When we’re talking about ‘affordable’ purses, everything is incredibly relative when it comes to the Olsen twins. Through their Elizabeth and James line, these two have purses that cost astronomical sums. There’s a patchwork fur monstrosity that retails for $17,000, an unremarkable alligator backpack that costs more than any car I’ve owned, and some purse “art,” by controversial artist Damien Hirst that costs $55k for some pills hot glued to that same alligator backpack. So now these two are going “downmarket” with purses that retail for $125 for the itty bitty clutches to $625 for the purses that can probably hide an entire human head, judging from the giant bags they normally carry. Is that an improvement? Here’s more:

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, 26, may have been the masterminds behind The Row’s $55,000, prescription pill-encrusted, crocodile-leather backpack, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care about the little people. According to WWD, the child stars-turned-designers will be launching their first line of bags for their more affordable brand, Elizabeth and James, this summer.

And what constitutes “affordable” to the famously wealthy twins, whose business empire has an estimated worth of $1.5 billion? Their small leather goods will be priced in the $125 to $395 range and bags will cost $395 to $625.

Calling them leather goods is perhaps doing them a disservice, though: Among the materials the fashion-forward sisters have chosen for their accessories are haircalf, New Zealand lambskin accented with stamped lizard trim, and Italian suede.

“We wanted the price point to be strong,” Mary-Kate told the trade publication. “The price point is below [Alexander] Wang and [Phillip] Lim but above Marc [Jacobs] and Tory [Burch].”

“And Rebecca Minkoff,” Ashley added. “We wanted these bags to be affordable.”

[From US Weekly]

Well, as for whether they’re ‘affordable’ that’s up to debate. I shouldn’t talk as I love Coach purses and I’ve carried them for over 10 years. I usually get a new one about every 18 months or so, but I bargain hunt and use coupons. (Coach sent me a credit recently for a purse I mailed in to them to be repaired for a broken zipper. I would have actually preferred to have had the purse fixed, but of course I just upgraded to a newer model. They send great coupons by email too! I got $100 off. I sound like a commercial, right?) So I have no room to talk when I stretch my budget to carry Coach purses that cost about the same. The Olsen twins want to move into a new market and they’re working on it. It’s not a bad idea, actually, and will earn them more positive publicity as compared to their luxury stunt purses.

Photos are from May and October, 2012. Credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com

The Olsen Twins are known for their wildly overpriced fashion line, The Row, which earns accolades in their industry no matter how fug and oversized it may look to us outsiders. The twins’ purse line has some of their priciest items. They’ve put out an alligator backpack that sells for $39,000, no joke, and a really horrid-looking fur patchwork monstrosity that goes for $17,000. Now they’ve really outdone themselves with $55,000 purses featuring what looks like real prescription pills and random colored dots stuck on the outside. They’re the $39k alligator backpacks with added features designed by English artist Damien Hirst, known for his controversial exhibits featuring cut out cows and various animals floating in formaldehyde. (I saw one of his earliest butterfly and cigarette butt exhibits after the poor butterflies perished, and I found it rather beautiful. Later I learned how the butterflies died and felt awful about it.)

So on one level I understand that this is art. On another it’s easier to pick it apart as just a bunch of pills and dots hot glued to a really expensive purse. You could give similar criticism to a lot of modern art and I tend to enjoy it in museums, so who am I to say?

TooFab notes that the proceeds from the bags are going to charity, at least some unknown percentage will. So it’s not that bad I guess. Here’s more:

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen somehow found a way to top their ridiculously-priced (but completely sold out) $39,000 handbag — by releasing a line of new ones retailing for $55,000!

Starting December 12, nine limited edition handbags from the Olsens’ fashion line The Row will go on sale online and they’ll all cost you more than a pretty penny.

The bags, created by artist Damien Hirst, are covered in prescription pills and made from black patent leather Nile crodocile skin. Only 12 of each bag will be made.

And while the price is INSANE, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to UNICEF. No word on how much, exactly.

The pill appliqués are definitely controversial, as they seem to glamorize drug use.

[From Too Fab]

Hirst has a lot of stuff that looks like this, like his paintings Valium and LSD, which consist of colored dots. I don’t think he’s glamorizing drug use by sticking pills on these bags (as TooFab goes on to claim) so much as creating social commentary on its abuse by the elite. Or something. I was more annoyed by the $39k alligator backpack on its own. Some might argue that this elevates the bag to “art.” At least it’s going to charity. You can see more purses here.

Header image credit: FameFlynet

Here are Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, 26, (Mary-Kate is the one with her hair in a bun) at The Wall St. Journal “Innovator Of The Year Awards” at the MOMA last night, where they were one of the honorees. The two were honored in the fashion category, namely for having “an eye for nearly monastic classicism that’s redefining American luxury.” Is that what you call their overpriced hobo chic look, “monastic classicism”? I shouldn’t snark, the Olsen sisters have been highly successful with their line The Row, and some of their looks are quite flattering and pretty, albeit out of my wildest dreams price range. They were also named the CFDA womenswear designers of the year earlier this year, so they’re winning accolades in their industry. It’s really quite an accomplishment, especially if you consider other former child actors their same age.

As for their outfits here – they’re typical Olsen looks. Baggy, monochrome clothing that does nothing for their figures. Ashley is in a black deep v-neck silky sack dress and is carrying a clutch from The Row. I can’t get an exact price on it, but judging from their other clutches it probably retails for around $5,000. I would expect Mary-Kate’s bag, also The Row, goes for at least double that, although that’s just a guess. I think we would make fun of Mary-Kate’s blue suit, black shirt, and blue tasseled scarf even if say Glenn Close wore it. It looks like something Glenn would wear lately on an off night. I can’t confirm that both of their looks are head to toe The Row, but I’m assuming they are apart from the shoes and jewelry.

Anna Wintour was there – The Daily Mail has a photo of her posing with The Olsens in which they all look a bit stony-faced. Anna is in Christian Dior, which I actually kind of like in a 60s throwback-way.

Julianne Moore was in this terrible loose-fitting Alexander Wang dress with sheer panels on the arms and skirt. Look at the collar, it has a high-neck sweater type collar. It’s so bad! She paired this with Christian Dior gold-zipper booties that may have looked hot with a much better dress. This look is just awful. She fits right in with the Olsens, although they wouldn’t dare show so much skin.

Photo credit: Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

Here’s some photos of Elizabeth Olsen promoting Silent House in March while wearing two different outfits from The Row, which is the highest-end line designed by her older sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley. In the above photo, she’s wearing a felt jacket and matching trousers from The Row while departing Sirius Radio studios; and below, Lizzie is wearing a black dress from The Row paired with a Chanel jacket. I’m going to such lengths to point out that Lizzie is clearly sporting frocks from The Row because a story in this week’s Star claims to have talked to a family pal who says Elizabeth is refusing to wear The Row now that she’s all famous and stuff.

Naturally, Lizzie hasn’t promoted anything since Silent House, so she hasn’t been on the red carpet lately. In fact, she’s been quite busy shooting Very Good Girls with Dakota Fanning for the past few months, and all of a sudden this silly Star story pops up out of nowhere:

Sisters always fight over clothes — and the Olsens are no exception! “When Ilizabeth first started out she always wore Mary-Kate and Ashley’s fashion lines,” says a family pal. “But now that Elizabeth is famous, she’s wearing other lines.” And friends wonder if a sartorial smack-down is brewing between the twins, 26, and their little sis, 23.

While a rep for the family denies it, a source says their mom has had to tell the girls to stop arguing over who’s wearing who.

Only this A-list clan would feud over not borrowing each other’s clothes enough!

[From Star, print edition, September 3, 2012]

First off, Elizabeth is still a budding indie star and has always (at least, since she had her breakthrough last year in Martha Marcy May Marlene) worn The Row for some of her low-key promotional duties. However, she has made a habit of wearing other designers — including Emilio Pucci, Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, and Antonio Berardi — while attending premieres and higher-profile events. To me, this just seems like she wants her acting career to rest upon her own merits instead of making it all about a fashion show for her sisters. That makes sense, right?

For whatever reason, the tabloids have made a pesky habit of attempting to pit the younger Olsen sister against the twins. First, they made up stories about how Mary-Kate and Ashley were both totally jealous of Elizabeth’s acting success, which was refuted by the twins themselves. Then there was that story that Lizzie was living in squalor and refusing help from her sisters, when in reality Elizabeth merely lives in a tiny NYC apartment that’s identical to most NYC starter places.

Such stories will likely continue, but I remain convinced that Lizzie just wants to make it on her own and without climbing up on the backs of her sisters. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I bet Mary-Kate and Ashley don’t have an issue with Lizzie not acting as the unofficial spokesmodel for The Row every time she makes a red-carpet appearance.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

I really didn’t pay that much attention to Mary-Kate Olsen’s new relationship when it began several months ago. My initial thought was that probably no one would care, but I was surprised by the interest from many commenters. MK has been dating a man named Olivier Sarkozy – he’s the half-brother of former French president Nicholas Sarkozy. Olivier and MK met earlier this year, and their May-December romance has been widely derided. My thought was (and is now): the Olsen twins are weird, and they never date who you’d expect. They’re just… weird. Like, one of them (?) dated Justin Bartha, who I find genuinely cute, but other than that, their romantic choices just seem odd. Anyway, MK is 26 years old and Olivier is 42, already divorced and a father of two children with his first (and only) wife. His ex-wife has already stated publicly that she finds his romance with MK to be “grotesque”. Which… sure. I can see that. He works in New York too – and so this news isn’t all that weird. He’s just bought a new townhouse, and he plans to make a home in it with Mary-Kate:

Obviously he’s into twins. Olivier Sarkozy, 42, the much older beau of elf-like Mary-Kate Olsen, 26, has plunked down $6.25 million for a storied East 10th Street townhouse, which, like the “Full House” star, has a twin. The half-brother of the former French president bought the pad alone, but plans to share the palatial 146-year-old love nest with Olsen, sources said.

Sarkozy is buying it because he and Olsen “like that it is old,” a real estate insider told The Post’s Jennifer Gould Keil. The 4,200-square-foot home, built the year Abraham Lincoln took office, was designed by architect James Renwick Jr., best-known for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Smithsonian.

Sarkozy paid the full asking price for the five-story house with nine fireplaces, a Juliet balcony in front and a large rear garden. The townhouse is in the St. Mark’s historic district, but the couple can gut the inside so long as they keep the façade intact.

It isn’t clear how much renovation they plan to do, although the plumbing and kitchen need to be completely updated. Listing broker Jason Haber, CEO of Rubicon Property, declined to comment.

The sale has brokers wondering if Mary-Kate’s sister Ashley will snap up the house’s twin, which was initially being sold as a package with its next-door neighbor but recently was taken off the market. Sarkozy — whose ex-wife, Charlotte, has blasted his May/December relationship with Olsen as “grotesque” — finally unloaded his Upper East Side townhouse earlier this year for $8.4 million by slashing the price from $11.95 million after it languished without a buyer. A rep for Olsen did not comment.

[From Page Six]

Gah, I love New York townhouses. I love Washington, DC townhouses too. That was always a real estate dream of mine – to own a beautiful, historic townhouse in one of America’s great cities. Of course, the renovations needed would probably send me running. You can check out some photos of Sarko’s new townhouse here – it’s really, really gorgeous. Like… if someone (anyone) asked me to live with them in that townhouse, I would. I would sleep with Kellan Lutz’s Lutzy ass if he invited me to shack up with him in a beautiful townhouse. So imagine how MK feels? She probably feels… God, who knows? The Olsens are so weird.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Last year, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were widely criticized for offering a $39,000 alligator handbag/backpack through their high-fashion line, The Row. Allegedly, the 39K bag was “selling out” at Barney’s, and all of the divas had to have one. PETA complained, and everyone was like, “Ugh, conspicuous consumption sucks” but… I don’t know. I didn’t see what the huge fuss was about. No one was being forced to buy the bag. Of course it was ridiculously overpriced and of course no one needs a $39K bag. The Olsens took the criticism in stride, if “stride” means “completely ignoring their critics and going on to win ‘Womenswear Designers of the Year’ at the CFDAs.” And now the Olsens have one-upped their 2011 offering with a new $17,000 bag. Here it is:

OMFG. How hideous is that? I’m a purse person (as opposed to a shoe person), and you couldn’t pay me to carry that roadkill-looking thing. That was another reason I was meh on the $39K bag – I actually thought the bag was cute. Not “$39,000 cute” but cute. This one is just awful, though. Anyway, the Olsens are facing even more criticism. Because it worked so well the last time:

What Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (and Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Reese Witherspoon to name a few) call fashion, PETA calls blasphemous.

The twin fashion designers received some flack from the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals after creating an almost $17,000—yeah, you read that right—backpack for their luxury fashion line The Row made of patches of animal fur.

And the animal-rights organization didn’t exactly sugarcoat their feelings on the situation.

“If it looks like a troll and acts like a troll, it’s probably a Trollsen Twin—or someone wearing one of their new $16,000 totes, which are made from the fur and skins of innocent animals,” PETA said in a statement to E! News.

“What the Olsens lack in creativity, they try to make up for in shock value. Sadly, it’s the foxes, calves, and alligators—who often have the fur ripped off them while they are still conscious and able to feel pain—who pay the dearest price.”

Meanwhile, the creation by 2012′s Womenswear Designers of the Year caught the eye of well-known stylist and reality star Rachel Zoe, who called the accessory next season’s staple item on her Zoe Report.

[From E! News]

Maybe the Olsens answer to last year’s criticism was to make a bag that was less expensive? No, they knew what they were doing by making a fur bag. They wanted the criticism. They wanted the scandal and controversy. All for an indefensibly ugly bag.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

As Kaiser reported last week, Mary-Kate Olsen has hooked up with an unlikely new suitor, Olivier Sarkozy — the half brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. You can see a photo of the strange couple together on the OK! website, and let’s just say that Nicolas cornered the sex appeal quota in the family. Olivier is not a looker, but he’s probably got that dashing Frenchman personality, and he is a very successful businessman as well who has reportedly been “wining and dining” Mary-Kate to the hilt. In all likelihood has been a refreshing change for MK, who usually dates much younger dudes, and she probably wants to find someone who doesn’t use her for her status and money. As Kaiser also pointed out in her previous article, MK has been a professional for her entire life and that could have an “old soul” (my interpretation) effect, which could mitigate the age difference.

Well Mary-Kate and Olivier have swept the tabloids this week with stories in the Enquirer, In Touch, and Star about how her friends are worried about Olivier’s womanizing ways and the possibility that he’s set MK up for a hard fall. All three publications have also all heard from a source close to Olivier’s ex-wife who calls the romance “grotesque,” which sounds exactly like a former spouse whose ex immediately starts dating someone 17 years younger. Star has the most comprehensive take on the story:

They looked like father and daughter as they sat next to each other at N.Y. Knicks game back in April, but they are far from it. He is Olivier Sarkozy, playboy and half brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and she is Mary-Kate Olsen, American darling 17 years his junior. And, much to the distress of Mary-Kate’s friends and family, they are lovers.

According to sources close to Mary-Kate Olsen, she’s been “head over heels” for Olivier Sarkozy, 42, ever since they met at a party in early April. But they also warn that the fashion deisnger could be in a toxic relationship that’s damaging to the two most important things in her world: her fashion empire and her relationship with her twin sister, Ashley.

Aside form being Nicolas Sarkozy’s bro, he’s also managing director of the prestigious Carlyle Group’s Global Financial Services division. But his flashy resumé is deceiving, says an insider. “He’s a womanizing love rat,” the source says. “He and his brother think it’s normal to date many women at once. Mary-Kate may think she’s in love and being swept off her feet now, but before long she’ll realize she’s just one of many women that he’s making pancakes for in the morning.” Upon hearing that her ex-husband was dating Mary-Kate, Olivier’s ex-wife, Charlotte was far more blunt. “That’s not right. It’s grotesque!”

Another sources says that Olivier wants to control her — and it’s starting to destroy the girl her friends once knew. “Mary-Kate just hasn’t been herself since she started dating Olivier,” says the source. “She’s cutting off her firneds and family and acts totally different when she’s with him.”

Unfortunately, that includes her superclose relationship with her twin sister. “Ashley thinks Olivier is too pushy — and Mary-Kate got really upset,” the source says. “They had a big fight about it. They’ve since made up, but Olivier is really coming between them. If they have a big falling out…it will be a disaster for their company. The hoope is that Mary-Kate will come to her senses and realize that Olivier is exerting way too much control over her.

[From Star, print edition, June 18, 2012]

The Enquirer basically repeats the same story as Star and adds that “Charlotte certainly won’t want her kids to be around Mary-Kate, who has a history of wild-partying and booze binges” while In Touch says that Mary-Kate is “head-over-heels” and “really serious” about Olivier, who just loooves da ladies. It does sound like trouble.

As for the manufactured twin drama in this story, I don’t buy it. I think that Mary-Kate and Ashley are probably well used to giving each other “relationship space,” and they always work things out together. Sure they might have occasional arguments, but they also have a creepy twin brain, so they’ll be fine.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Mary-Kate Olsen dyed her hair! Right? That’s MK with the dark hair in the black gown, and Ashley is the blonde in the purple dress? Sure. That’s what I’m going with. Anyway, these are new photos of MK and Ashley at last night’s CFDAs, definitely the most low-key event as compared to the Met Gala. Both girls wore their own label, The Row. I hate to admit it, but I kind of like Ashley’s purple gown. It’s nice seeing her in such a beautiful color, and while the gown shows off nothing of her slender figure, I’m imagining this on a pregnant celebrity and I’m liking it. MK’s gown is just meh, though. I do like her as brunette, I have to admit. And the twins still spend too much time on the red carpet posing tit-to-tit. It’s not cute! But MK and Ashley did have a good night – they won the 2012 Womenswear Designers of the Year for The Row. Congrats.

Rachel Zoe, stylist and designer, was also wearing something from her own collection. I hate the dress, but I’m including these photos with the Olsen ladies because I think of Rachel Zoe as an honorary Olsen. All three women are so, so skinny and all of them hide their bodies in these bulky, oversized clothes. I’m not saying that ALL women need to show off their bodies and wear bandage dresses. I’m not saying that at all. But this oversized hobo-chic look has run its course. Buy some clothes that fit, for the love of God. And considering all of these women are “designers” – surely they can “design” something that fits?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I know I’m going to be yelled at for this. It’s been years and years and I still can’t tell Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen apart. In these new photos of the twins – at last night’s Fresh Air Funds Salute to American Heroes – I think MK is the one in black and Ashley is the one in white? Right? Correct me if I’m wrong. And by “correct” I mean “caps-lock scream”. Both young women are wearing The Row, their elite label. Is it wrong that I kind of like Ashley’s (?) cream dress? Yes, that furry stuff makes her look like a Fraggle. But I like that look so much more than MK’s oversized black satin.

By the way, did you know that MK has a new boyfriend! He’s French. And he’s the brother of France’s (now former) president, Nicolas Sarkozy:

Ooh la la! Mary-Kate Olsen has found amour again with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s younger brother, Olivier Sarkozy, a source tells Us Weekly.

“It’s true, they’re dating, and she’s definitely interested in him,” the Olsen insider tells Us about her new romance with the 42-year-old Frenchman. Though Olsen and Sarkozy are seventeen years apart (Olsen is 25), the source says their age differences suits her just fine.

“MK is constantly complaining about boys not being mature enough for her,” the source explains. “She got the kids out of her system. Now being a businesswoman dominates her time, and she is rarely impressed with guys.”

A second source confirms Olsen and Sarkozy are dating and tells Us, “They are good for each other.

Page Six broke the news of the fashion designer’s newest fling Wednesday morning; a source tells the paper the pair have been seeing one another just over a month and that they’re “head over heels.”

The once-divorced Sarkozy split from his last serious girlfriend, actress Stella Schnabel, in March. On April 25, Sarkozy and Olsen attended a Knicks game together and hit the Hamptons over Memorial Day weekend.

Olsen’s most recent longterm relationship was with artist Nate Lowman, from whom she split in 2010.

[From Us Weekly]

The age difference bugs me, but I can also see how it works. MK and Ashley are so weird about men, and they’ve professionals for so, so long… I can see how a 25-year-old Olsen ends up with a 42-year-old Frenchman. It makes some kind of strange sense.

Uncomfortable sidenote: I feel like a bitch for saying this, but they need to pose differently on red carpets together – the tit-to-tit pose is really gross now that they’re adult women.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen take multiple covers of the April issue of Elle UK, in a photo shoot by Alexei Hay. Why can’t these girls smile? Why are they always so… sad? Grim? Pissy? Bored? Anyway, they’re promoting their multiple fashion lines – The Row, Elizabeth and James and Olsenboye – as well as reveling in their creepy twin stuff. And don’t start yelling at me – I’ve known twins before, and I accept the idea/fact that twins will always have a special, unique bond. But whatever MK and Ashley have is different, and it definitely becomes a bit creepy. Especially when they talk about sharing one mind, one thought process. Here are some highlights from the interview… I don’t even know why I bothered breaking down the quotes per twin since they share a brain.

Ashley on their twin-brain: ‘We’re attracted to different things, but we arrive at the same place. I think we’re probably unaware of how intuitive it might seem from the outside. It’s basically one thought process shared between two people.’

Ashley says they’re kind of OCD: ‘We are perfectionists. We’ve always wanted to be closely involved with everything, totally hands on – that’s why it works. If we step away, it stops working. I know it sounds controlling, but that’s how it has to be.’

Ashley doesn’t want the spotlight: She reveals she ‘doesn’t like to be the centre of attention any more’, saying: ‘I don’t have to be a pretty face. I’ve done that, but now it’s important and liberating to be on the other side of the lens.’

Ashley on quitting acting: “We worked non-stop until we were 18. Then we decided to take a break and go to school — and that was when we decided to question whether we would carry on in entertainment…It was time to step behind the process. I wanted to work on other things. It doesn’t mean I’m not interested in Hollywood, I like the way it operates and the people who are involved and the sense of possibility. But if I ever do get back in, it’s not going to be as an actress. It just felt right to move away.”

MK doesn’t get designers-as-celebrities: ‘Of course we knew about the trend of celebrities as designers, but we’d done that already when we were much younger. I don’t understand the new idea of designers as celebrities either. To me, the Phoebe Philo (British fashion designer) kind of modesty is the way to go. We love beautiful things. That’s the only driving impulse. It’s about being creative, but having a bigger vision for that creativity. For a designer to be successful nowadays, they need to know much more than just design. [Tom Ford], his career is astonishing – the way he’s been able to do everything he has wanted to do and really not compromise at all. From fashion to film, it’s such a singular vision.’

[Via The Mail & Us Weekly]

My only real problem with the quotes is the obliviousness with which they’re both acting like they haven’t just participated in a cover shoot for a major magazine. Ashley says, “I don’t have to be a pretty face. I’ve done that, but now it’s important and liberating to be on the other side of the lens.” MK says, “I don’t understand the new idea of designers as celebrities either.” You’re on the cover of a magazine!!! You are celebrity designers. You use your images, your celebrity, your fame, the public’s interest in YOU to help promote your clothes. It doesn’t make them bad designers or uninteresting celebrities – it just makes them disingenuous.

Elle UK photos courtesy of The Fashion Spot and The Mail.