A handbag one

[Merrilydancing]

I have a big birthday this year and have always wanted to treat myself to a lovely handbag.

I have a budget of £1k and was hoping to get something that would suit most events as I don’t have a flashy, going out lifestyle in general.

However, having followed many handbag threads over the years, I am beginning to wonder whether it is worth the expenditure after reading reports of increasing costs and decreasing quality in the luxury bag market.

Spending such a huge amount on myself is a really big deal so any advice from fellow handbag lovers would be helpful.

Love a bag thread!

Another vote for Strathberry, gorgeous bags and for your budget you could get 2 in different styles.

Also look at Aspinal of London.

if you want to spend £1K I would get a Mulberry.

I came to say strathberry and polene but I've been beaten to it! 😁

Try Net a Porter - decent sale at the moment, I think the Loewe Puzzle was reduced

Do Polene ever have sales?

Loewe has recently changed the Puzzle design, it is now called the Edge and requires less craftsmanship to make. Fans are not happy.
I recommend https://addictedtohandbags.org/ and https://www.npnbags.co.uk/ for preloved. But beware, there are now some Chanel copies (including vintage) that only a master authenticator can spot.
If you can get to a dept store and handle some bags you’ll get a better idea of what feels good. Tanner Leatherstein is also informative on the various leathers.

In your price point I would buy a mulberry. The smaller sized Alexa or bayswater are good for everyday use, or the small darley is good for
Night. They have some good ones in their sale just now. The lily is also a great bag for both day and evening

If you dont mind increasing to 1200-1400 then a gucci marmont or ysl Lou camera bag are good for everyday to night - I use both often.

Ysl do nice evening clutches for around £500 so if you were savvy with the mulberry sale you could get two for not much over £1000

I have Polene numero neuf mini, bought couple of years ago. Prices just gone up this year.

Also Polene seem to give free bags to influencers to promote. So the brand is trending. But this makes the bag itself value less.
I like the coach studios baguette bag in all black.

Thanks for all of the tips and recommendations, lots to look at.

I set a budget at £1k as I was looking for a really good quality leather bag and now really tempted by the ysl Lou.

I do love the mulberry Alexa but concerned that the quality isn’t as good as it used to be and didn’t want to be disappointed.

I haven’t seen Demellier mentioned yet - reallly lovely bags - https://demellierlondon.com/?affiliate_id=QFGLnEolOWg&gad_source=1&network=linkshare&ranEAID=2575853&ranMID=39618&ranSiteID=QFGLnEolOWg-wEPJbBelh4xk_OcVrVjTqw&utm_campaign=10&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=linkshare&utm_term=QFGLnEolOWg&variant=44227599892654

A bag for life and a holiday?

I really don't think Mulberry's are worth the price tag nowadays - the new Alexa is nowhere near as good workmanship as the old and comparing them to polene, Strathberry, Demellier, Aspinal they seem to be less well made and lower quality if anything. You are paying for a name which was worth it 10-20 years ago but now the new brands have overtaken them IMO.

I have an Alexa but much prefer my Aspinal Large Lottie or Strathberry east west softie so going to sell the Alexa :)

Get one in the sale. Whatever you do! I know this isn't the small cross body bag you are after but this chloe bag looks fantastic and on sale at HNs

Not sure you can get a designer bag for 1k. Think they start at around 2k these days...

I agree, I use to lust after owning a mulberry when I was younger and had no money, but now I'm in a position to be able to have a nice handbag, the mulberry's all look cheaply made. The brand got to main stream and it looks like quality dropped to be able to churn them out. A shame. I have some beautiful mulberry leather cashmere lined gloves that I treated myself to about 10 years ago, they're still beautiful now. I was looking at some to buy for my mum before Christmas, they looked no nicer than the ones in M&S that were a quarter of the price!

I no longer buy designer handbags. I've bought from Mirta, which specialises in Italian brands, and bought a bag in Paris from Guibert back in August, which is excellent quality, and Advene is pretty good too.

Oooh yes have a look at his videos, really informative on how to look for quality and how pricing works in luxury bags. He cuts apart bags and shows you the leather quality, hardware and workmanship which is fascinating and gives you an insight into how well they will wear

I have a Loewe puzzle and love it. The leather feels beautiful and is surprisingly hard-wearing. The small is outside your stated budget but maybe the mini would suit? Or the flamenco is cute too and could go from day to night.

You should look online on NAP, Farfetch, Matches..And defo look at sales.. You'll get lots of ideas and then people can maybe comment on the choice. I love designer bags but the prices have gone silly lately. Some of the fashion trends are a bit questionable as well. One thing tho, they still wear out, probably a bit later than the inexpensive ones, but I have some Chloes and Balenciagas with the leather flaking and feel quite upset looking at them. Prada leather wears well but $$$

I have a trip to London planned for later in the year so think I will take the advice of going into the shops to get a feel for the leather.

I do love the look of the ysl Lou but worry that the leather will not feel right for me.

I guess what I’m really after is a bag that costs £1k that is worth it if that makes sense!

Thanks for all of the advice as it has helped to narrow it down and introduce me to brands that I wasn’t familiar with.

The only thing with the ysl lou is that copy cats sold by the street venders on the beach front in Spain are everywhere! Its puts me off having a real one when there are so many knock off copy cats around.

I would suggest that you keep your eye on Naughtipidgins Nest for a pre-loved beauty.

Tusting are lovely. Made in UK and princess Wales even has their mini holly

So a new (2023) black HERMÈS HSS Kelly 25 will cost you £24,499 and a vintage (year 2000) Vintage Mou Kelly 32 is £10,499 (with light corner wear and hardware scratching). I had no idea HERMÈS bags were so expensive.

Not all Hermes bags are as expensive as the Kelly you mentioned . Some models start at less than £2000 and some reach £100K or more (depending on the model/skin/finish/size etc). Hermes like other luxury fashion houses just had a price increase which now happens yearly. The issue is also the scarcity of stock (real or fabricated...) Not so many years ago you were able to go to their boutiques and pretty much order the above Kelly to be made for you and a year or so later your bag was ready to be picked up (if they didn't have one ready at the back). Now it's all a different ball game! Kellys and Birkins are quota bags in many countries so they expect you to pre-spend on other items before you can get your name down for such bags.