There is a lot of style and class in Mary Frances bags. Don’t refer to these accessories simply as “purses,” because they’re so much more than just something to hold a wallet, makeup bag, and cell phone. On the one hand, Mary Frances, Designer of the Year 2004, has tried to infuse her love of life and fun into every bag she makes.

A glance at a bag by the designer demonstrates this fact, as there doesn’t seem to be a theme or object of art that she hasn’t tried to include in every bag in every one of her numerous collections. For those with a more bohemian outlook that comes in rich-looking leather, there’s the Mary Frances line of leather bags, filled with bags called “Bellissima” and “Ray of Light,” for example.

For the cheesy good mood and love of the holidays, the Mary Frances Christmas collection is untouchable when it comes to several of that line’s bags that could do double duty as vacation townhouses or trinkets in a miniature christmas village scene For example, there’s a Gingerbread House bag that looks exactly like it says it does.

Several of those bags in particular (the ones that look like statues or the like) are from Timmy Woods, a Mary Frances collaborator. His contributions include a bag called “Naughty or Nice,” which is perfectly in tune with the designer’s humorous take on bags that are both utilitarian on the inside and scream individuality on the outside. These bags are extremely memorable, to say the least.

One of Ms. Frances’s most extensive lineups seems to be the large bag collection, and what woman, whether a stay-at-home mom with several young children or an on-the-go businesswoman (who might as well have a few kids of her own), today doesn’t you need a large bag to carry almost everything while looking super stylish and unique, for starters.

It seems that this up-and-coming fashion designer does not lack a following among Hollywood celebrities, with big names like Shania Twain and others flocking to grab her colorful and playful bags. And Ms. Frances herself seems to be the epitome of the great American success story, starting making jewelry in her home in San Francisco in the 1980s and steadily increasing her clientele.

However, what might be most surprising of all is that many of the bags in their various collections are not extremely expensive. In fact, many, while certainly more expensive than most standard department store bags, are not expensive at all. This is despite the fact that each bag is put together by hand and looks extremely unique, one of a kind and one of a kind.

The Bay Area designer typically introduces five new Mary Frances bag collections per year, and there are always several lines of “retired” bags that can be had from the previous year for a short period of time. The bags are stylish, fun, very nice and there is sure to be one for any woman.