BEST OF STYLE / Designers, jewels and finery for a sophisticated look

Snake Eyes

Annie Handbags uses ethically sourced Everglades python skin for fierce minaudières.

Chicago-born Annie Diamantidis moved with her family to Chios, Greece, when she was 5. Growing up on the island, Annie was drawn to beauty and style but lacked access to the fashion world. She learned to sew and create from her seamstress mother. “I figured if I wanted something, I would have to make it,” Annie says.

After returning to Chicago, graduating from DePaul University and working with ‘Queen of Hoops’ Lana Bramlette, of Lana Jewelry, Annie launched her eponymous handbag collection in 2009. Exotic skins, including python, have long starred in her designs. When she moved to Southwest Florida in 2016, Annie learned about invasive pythons and the havoc they wreak on the Everglades. Inspired to take her scaly bags further, she started working with suppliers to source skins from local python hunters. “I figured this is great—help the ecosystem and make beautiful bags at the same time,” the part-time Marco Islander says.

Trips to Greece and her Florida home now inspire her biannual collections, which are sold at Casanova boutique in Naples.

Skins are sourced ethically, and leftover material goes to make matching rings, earrings, belts and necklaces, so nothing is wasted . “I feel like I’m doing my part,” she says. “As a Floridian and business owner, I feel it’s so important to promote sustainability.” Southwest Florida artists hand-paint the skins for iridescent looks, like with the Dynami Minaudière

The designer channels playful trends and her Greek heritage, as seen in the Evil Eye Python Minaudière

Though she also works with other skins, she likes the soft texture of python, which is easy to manipulat e into unique shapes, with pleats or rounded edges. The snakeskin is also thick and durable. “[The bags] are kind of like heirlooms—you can pass them down from generation to generation,” Annie says.

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Annie’s vertical, golden-green minaudière is named Demeter , after the Greek goddess of agriculture.

“I want a woman to feel strong and powerful when she’s carrying [the handbag],” she says.

All styles from Annie Handbags, anniebags.com