Because You're Ugly: Harveys

Santa Ana-based Harveys has long been known in the county and beyond for their seat belt bags that come in a rainbow of colors and patterns (Weekly Associate Editor, Patty Marsters, owns about 80% of them). The husband and wife team behind the Harveys name, Dana and Melanie Harvey, spawned the first seat belt purse in 1997 after installing seat belts into their 1950 Buick.

Since then, the two have expanded into a 12,000 sq ft Santa Ana design studio, raked in about $3.1 million in 2004 alone and Harveys bags are now available in some 800 retail outlets, including Bloomingdale's.

But Harveys have now gone in a more sophisticated direction with their luxury Vertigo Collection. Part of the new Harveys Boutique handbag line, Vertigo pieces are made of lightweight embossed seat belt webbing, complete with leather accents and silver hardware, my favorite being the Vertigo Satchel. The Carriage Large Satchel with gold hardware features woven leather strips—slightly reminiscent of an enlarged Bottega Veneta bag for a fraction of the cost.

So while the solid colored seat belt bags that got Harveys where they are now are still available in more colors than ever, the company have also delved into an artist series, collaborating with lowbrow pop artist Gary Baseman and tattoo artist Sid Stankovits, a children's line, wallets and more.

Another collaboration to look forward to is part of Harvey's winter/holiday 2008 collection with Disney Couture, pictured left. A larger preview of the Disney Couture line and the Vertigo Satchel after the jump.

Harveys retail store is located at 3011 N. Main St., Santa Ana, (714) 550-7105; www.seatbeltbags.com.

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