My bag for work is a black leather tote that I got at a consignment shop. I don’t recognize the name - Sag Harbor? It was cheap and it’s simple and utilitarian and quite durable to boot. I love it.
The purse I use most often is a brown handbag from Kenneth Cole. Next most-often used is a black knitted shoulder bag from Elle.
No purse. I carry a messenger bag for school, though. It’s gray wool with black trim, $15 at Target. Otherwise, everything goes in my pockets. When I buy pants, I always make sure that the back pockets are big enough to hold a paperback.
I have two that I usually alternate, one that’s dressier and one that’s a bit more casual. The casual one is a kind of slouch bag with a grey and beige tree print. It has a leather handle but most of it is made of fabric. It’s surprisingly roomy inside, and keeps its shape really well. Plus it goes with most of my stuff. My fiance’s mother bought it for me as a Christmas gift but it’s exactly the sort of thing I would have bought for myself.
The dressier one is a Louis Vuitton bag that I’ve had for something like seven years. It’s the Josephine in the monogram mini pattern and I’m pretty sure it’s the oldest thing in my wardrobe. It was the first bag I ever fell in love with, and to this day I love it. It’s shaped like a doctor’s bag, has enough room in it for my stuff, tucks perfectly under my arm, and looks as good as the day I bought it despite getting treated quite roughly. Plus it’s shaped so that I can unzip it and take stuff out while keeping the bag tucked under my arm, though I’m not sure whether that’s the design of the bag or my weird contortionist arms.
I carry a wallet in my back pocket, because I’m butch like that.
I have a black Coach hobo logostyle that I got at the Vegas outlet for $200something. It’s relatively inoffensive.
However, I am the one person I know who managed to damage a Coach. A patch of my purse is faded.
I have a professional Kenneth Cole (from Ross). It’s that type that’s between a purse and a briefcase. It’s larger. I alternate between this one and the coach.
I have a bunch of other bags but they’re all Nine West/Ross acquisitions that are purely for fashion. One is a vintage-inspired faux snakeskin style that never fails to get compliments.
My sister also brought me back a beautiful emerald green silk clutch from France that I have yet to use.
I sewed mine! It’s mainly a black-on-black fabric and an Indonesian batik in black, blue, and olive, with inside pockets in blue and olive batiks. It’s a medium size, but on the small side.
Currently: This one from Target - although the picture doesn’t do it justice. The purse is meant to fold at that weird little seam to create a bit of an envelope look.
My last one was a cheap one from Target too.
Another one I love (that I know Only Mostly Dead can pick out of a pile) is a wonderfully tacky one I got at Target at Christmastime a few years back - it has a black and white picture of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree that’s been “recolored” in green - the statue’s been colored yellow. To top it all off, there are little multicolored rhinestones glued on the tree. My grandmother’s the only woman I know that has one too, because she saw mine right after I bought it and insisted I go get her one too.
I have a $12 black Beatles bag from Target. Like this but it just has the logo in grey, no faces.
I don’t like it a whole lot, but I am so picky about purses. I carry a Puma messenger bag on campus (most of my time). I just can’t find a purse that is both cute to me and big enough to hold all my junk.
My wallet is awesome though. It’s a black leather rectangular clutch-type thing from the Limited. Way snazzier than my purse.
i have a few for the times i don’t have pockets.
i have a very old banana republic leather thing. i bought it when they were in the khaki just off the island tropical phase, before they sold and became another gap store. it is a bit beaten up but is perfect to hold keys, wallet, chapstick, etc. i believe it was around 10 dollars at the time.
i just got a nice vera bradley bag for my birthday. it is a plain brown, and can fit a book.
i also lucked onto a vera bradley bag at a flea market for 10 dollars. rather nice and can fit a book as well.
mostly i have tote bags and back packs that i use for work and shopping.
Well, I have quite a few purses - it’s a bit of a thing. Anyhow, the one I’m currently carrying is this one.
I just really loved the colour - I have another the same colour but it’s a Matt & Natt - they’re a vegan company and their bags are super cute but don’t wear all that well.
Mine is a Coach. It’s medium sized, black, and doesn’t have “Coach” emblazoned on it (there was once a small tag that did say “Coach,” but that was lost.) It is has aged and now (after about 12 years) needs replacing.
Last week, I went to the Coach store and they said I could special order its exact replica.
I don’t get the “amazingly butt-ugly patchwork patent leather nightmare” purses. They don’t go with my personality at all.
ETA: It was given to me by my best friend. Which is the def of a great friend, someone who knows exactly what you want/need in a purse.
Good thread for me right now…this past weekend, my sister and I drove from Chicago to Fort Wayne, IN, to go to the Vera Bradley outlet sale, which they do once or twice a year. I know people are divided on Vera, but I love them. The one I think I’ll be getting the most use out of for a while is a hipster bag in their pink elephant pattern. The picture isn’t the greatest, but here it is.
MEC bag, the official supplier to Canadians with too much crap to lug about (Roots is for tourists, dammit!) Had it for years, straps never wear out, may use it to carry my ashes in due course.
I’m with Alice. I got my black leather no-name at Target. Alice, your description looks exactly like mine, could be the exact same item. I bought it because I wanted a shoulder strap, I like having both hands free. It’s just the right size, big enough to hold things I need, but small enough to be decorous in any setting. Serves its purpose well, and that suffices. I have a bunch of others, but I don’t find them useful like this one.
The one that I carry most is a blue Liz Claiborne one with pockets or compartments for everything! And a shoulder strap just the right length. I bought it about three years ago at the local outlet mall.
I have others that I rotate into the lineup now and then, mostly a couple more Liz Claiborne’s and a couple of Nine West bags, plus several vintage evening bags.
Old Blue still gets the most use, though.
I alternate between these two Coach bags:
I got them at the Coach outlet and paid about $150 for both of them. I like them because they don’t have the logo plastered all over them and they are the right size and style for summer. Right now I’m carrying the white one.
I also carry a black Target bag that cost about fifteen dollars. It has shoulder straps but I usually carry it like a football. The thing I really like about it is that it has small pockets on the outside that clip shut with magnets, so I put my small-and-frequently-used items there. I can get right to 'em and it’s easy to close up the pocket again so they don’t get lost.
This is my purse’s twin.
My current bag is a plum-colored Coach that my wonderful husband gave me for Christmas. It’s kind of out of season now, but I love it so much I’m carrying it every day. He saw it and knew it was just for me.