Ramy Brook Launches Handbags

Four years after launching her sophisticated contemporary sportswear line Ramy Brook, Ramy Sharp is getting into the bag game.Like many fashion lines, the genesis for her contemporary sportswear was born of need. She couldn’t find just the right top to wear with a favorite pair of jeans, for instance.“I could never seem to easily find the right thing to wear, especially the perfect top,” she said. “The first top was the Harriet, it was a sexy top I could wear out at night and it was practical because you can wear it six different ways.”Her sportswear line has climbed to sales of about $10 million.This time, Sharp needed a bag. With a heavy focus on suede, her debut collection for fall includes bags that are stylish and multifunctional. Accented with chain hardware that serves as decoration and strap, key shapes include convertible totes and clutches that fold over, so they can be worn as shoulder bags, messenger bags or clutches.Other signatures are the color-blocked east/west style and heavily fringed Stevie messenger (named for her daughter, Stevie) that converts three ways.The first deliveries are set to hit stores in late July and will be carried at retailers like Shopbop and select Nordstrom units that also carry her sportswear. Wholesale prices for the bags range from $174 to $262.