In terms of first impressions, different people remember different things: eye color, height, the situation in which they meet. For me, it’s shoes. Good, bad, chic, ugly—I will never forget you or your footwear. Let’s face it, that first glance can be everything.

This time last year, I had a fun, fashionable style-off with the very charismatic Andy Samberg. He and I dressed the women in ELLE’s office for different occasions from our dueling points of view: the cute, funny, straight, datable guy (Andy) versus the equally cute, funny, fashion guy (er, me). By far, the case study that garnered the most attention was the First Date look. Why, you ask? Like it or not, in those key moments before a guy has figured out what a brilliant, sexy, hilarious catch you really are, the only thing he has to go on is, well, your shoes.

This time around, I enlisted a real dating expert, someone whose livelihood is based on curating first impressions. Enter Patti Stanger, aka the Millionaire Matchmaker. My girlfriends are addicted to the tough-love advice Patti has been doling out on her hit Bravo show for three seasons. They cling to her every word and often repeat her Patti-isms back to me as gospel. And now that Patti has relocated her show to the dating war zone that is Manhattan, they can’t wait for it to premiere again in October.
But between you and me, the idea for this style-off actually came to me in a much more ironic manner. Earlier this year, one of

From 2005 to 2007, Stuart Vevers was known for creating showy studded and tasseled "it" handbags, transforming staid British brand Mulberry into a hot contemporary label.

Now he's headed in the opposite direction.

The 36-year-old Mr. Vevers is trying to dust off Loewe, a Spanish leather-goods brand owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. To do that, he's been leaning toward simplicity over bling, functionality over flash. One of his newest creations: a leather version of an ordinary brown paper grocery bag for about $1,045 or about €790. He's making a point of using the same bag shapes season after season -- the opposite of "it" bags' short fashion cycle. And he's made sure that Loewe bags are lightweight, under a kilo. "It's kind of taking the bag back to its purest functionality," Mr. Vevers says.

For a decade, nailing the "it" bag was the holy grail for luxury brands because of insatiable consumer demand and hefty profit margins. Back then, more was more. Chloé's Paddington, designed in 2005 and weighed down by a metal padlock and a $1,380 price tag, boasted waiting lists. Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada splashed their logos on their purses.

Then came the 2008 economic crisis.

Handbag sales world-wide fell 0.5% to €18.4 billion in 2009, according to Bain & Co. In the U.S., sales of handbags fell 3.3% to $6.97 billion in the same year, according to market researcher NPD Group. Restraint and classicism returned. Gucci and Coach toned down their logo looks. [Gucci did not nix its logo canvas! just toned it down like coach.] Meanwhile, Bottega Veneta -- known for its iconic plain woven leather bags -- enjoys increasing popularity.

Mr. Vevers's challenges: sell the simplicity and re-establish Loewe's presence in the U.S., one of the most cutthroat consumer markets in the world. The 164-year-old Spanish brand generates about a third of its sales in Spain and the other two-thirds in the Asian-Pacific region, according to Loewe Chief Executive Lisa Montague. World-wide sales are below €100 million, estimates Luca Solca, a luxury-goods analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein -- "very small in the context of LVMH." Since being purchased in 1996, Loewe has lingered in LVMH's closet -- despite the efforts of such designers as Narciso Rodriguez, who left the brand after five years to focus uniquely on his own label. Loewe has its own stores throughout Europe and Asia, and is sold at department stores including Harrods and Selfridges

in London, and Takashimaya in Toyko. But the brand wasn't sold in U.S. stores for at least 10 years.

Mr. Vevers, who was recruited to become Loewe's creative director in 2007, has plenty of experience. After designing in 1998 for Bottega Veneta, Mr. Vevers joined LVMH's star Louis Vuitton brand. He also worked at its smaller Givenchy fashion house before leaving in 2005 to take the reins of Mulberry, a British brand that specializes in accessories, and giving his over-the-top mode free rein. Besides adding studs, tassels and spikes to the brand's line of classic aged-leather bags, he designed an evening bag shaped like a medieval mace ball and a metal and leather clutch.

"He has worked for iconic brands, and he always respects its heritage while giving it an edge," says Floriane de Saint Pierre, a luxury-goods consultant and recruiter.