If you want to vamp up your wardrobe, the Headmistress at Helles Belles Finishing School for Girls may just have the right piece for you. Handbags and other items made of plastic-like PVC in shiny lipstick red, mirror black, and leopard (of course).

This very this alternative fetish-like (but very usable) line which smacks of House of Harlot, Dita Von Teese and all things underground and indie is one of our favourites at Q especially since the Headmistress of this wicked, wicked school has added indispensable pieces – not tattered fishnet stockings and graffiti appliqués of tattooed girls – like laptop bags, spectacle cases and coin pouches to the line…at least I think that’s what they are…you decide!!

We have been waiting and waiting for this delivery from Hype Handbags…a contemporary and fresh collection of full leather bags that are fantastically well-priced…we kid you not. Even Hollywood stars are carrying it (in spite of the countless number of free bags that get thrown at them). Stars like Eva Longoria and Paris Hilton know what you all are now going to find out… the group behind this bag brand also designs the high-end Bill Blass line!

With a line called Love it is not surprising that these unique necklaces are made by aptly named Aussie designer chick Geneine Honey who fashions super-articulated figures like small boys and girls from American Oak Veneer which she paints into life. Other pieces from this collection include enamel bicycles, birds on branches, a pink girl on a swing and spooky trees! What can we say…Love is fantastically fun and at Q!

The Egyptian mother and daughter team behind Deux Lux has a simple artistic vision since they started the line in ’04: to design lightweight, utilitarian, well-priced bowling bags, clutches and party bags that look classy. There also serve up a small dollop of fun with their candy coloured glitter jelly collection that we think lends itself to gifting to self and others!

Way before we heard of Michelle Obama and her love for chunky conversation-piece jewellery, there was Tasha D and her colourful catwalk creations. Want a cuff…get one that is sequined, jewelled and beaded…want a necklace make sure there are lashings of chains and handbeaded flowers on it…ditto for earrings. Destined to be worn by the creative and the daring, Tasha D encourages pared down dressing complemented by over-the-top accessories.

Throw off the shackles of wallflower-hood and step into Tasha D.

As the great Oscar Wilde said: ““Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative”.

The two brains behind Ulla, a collection of exotic skin and lamb handbags and clutches are the brainchild of lingerie designer Ling and feisty bag maker Andrea who met while at Central St Martin. They have enjoyed long and illustrious individual careers in which they have been feted and recognised by the international fashion industry and have been selling and liaising with buyers from Joyce, Folli Follie, D-Mop, Koh Samui, Fenwicks, Selfridges and Printemps.

Together they are an even more formidable design force and Ulla is their creative baby. The Ulla bag’s design aesthetic is unique: it is not monogram-my or label-ly, it just is! Using only the best: 18K gold-plated hardware, exquisite stitching, and buttery soft skins the line of bags are created for the well-travelled, thoroughly partied yet home-loving and over-achieving women of the world. The girls plan to launch a bespoke service soon as well as collaborate with creative people to expand the range of looks. 

Ulla is exclusively available at Quintessential.

Very often we hear from customers who want to add a little edge to their look, who want to leave behind the super soft and pastel vibe and jive into something more contemporary and interesting. The answer, we think may lie in Dutch brand Avant Garde which nimbly traverses the glam rock and modern look think Jade Jagger!  

Avant Garde offers sculptural stainless steel jewellery which is embedded with crystals and stones and everything in-between!