Chanel and Givenchy sadly gave us bupkis on the bag front at the Paris couture shows for fall, but Christian Lacroix happily picked up the slack. The purses shown were anything but boring, ranging from romantic black velvet clutches smattered with beads, to old-school miniature portraits swathed in ornate beads and gold chains, to decadent pink and red peppermint-striped handbags adorned with girly ribbons (with stockings to match, no less!). This being a couture show, it was all very costumey (save for a black clutch or two), but the parade of over-the-top and overly embellished handbags certainly made for fun eye candy.

Photos from Style.com.