The site stocks almost any style you can imagine and some you probably didn't know existed. Top picks include tidy stamped-leather satchels, mod Lucite cases and fanciful beaded clutches from the 1920s.

The offerings may be limited, but fashion insiders are likely to covet every piece.

Glimpsing the latter from time to time can be truly inspiring, no matter what your budget. Designers are pushing nature-inspired styles that are environmentally friendly and socially responsible. Think clothes made from pesticide-free cotton and produced under humane working conditions.

Among the fashionable looks are a $430 silk dress with wicker detail from Cynthia Rowley, a Jimmy Choo clutch with wooden beads appliqued on suede for $1,495, and a $10,000 shell- and-diamond cuff bracelet from jeweler John Hardy. Retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman have added such clothing, footwear, accessories and jewelry. Barneys New York said today it is adding such goods to its 17 stores and is planning an environmentally themed Christmas promotion with Rudolph the Recycled Reindeer as a mascot.

The lower-priced H M chain will introduce its first full organic cotton clothing line in March. Linda Loudermilk, known for her ecological designs, staged a fall fashion show in New York on Feb. 1 that included evening gowns made of hemp satin and reclaimed faux fur.

The technology used to incorporate new textiles like bamboo in fashion has improved. In turn, designers have made these clothes and accessories more chic, fueling demand from fashionistas. "There is no question that there is an enormous opportunity," Bloomingdale's Chairman Michael Gould said.

"People are developing an affinity for companies that can talk in a meaningful way about being friendly to the environment. But you can't give up quality, fashion and newness." A tangerine tie-dye clutch with a rhinestone closure.

A snow-white ski hobo bag with fur trim. A royal blue python satchel. The 65-year-old maker of sturdy leather purses is pushing into fashionable designer territory, going up against the likes of Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci in the race to tap into women's insatiable appetite for chic handbags.

Just a decade ago, it would have been difficult to imagine such audacity from the old-fashioned company that relied on descendants of George Washington, J.P. Morgan, Mark Twain and other famous Americans to advertise its bags.

But since spinning off from Sara Lee Corp. in 2000, Coach Inc. has found new life as a fashion icon.

"We went through a metamorphosis from a house of leather goods to a lifestyle brand," said Lew Frankfort, a 28-year company veteran and Coach's chairman and chief executive since 1995. Now, Coach is testing the limits of its cachet. Late last year the company unveiled its highest-priced line to date, called Legacy, with some bags approaching $1,000.

Coach plans to open two freestanding Legacy stores, in New York and Los Angeles, this fall. Coach is aiming high at a time of plentiful designer competition. Mulberry, the British leather-goods house, is in the midst of a retail expansion in the United States, and Lambertson Truex, New York's hottest new luxury house, is rolling out its first freestanding stores and starting an aggressive expansion under new owner Samsonite, the world's largest luggagemaker.

"It's very dicey," said Allen Adamson, managing director of Landor Associates. "In luxury brands, you can go down, but it's very hard to move a brand up." But Coach has been doing just that: It has been steadily testing higher-priced goods, rolling out more stores and unveiling new products every month.

The strategy has fueled profit growth of 30 percent each quarter for the past five years and 20-fold rise in its stock price since the 2000 initial public offering. Since July, Coach stock has risen 80 percent, to $47.