Handbags - what's your style?

I tend to have Roka of London they are made of recycled plastic bottles. Lovely styles and colours.

My handbags of choice are Mulberry, I have had my Bayswater for many years but it is quite heavy when I fill it. DH bought me a Del Ray one, has all the quality but is much lighter.
The beauty of Mulberry is that you can get them repaired and restored for life.

I always have crossbody bags, latest £2 in a local charity shop, looks totally unused.

This is interesting. I always look for a cross over with pockets both sides ( handy for bus pass etc) So don’t need to open main part and hunt around. Then I need a separate pocket inside (with a zip) to contain my bank/credit cards and cards like National Trust, Art Trust etc). I need room for my quite large phone, purse and lastly a couple of pouches for door keys and car keys. The latest bag to give me all that I found in a market while on holidayin Dorset this year. It cost £16. It looks smart and I am using it on a daily basis. I have just looked for the make in the bag but can’t find it. It had the manufacturers name attached as I remember looking it up on line and seeing they were around £38 normally. I am so annoyed Not to be able to find the name in the bag.

Day to day I use Kipking crossbody bags. I've a few in different colours. Lightweight and practical. I find leather bags can be heavy and are a nuisance to dry if they get a soaking. I also use a backpack. So comfortable. All my bags come from eBay 'used'. They've been in excellent condition and a small fraction of the cost of new.
Recently I had a big clear out and sold my leather bags ... Radley, Fossil, Ted Baker etc on eBay for more than I'd paid when bought on eBay.

Caleo, I'm sure that I saw what you wanted and described, on a Dragons Den programme. Last year?

I’ve never had a crossover bag before but I have just found this,quite a small one and that will save me shoving everything into my pockets. So thanks for this thread…?

I am amazed at the amount of money some women are prepared to pay for a ... handbag!

Now my favourite style of bags are crossover. I have 1 for every colour outfit. The reason being, i need both hands free, so crossover bags are perfect.

Rather large bag that I ought from M&S years ago. It’s got several little pockets on the front which are perfect for the stuff I carry around with me. It’s like the black hole of Calcutta: things just disappear inside it. But I’ve realised that when I use it as a cross body bag it hurts my hip. My other favourite is a Fossil bag. I think Fossil are my favourites. But these days all I seem to do is walk the dog so I use a small rucksack. I have a tiny leather bag that I bought in Italy years ago that is perfect for keeping my keys and just a couple of important things that I might need. It’s one of the best things I ever bought.

Cross body here, bought from a charity shop.

I’ve got lots of bags, but lately my two favourites have been velvet totes one navy the other red, the sort of thing we used to have in 1970! I got them from Etsy and really like them. They are hand made too.

Totes and crossbody. Although I now have to limit the amount of, just in case items I would throw into a tote when the decision of shoulders v totes had to be made, I don’t want to get rid of my tote bags just yet.

I have a few Radley bags which I changed from season to season but since the pandemic I usually just have a supermarket carrier - the £1 kind. Not been out much anyway where I would need a bag. Got a small Thomas the Tank Engine rucksack when out with DGC for water bottles snacks wipes and my phone.

CraftyGranny

I like TK Maxx for bags

Me too but I haven't bought a new one for years. Time for a trip there, I think.

When I was younger I rarely used a handbag, carried my purse in my hand and the (very) few other things I needed went in my pockets. If I had to buy a bag it was usually something cheap from a local market. I couldn't understand why some women spent a week or months wages on a bag! Interesting how popular cross-body bags are. I've only ever used shoulder bags but I may have to try a cross-body bag now.

But these days I have to carry bulky essentials with me wherever I go, so after trying a few different styles whish didn't really meet my needs, I started to make my own.

I like a 'tardis' bag that is not too big but has a lot of room inside and lots of pockets. I like colourful bags so I can use whatever fabrics, leathers and fastenings take my fancy. The bag I'm using ATM is turquoise, grey and gold, and I'm about to make one in autumn colours.

I currently have a few bags for sale on Etsy - don't know if I'm allowed to say that here.

I've switched from my summer straw bag to my leather Kate Spade bag, but I just find it so heavy and stiff. I think I will look for a lighter, softer cross body. I like leather but won't pay over the top designer prices, about 150 pounds ($200 CDN) is my max, so need a sale to find something!

I find I am getting more particular about handbags, and need to do a bit of a clear out (not that I have that many).

I coveted a Mulberry Bayswater for years and my DH always said ‘FFS - just get one woman!’ It drove him mad that I felt they were too expensive.
Sadly he died a few days before my 70th birthday - so he didn’t live to see that my DDS bought me one between them.
I have a good dog walking bag, but as I don’t do very long walks, it just holds my key, phone and poo bags and goes cross body, so I can hang onto the leads.

I confess to being a handbag freak!
I have a vast collection of bags, in many different colours and designs, and many different makes. Radley, Tusting, Aspinal, The Bridge, Coach, Padfield and Mulberry.
Poor DH turns a delicate shade of green every time I say the words "new bag"!
My 'go to' bag during winter is my trusty black Mulberry Bayswater, I've had it for years, and still love it!
I have two evening bags, both Mulberry, but they've each only had one trip out in almost three years, so I think it's time to pass them on to DDiL, she has a lot more evening outings than I do!

Caleo

Have dog walk bags not been invented yet?
They have to appear NOT as fashion handbags, have a clean compartment for sunglasses, coins, mobile phone, etc., a ventilated compartment for used poo bags, another compartment for clean poo bags, a compartment for hand sanitiser and tissues, a washable lined compartment for treats, and attachments for dog water bottle and lead.

Excellent idea Caleo when are you starting production ?

Another Kipling fan here.

Cross body, good leather, plenty of pockets, no excessive shiny metal, no obvious labels.

I have always loved handbags and felt saddened recently when I looked at a page of very expensive bags in a magazine and was completely unmoved by any of them.

I like TK Maxx for bags

I don’t often carry one. If I do, it’s a very small black leather, cross body bag. More a purse really and just for credit card, hanky and keys

I have a maroon Mulberry cross body that converts to a handbag for Winter and a Tan John Lewis cross body bucket bought in a sale for summer.
Before I am accused of being profligate or showing off the Mulberry was bought by all the family for a big Birthday and I have to use it from now on.
I love handbags and always used a maroon one when Teaching with zip on the side for a whistle and car keys.
We used to live near the Mulberry outlet shop and I had a leather purse and a cross body made of synthetic material for holidays they lasted over 20 years.