Givenchy's Nightingale: Handbag du jour

Every day for nearly a week a few months ago, I would go to Adora just to drool over a bag: the studded nylon version of the Givenchy Nightingale. I loved it for its rock-and-roll aesthetic, its perfect carryall size and the fact that, being Givenchy, it comes with a tradition that dates back to the ’50s.

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When I was done sighing over the studded version, I would move on to the fully sequined one, a black stunner that had “glamorous” stitched all over it; if it were a red-carpet frock it would have been a reworked vintage little black dress, an updated classic.

Because that’s what the Nightingale is: a classic. You can’t really call it an It bag for the simple reason that it’s not just a seasonal thing that gets its 15 minutes of online fame. Though only introduced in Givenchy’s fall/winter 2008 collection by designer Riccardo Tisci, the Nightingale already has a spot in the annals of fashion history. It’s already an entry in any modern fashion glossary. It’s a name that’s as resonant as the women who carry it: Rihanna, Reese, Sienna. Just as you don’t need to attach a last name to these women to know who they are, the Nightingale doesn’t need a too-explicit description.

Any bag hag and her bestie would recognize a Nightingale: its rounded shape (sort of like an oversized bowler bag), its short handles discreetly stamped with the Givenchy logo, and its carryall capacity. Any bag hag would die to have one. After all, it wouldn’t hurt to be in the same company as Hilary Duff, Reese Witherspoon, Ashley Olsen, Sienna Miller, Nicole Richie, Heidi Klum, Rihanna and Kim Cattrall, who toted a nude-colored Chain Belt Maxi Nightingale on the set of Sex and the City 2.

Handbag du jour: Each season, Givenchy reinvents the Nightingale with new colors, sizes, exotic skins and textures to keep the luxe bag covetable.

Though the black and beige leather versions are the most popular, the Nightingale is always a hit, whether it’s studded, sequined, bubbled, wrinkled, in patent or python, in rust orange or bright green. It’s an everyday bag that is versatile enough to be carried through to an after-work rendezvous, a bag that goes well with any trend, be it animal prints, metallics, sheer or Grecian. It’s luxurious without being too showy. A real piece for keeps.

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The Givenchy Nightingale is available at Adora, Greenbelt 5.