If you were an 18 year old girl, what brand of bag would you go for?

[vigglewiggle]

my lovely niece is turning 18 and I would like to buy her a nice bag. I'm a bit out of touch with what is 'in' for the 18 year old crowd. I don't mind spending a bit on her as she is my niece and is a cracking lass!

She's sporty, but also girly - not sure that that helps!

Thanks everyone - been out for the afternoon!

Ok, so Paul's Boutique is out. Her parents are from Belfast and she spends a lot of time there, so I'm slightly swayed by what is chic in Norn Iron!

I think the department store purchase (with gift receipt) is a good idea. And I like the idea of something she will keep for a long time.

My budget is around £75. The jack wills bags were nice but the ones I liked were a bit on the pricey side - ie into the hundreds!

I'm off to have a proper look through those links - thanks all.

I love the Longchamp leather bags, but they are a bit out of my price range. Not so sure about the longevity of the canvas ones.

What do you think of this here

Be honest, I can take it!

Miss Sixty , what about a zatchell if she likes the preppy look. Zatchels do some nice patterned ones round about your budget (was looking at them last month). They also do them on ASOS as well as their own site.

You can get Mischa Barton bag in TXMaxx for a fraction of the price. They aren't very nice in RL.

Ah, thank you! Preppy look sounds quite up her street, will check out zatchels.

Zatchells lots under your budget too!

disaster designs

Dd1 is 17 and would probably want a brown leather satchel type bag from Topshop or Urban Outfitters, unless somebody wanted to buy her an Alexa or indeed put her on the waiting list for the new one named after Lana Del Ray!

Oasis and Jones the Bootmakers sometimes have nice bags - dd1 has a lovely 'straw' one from the latter.

Paul's Boutique stuff is vile. Those sequin ones look v 'old lady trying to look cool on a beach holiday' to me, though I may well be missing something. DD1 certainly wouldn't use one like that.

No to the MB one - the colour is terrible.

This may not be from a 'cool' shop but is absolutely gorgeous irl and dd1 has been known to pop in store just to stroke it!

Is the satchel look 'in' then. I like the Zatchels stuff, but I'm trying to pull off "cool aunty" here, oh and get her something she will like too .

She can get an Alexa when I win the lottery!

The preppy look seems to be in. I have seen loads of trendy young people with satchel type bags and loads with PB bags. The ASOS ones I have linked to contain sale ones.

The rest of the dosh you could spend on Topshop bits and bobs!

Have you tried Banana Republic?
I have a cousin/god-daughter whom I have bought from here for. A bit over budget, but someone on S & B may have a discount code.

Those who say Longchamps a bit of a bag for the older lady - it's outstripping PB amongst the 6th formers, and even some of the be-uniformed ones, around here ...

... which, I suspect, means it's no longer a nice, safe bag for the older person.

Such is the fickle wheel of fashion.

Bonsoir - I had a Vanessa Bruno lookie-likie as a freebie with a magazine a few years ago. Thanks to you, I now know what it was ripping-off aspiring towards.

We recently bought a Longchamp pliage for a friend's daughter's 18th, at her request. I would go for that.

Parisian teenagers have phenomenally dull fashion sense and all wear the same clothes - it's like a uniform. I was on the bus the other week when a group of 15-16 year olds got on. They all had: long, swishy layered hair, a Canada Goose jacket (navy), skinny jeans and brown Uggs. And yes, all of them were carrying that bag that Bonsoir linked to! Whatever happened to rebellious teen years?

LOL MrsSchadenfreude, that look is spot on. So dull! DSS2 bought the same Canada Goose (grey) two years in a row (just a lot bigger the second winter). DSS1 has had two identical black Moncler's.

MrsSchadenfreude - are you very generous or did you buy a canvas one? I am leaning towards it (still swayed by the Belfast thing) but will she be disappointed that it isn't leather?

Final question - which colour?

If she likes Jack Wills I'm thinking a lot of her stuff will be navy, pinks, "heritage" colours, so maybe the khaki green? Goes well with jeans. There's a nude one as well which is vair nice, but then the bright pink is beaut.....oh god, you're making me want to re-invest!!!

Oh and they're not canvas, more of a thick coat-type material that's coated on the inside so they're waterproof. It also means they don't pluck or wear like normal canvas

Ha! Dniece asked for a Paul's Boutique bag for her 18th but (1) I have doubts about her taste (runs to heavy makeup and leopard print) (2) she lives in the "provinces" and (3) that was January so probably 3 seasons passe in teen world.

Seriously why not just ask her, there's probably something she's got her eye on.

I was cool aunty though

I bought my DN a Radley bag for her 18th birthday (the type with the little dog embroidered/ stuck on the bag IYSWIM), she loved it.

She's a really lovely non-graspy type of girl. If I asked her, she wouldn't come up with anything, except perhaps chocolate.

I'm almost decided on the Longchamp bag, just debating colour, but I will include a gift receipt and she can change it if she wants.

Thanks all.

Loads here have Paul's Boutique / Juicy Couture/ Cath Kidston

I was talking to the assistant in the new Cath Kidston store in Belfast she said the majority of customers were teenagers. They were all after the bags.

She lives in cambridge. They've had Cath Kidson for a while, is it new in Belfast? I don't remember seeing it before.

Was out with one tonight; nice and middle-classed chick with style and normal amounts of attitude. She had blue and white polka dot canvas Cath Kidson bag and it looked funky cool.