I am very particular about the size of my purses as I am petite. I really do not like the look of huge purse on a small woman. That’s all you see --it looks like a suitcase.
Smart designers make several sized of their bags… like GM, PM - I heart the Alma bag. There is also a BB… Hey! I NEED that one!!!
I guess I’m not very “into” bags. I do like the electric blue butter soft leather cross body bag from Florence. It isn’t 2 pounds.
My Coach bag is probably over 2 pounds of chrome hardware alone. I’m not a fan of chains, tassels or other embellishments, but am OK with the Coach hardware that is functional and attractive. It has 2 straps, so can be worn over the shoulder of cross body.
My Clark handbag is all nylon and very functional and light. I have another nylon handbag that is also functional and light.
I use the above 4 bags more than I use the entire plastic container of designer handbags.
I also don’t like chain handles, although they are lovely. I need mine lightweight also. I just bought a boho on sale st Macys for $83. I bought it for the color really. It has other features I like, but not all. It only weighs 1 lb. I don’t like it has only 1 strap vs. 2, but we will see. If I didn’t like to carry little things all the time, I’d wear more purses.
My favorite purse I only wear in the fall. I got it in Carmel three years ago for $50. I bet I have been complimented on that bag a dozen times each season. The color is a gorgeous cherry-burgundy shade, it’s a boho with lots of interested draping and stitching. The handles are croc material in the same color, as the outside pocket flap. It’s gorgeous. It looks like real leather, but it’s cheap. It’s already torn a little bit and I’ve actually painted the offending part with matching fingernail polish, and it’s hidden well.
I love Dooneys, and the fact that they clean and refurbish for free.
I have loved this thread as I honestly have never dreamed of a designer bag as something I would want. That said! Decades ago I was the Maid of Honor and my gift was a Gucci bag. I really did enjoy the attention that bag gave me in shops especially. One time I was told that the purse was REAL.
Funny that a year in it began to fall apart. The bride purchased it in Asia.
Just now thought that if it looked that authentic that I should have glued it back together!
I need a very light weight bag and so now have a TUMI cross body .
I love the quality even though no one here has even mentioned TUMI.
But talk on! As I said, using the fake Gucci was really more fun that I would have ever thought.
I notice sales ladies looking at my purse when I’m in their area…to see what I’m carrying. I understand what you mean about how fun it is to carry an expensive purse. I had a fake Dooley once given as a gift. I had fun with it, but stopped carrying it as the zipper was so hard to zip.
I have some TUMI luggage. I didn’t even know they make handbags.
I’m a little surprised no one has qualms about the fake designer bags. As a lawyer, I appreciate what a problem this is for the legitimate manufacturers and how unethical it is to sell them. That said, I’ve owned a few way back in the day, but I won’t do it anymore because it is, plain and simple, fraud.
I do not own, nor do I have any desire to own, a designer handbag. But I am so enjoying the discussion. Different strokes…and all that.
As for my personal ‘bag life’, it needs to be light weight, have enough compartments to keep all the crappage of daily life organized, and it MUST have a zip closure for the main compartment. I’ve only carried cross body bags for a while now, so much easier on the shoulders. It has to be in a price range where I feel comfortable tossing it into the back seat of the car, shoving it under the seat of the car, forcing under the seat of the airplane (and possibly getting my feet on it), having it slip onto the floor of an eatery, sit under the seat at a concert, get crammed into a larger backpack etc. In other words, it’s a container that needs to support it’s owner - and not need to be coddled, massaged, travel with it’s own hanger, or stored in a climate controlled bag lined with fleece collected during the full moon by the hands of small children without callouses. 
As such…my bags tend to come from Marshall’s, T.J. Maxx etc. Sometimes they’re leather, sometime eh…not so much. Keep them for one or two years. Based on some of the prices I’ve seen in this tread - I could get a new bag every year for 30 years at my ‘designer’ stores.
I do have a few cute evening sized bags I bought from street vendors in Rome. And, I have a couple of the cat themed ones in goat leather - also from Italy. The latter simply do not stay on my shoulders and are a constant battle - where I find myself ‘shrugging’ to keep the straps in place. They do get a lot of compliments (and are mistaken for those with the high price tags), but are simply not worth the hassle.
Carry on …
:))
I have fashionista Ds who have loved purses/bags since middle school. They started with Coach, Longchamps, Michael Kors and Kate Spade and have now moved to Chloe and Celine. Youngest is saving for her first Chanel. I look for soft buttery leather in designs that appeal to me and could care less about the brand.
Loving all the purse ads on my CC page…
While I don’t have interest in designer bags largely due to designer prices I’m not willing to pay, I do find that I often are drawn to Kate Spade bags and Dooney bags in stores. I have NO interest or like for Coach and really hate the flashy Michael Kors ANYTHING.
I shop for purses at TJMaxx and 6pm. Nordstrom Rack is worth a look and often has more designer names than TJ. I avoid stepping foot in major department stores/websites as a rule for any product. So I rely on the internet or discount name brand stores. It’s where I’m comfortable.
Like MOfWC, I will not touch fakes.
I typically carry satchels so I can carry a lot when I need to. I don’t typically have a lot in them.
I have had several Coach bags in neutral colors and I’m now carrying a deep blue Kate Spade which I like. I change my bag twice a year - that’s it. I usually get hand me downs from my mother who is always finds a “deal” on everything. My D is convinced we “need” the very popular LV bag. I like it, but I don’t like seeing it everywhere. I am not anti-label. But I have to really really want it to pay that much. And I decided, I just don’t want it that much.
I don’t get the purpose of buying fakes. Is it to make people believe you can really afford that particular bag?
I own stock in Coach, so I love you all. Keep buying 
I feed my wife’s Dooney & Bourke addiction. Every year for the last 8 years we’ve been married, I buy her two new purses during the summer and winter, with varying styles/colors/sizes for different seasons. However, I only buy her last years styles from the D&B outlet stores. I’ve only once paid full price (the year I asked her to marry me). I tease her and call her a bag-lady hahaha, but she gets purse envy from friends and workmates, and I get the credit… plus an earfull from their husbands/boyfriends saying “thanks alot, dude…”
I think some of you have seen me post this before…When my girls break up with a guy, they get a bag. Longer of a relationship more expensive is the bag. I am very happy D1 is engaged. D2 has received more bags than D1. Some of their bags have names.
My D worked a PR internship last summer in the fashion industry and she said 90% of the women were carrying fake Goyard totes. D received a Chanel bag as a gift from a bf.
I buy Lily Bloom bags-- they’re lightweight when empty and are made from recycled water bottles. Every year they come out with new prints. They are washable, and air dry quickly. And they don’t cost a lot. I like the kind with 3 sections but there are a number of styles.