I normally won’t pay more than $50.00 for a purse or handbag, but I have an upcoming event that requires an expensive gift. I’m thinking a designer purse or handbag based on the person’s known likes and lifestyle, but my frugal nature will not allow to me to just pick up the first nice looking thing in the department store (i.e., if I’m going to spend the money I would like to spend it as wisely as possible). Do any dopers have experience with how well high end handbags wear and maintain their shape? I would love advice on what to pick out that someone could use a lot and for a long time.
I don’t know how high-end you want to get. I am a male but I always liked the classic looks and utility of the Hermes Birkin line hanging down from a woman’s arm as she flits across busy Manhattan traffic like a single flower that somehow owns the whole block. You can go much higher end than those though.
Please tell me that’s a joke. $15,000.00 for a purse! I’m looking for something in the $200-$300 range.
I was just trying to get a feel for what your definition of high-end is. Again, I am not female but I know bunches of them that are fashion obsessed and have money. They all like Coach as a good quality prestige brand for purses and handbags in your price-range.
I selected for purses under $300 dollars although many are cheaper. Some of the ones in the link below are fugly but I think there are some good classic ones especially towards the bottom. I have seen and lived among many of those purses and they are well made and designed to last.
I have a Coach bag and it’s very nice and has worn beautifully. It’s an older bag, though, and I think they used to be more staid and stuffy than maybe they are now. Mine is a small, crossbody style, very simple, taller than it is wide, in a dark green leather with tan trim and strap.
I’m not a huge fan of Coach. Everybody seems to have one, and some are a little bit gaudy. In that price range, I’d have a look at Dooney & Bourke or Cole Haan. I have a Cole Haan bag I bought six or seven years ago, and it looks as good as the day I got it. I also have a Dooney & Bourke hobo from two or three years ago and it’s really good quality too.
I also have a couple of bags from Banana Republic that are really nice looking and have worn really well.
Whatever brand you get, I would recommend getting leather rather than fabric or suede.
I have some of those older Coach leather bags with very simple lines They are on the plain side but they do wear like iron, never go out of style, and look good. I also like some of the leather bags from Dooney & Bourke and Brighton. I’d stay away from the designer vinyl and/or canvas bags. They strike me as outrageously expensive for what they are, cheap goods with a high end brand name.
I really loathe the bags where a designer plasters their monogram or name all over the bag. Fendi is notorious for that. Chanel used to make consistently nice bags, but the ones I’ve seen lately seem dominated by an over-the-top huge CC logo closure. IMO, you’re paying too much for the name.
Just look at the details of the bag; things like the quality of the leather, lining, closures, stitching, etc. I’ve found really wonderful bags with labels I’d never heard of before. A high quality bag usually has a high end price tag - even if it isn’t from a “big name” designer.
Don’t forget to check out TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. They usually sort their bags by color, so the high and low end bags are all mixed up.
Leather will wear much more nicely than fabric or suede, definitely go for leather in that price range. Brown and black always work.
Don’t limit yourself to the department store. I’m fond of Fossil’s leather bags, and Fossil wears very well.
Handbags can be really difficult to pick out for another person. Sometimes they’re like clothing–the only thing that works is just trying it out, picking it up, seeing how it feels.
Are you sure that buying a handbag for someone else is a good idea? Handbags are so very personal.
And you might want to try a search for previous handbag threads. We’ve had some legendary ones.
The person I’m buying for lives in Montenegro which doesn’t have quite the access to high end fashion goodies as the the rest of the Balkans.
Look at, but don’t buy, Levenger bags. They have great styles, but I’ve always felt that Levenger has an inflated idea of the value of their products.
I’d ask this person if s/he has a preferred handbag size…some women (I assume you’re buying for a woman, otherwise you’d probably be looking at briefcases) love the tiny bags, just big enough to hold a lipstick and a credit card, while others are like me, and believe that Being Prepared isn’t just for Boy Scouts.
Most high end designer purses are out of that price range. You are at the bottom of the Coach range and you’ll probably find a D&B purse in that range. Which is why everyone (who cares about them) has them. If this person is a high end person, I wouldn’t go near a $200-300 designer purse.
(For reasons GreenBean mentioned, I wouldn’t buy a purse for anyone else anyway)
I came in here to recommend Levenger. Buy one of the styles they have on sale. The bags are just as good, the lines are classic not trendy, and the prices are much better. I was recently in a Coach outlet and the sales clerk complimented my Levenger bag. I count that as a handbag “win.” Some of the Coach stuff is nice, but they are currently going down the path of plastering their logo on too much trendy stuff, IMHO. The Levenger stuff is well thought out in terms of organization and well executed in terms of quality.
I wish somebody would give me a Ghurka bag. This one is less than $300, but some are more. This one’s $895 and I would cherish it forever.
I like butter soft leather. I’m not trendy and like a shoulder bag as long as it’s leather.
Osgoode Marley is affordable and you can get them online. In summer I love the cloth bags by Vera Bradley. They have a pocket for everything inside and you can throw them in the wash. They also have matching accessories.
<snort> <snuffle> <trying not to howl with laughter at work> Coach can be gaudy, so instead you should try Dooney and Burke?! Proud Purveyors of the World’s Ugliest Handbags?
Well, for a good, basic bag I like Coach. I purchase the plain leather ones (which they still have loads of - I bought one last spring) and they last very, very well. However, I don’t think you can get a plain leather one in your price range (although I’m not sure about the US conversion - I’m in Canada and things are more expensive here). The printed ones or the ones with all the bling are not really my thing.
I also have a nice D&B bag that’s a plain white hobo with a chrome clasp - it’s very plain and not particularly ugly at all; however, Zsofia is right - many of their printed bags are fugly. I believe I paid $400 for my bag at Macy’s (I was in the US when I got that one).
Kate Spade also makes beautiful bags - I have a deep red box bag which makes me squee with glee. Again, I’m not sure on the US price points.
I am a handbag hound (if that’s not already obvious) - I’ve been given handbags as gifts and thought they were fantastic. I guess it depends - I tend to switch my bag out quite often so something a little different, in a cool colour is right up my alley and I would enjoy it a lot. If you think the person would only use one bag, it may be a worse choice - if you were only going to use one you would probably want to choose the ‘one’ if you know what I mean.
This is similar to my D&B bag: http://www.dooney.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=45997 (although I suspect mine is a bit bigger, or their prices have come down) - I think it’s quite pretty.
I think D&B bags are cute, but hate Coach’s current “Vegas Trash” look - which really seems to have gone for the “who can get people to pay hundreds for an ugly handbag that will hold up for years - and look “so last year” in six weeks” method of marketing. Matter of opinion.
I’m liking the look of some of the classic Dooneys. I think they could be used with a lot of outfits. Does that all weather leather hold up well?
Don’t give yourself a stroke or anything.
I said she should avoid cloth or suede and go for leather. Here’s the Dooney & Bourke leather purses. Here’s the Coach leather purses.
You can fine nice ones of either brand in that price range if you look. I prefer the D&B. I think they’re better made and not quite as ubiquitous.