Bags on the move

The Triangle's own smart, stylish Penelope Avion bag has been discovered.

The microfiber laptop bag, created by a pharmaceutical executive in Wake Forest, recently was picked up by TravelSmith and is now for sale on the company's Web site and in its August catalog.

"We loved the styling, usability and the weight of the bag," says Jennifer Osborne, product developer for TravelSmith's women's handbags.

It's a huge step for the company founded by Penelope Manasco two years ago after she realized she and other frequent female business travelers had trouble finding a practical, yet stylish laptop bag. Most of the company's sales have been online or through smaller travel stores and campus bookstores throughout the region.

For TravelSmith, the Penelope Avion bag comes in black with white trim. But the rest of the styling is the same. The shoulder bag is designed to convert to a backpack so that heavy loads are evenly distributed on the back.

Manasco says she's hearing more often that women aren't just using it to carry their laptop. "It is a great bag to carry books, files, all your travel needs in an organized, stylish bag," she says.

Earlier this year, she landed a deal to supply Meredith College's first-year students with Avion's sister -- the Go Girl Messenger Bag -- a canvas bag with a padded compartment for a laptop, extra room for books and zippered pockets designed for cell phones, iPods and PDAs.

Manasco, a former researcher and vice president at GlaxoSmithKline and founder of a technology company called PharmaVigilant, says the company is eyeing even wider distribution. But she says she can't continue to do it all. She's looking for someone locally to help run the business. (Interested? E-mail your qualifications to Manasco at penelope@penelopebags.com)

Meanwhile, check out the bags, including a black with red trim Avion, at www.penelopebags.com.

Upgrade your denim

Looking for something new when it comes to designer jeans?

Then head over to Wardrobbe in Cameron Village.

The store has started selling what's expected to be two hot designer denim brands -- Lofli and dVb. Lofli, if you haven't heard, is a new favorite brand of actresses Sienna Miller and Angelina Jolie. They're known to fit best on the long and lean. But they're also designed to give a little oomph to perk up the behind.

Also on Wardrobbe shelves: Victoria Beckham's new dVb (Denim by Victoria Beckham) designer jeans. Her Rock & Republic days might be behind her, but the dVb styling is strikingly similar with clean lines giving them a sexy streamlined took.

The store also has started selling more mainstream designer brands such as Habitual and True Religion jeans.

Bags that benefit

Here's your chance to buy a snazzy new or vintage handbag and feel extra good about where the proceeds are going.

Tickets are on sale for the second annual Southern Ladies Purse Gala from 2 to 5 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Embassy Suites in Cary.

On the agenda: handbag shopping. Pick from one of about 45 donated bags from all over the world, including big-name bags such as Gucci, Coach and Kate Spade, during a live auction.

Other bags being auctioned: One that includes a weekend stay and spa package at The Umstead Hotel, a handmade purse and personal note by North Carolina's first lady Mary Easley; and a purse with $500 worth of loose diamonds from Zales.

Proceeds will benefit Me Fine Foundation, a local nonprofit that helps provide financial assistance to children and families at the Duke Children's Hospital and the N.C. Children's Hospital at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Tickets cost $35 for the event. Contact Lisa Valentino at 202-0086 or mefinedevelop@aol.com to reserve a seat.