There’s something about the arrival of spring sunshine that triggers my need for a new handbag….and flirty dress…and kitten heeled Manolos….ok, I’ll stop at the bag. I love to shop for a new spring bag. On my short list of designers is Fairchild Baldwin, a luxury collection of handbags, totes and duffels designed and made in New York from the finest materials including kangaroo, broadtail and Italian leather with signature hammered handles.

 

 

 

 

Fairchild Baldwin is the fashion brainchild of Jill Fairchild and Karen Baldwin. Daughter of fashion legend and W magazine founder John Fairchild, Jill [above] built her reputation as a shopping expert when she founded and published Where to Wear, the first comprehensive series of global shopping guides covering 14 cities worldwide. She also consults for numerous fashion brands including: J. Christopher Capital, Ellesse, and is the Contributing Style Editor for the online retail blog, What2WearWhere.com

 

 

 

 

Jill collaborates with partner Karen Baldwin [above], a former Public Relations Director at Michael Kors, to create the line “aimed at the modern woman who isn’t about logos but lets her individuality speak through beautiful materials and custom designed handles.” The collection consists of eight styles that retail from $850 for a leather tote to $2,200 for the brand’s signature silhouette, the large “O” bag, which is a statement piece with a handcrafted handle.

 

Check out the new KDHamptons Fashion Diary of these haute Hamptonites below, and go to www.fairchildbaldwin.com to shop their line, or just head over to Skiffington’s at 42A Jobs Lane, Southampton.

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: Where do you summer when you are in the Hamptons?

Jill: With various close friends at their homes in Sagaponack, Bridgehampton and Southampton. Sagaponack is my favorite Hamptons hamlet.

Karen: With friends in East Hampton, or Shelter Island.

 

 

KDHamptons: How long have you been coming to the Hamptons? Why do you love it so much?

Jill: All my life. I grew up spending the weekends at Georgica Pond. The light in the Hamptons is like no other place in the world, especially in the late afternoon. If I were a painter I would be in heaven.

Karen: My family has had a home in East Hampton since I was 8. My memories are filled with days lounging with friends on the beach at Maidstone, yes I was one of those!

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: How would you describe the Fairchild Baldwin brand for our readers?

Jill & Karen: Modern with a classic sensibility.  We use the finest materials to create bags for women and men that are distinctive yet timeless – just like the Hamptons!

 

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: Which are your favorite bags for haute Hamptons girls to carry?

Jill & Karen: Our favorite bags for Hamptons girls to carry would be our Raffia “O” bag or our Suede Ruck Sack – great to throw your yoga clothes in [below]. The Marcella Grande in cotton [above] for the perfect weekender city-to-Hamptons bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: Some of your duffel bags are great for girls or guys right?

Jill & Karen: Definitely! The Bobby cotton duffel [below] can work for your weekend bag, or for the special man in your life.

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: Describe your perfect Hamptons day for KDH readers?

Jill: Strolling down to the beach then a delicious lunch with a glass of Domaine Ott, a little late afternoon shopping therapy and dinner with a small group of friends.

Karen: Wake up to a great latte, yoga, tennis, swim in the ocean, have a cocktail on the dock in the late afternoon, cook dinner with friends and end the night with dancing at sunset.

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: Define your personal style: do you have a Hamptons fashion “uniform”? Which designer do you wear the most out East?

Jill: Too predictable to have a uniform. I love mixing it up. Currently I am a big fan of Rag & Bone.

Karen: Like Jill, I like to mix what I wear, hate to be predictable, or a fashion victim,
But my uniform on the weekends is yoga clothes, havianas, and my pualani bikinis from Hawaii – they are the best fitting bikinis I have ever come across…ever! If I “have” to get dressed up, it’s Michael Kors. Always understated sexy, love him and his clothes.

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: Which of your spring/ summer bags are you personally obsessed with?

Jill: Our signature O Raffia bag.

Karen: Obsessed with our Raffia large “O” bag in sea foam!

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: What is your favorite Hamptons restaurant, got a favorite dish & drink you get every time?

Jill: I love Sant Ambroeus in Southampton [below]-great food and good people watching.

Karen: I do love Tutto il Giorno in Sag Harbor, and nothing tops the “Southsides” at Maidstone. Also favorite spot for latte on Shelter is Reddings market, and the thin crust pizza is like a little piece of The Italian Riviera on Shelter, they are divinely delicious.

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: Do you like to entertain at home? Who cooks? What’s your “go-to” dinner plan?

Jill: Love being at home, and love to cook. I cook according to what is freshest, which is another great thing about the Hamptons – the huge choice of the best ingredients around, from seafood to vegetables. Whatever I am cooking I will always have fresh Long Island corn on the cob. Most often a blueberry crumble for dessert with creme fraiche.

 

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons:  If you could invite three people to your Hamptons home for dinner [dead or alive], whom would you choose?

Jill: Cole Porter, Coco Chanel and Jane Austen

Karen: Tough to pick only 3…Freud, Helen Frankenthaller, and Cary Grant

 

 

KDHamptons: What is your little secret about the Hamptons?

Jill: The secret back roads-it’s like my traffic survival kit. I’d give you a name but then it wouldn’t be secret anymore.

Karen: My best kept secret in the Hamptons is Shelter Island. It’s still low key and reminds me of the East Hampton when I was a child. The pace of the island is like going back in time. The second the ferry leaves the dock [below] my senses go into full throttle, life is all about pleasing the senses!

 

 

 

 

KDHamptons: If you could see any celebrity carry your bag on the red carpet, whom would you choose?

Jill & Karen: Jennifer Lawrence; Naomi Watts; or Halle Berry