arguably Mlle's all-time most favorite album, Paris. Released in 1994, it features Ms. Rykiel in a duet with M.M. called "Who the Hell is Sonia Rykiel?" and was used as the background music for Catwalk, the "Goodbye to All That" documentary about what would be the last days of the supermodel era. If you haven't seen it remedy that immediately.