How much would you pay for a handbag?

I don't have any high end bags, although I appreciate a good leather bag. I usually have one main bag for summer and winter, and then a small cross body for walking or holidays.

My bag now is a Kate Spade satchel that I got in a sale a few years ago, with conversion under 100 GBP. It should last for at least 10 years. I am looking for a replacement for my summer bag, which is raffia with leather bottom and straps.

I have two handbags, an everyday one and a clutch for an ‘occasion’. Both are over 25 years old. The everyday one was leather, bought in Ubrique in Spain, (a centre for leather). It was about £20. I do need a new one as it is starting to look its age. The only thing I insist on in a bag is that it must have a zip fastening, (the open top ones seem an invitation to pickpockets, and an inside zipped pocket for my credit card wallet.

Waiting for my sister to bring me one back from her foreign hols it’s designer or so I think😂! Radley for me around£100 that’s what I pay.

Well did treat myself to a Radley special one off bag when I finished my chemo. Boy did I deserve that bag and paid £160 for it and still going strong.

i dont think i have bought a new bag for years. I love Cath Kidston bags but I would never pay full price got a lovely spotted wipe clean one only £4 car boot.
for my daughters graduation a very unusual same make bag its a shaped small bag with a lovely rich velvet floral covering with hand or shoulder strap its gorgeous from Vinted for £6 unused! one lady liked it so much she stood stroking it! i now use it most the time
brown leather cross bag a quid car boot etc you can get bargains but i always say check carefully esp inside for pen marks etc

The most I've ever paid for a handbag was Party Cats cross-over bag from The Cat Gallery In York for....£77.00 I think it was and I also at the same time bought the matching purse for £65.00 I think but all others over the years have been £20.00 or less and sometimes about £3.00 from charity shops!

I have a weakness for bags and I do have rather a lot of them.
My current one is a cross body black leather one in The White Stuff Sale. Reduced from £59.95 to £29.95.

I alternate between summer and winter bags.
Some cross body and some with handles and straps.
Always on the lookout in charity shops also for bargains.

I do like a Mulberry and have bought four over several years when I was working and had a good job. My summer bag is a Michael Kors and I’ve recently discovered Roka, I love the bright colours and use my rucksack a lot when travelling.

I love shoes, handbags and sunglasses. Due to a medical condition I can no longer wear heels, so gave away most of them. I have several Bradley bags, but since discovering the beautiful handbags being sold in Lake Garda I bought several, which more unusual than the bags on sale in the U.K. I’ve been stopped on several occasions by strangers asking where I bought these bags. But my biggest spend is on sunglasses I have several designer brands some bought in sales and others my DH has paid the full price, as he knew I’d love them

I paid £2 today for a brand new bag in a charity shop. I buy all my bags there and give them back when I am bored with them.

I have a Mulberry bag from their outlet store some time ago, it cost about £400. I used it all the time for a while. I have 2 quite nice Radley bags I use in the summer & a beautiful Osprey my husband bought me a few Christmases ago. It's very heavy . I'm currently using a very lightweight pewter coloured one with "leather" straps, it's fits a lot of stuff in. I love it ...£12. Job done!

£35 is the most I've ever paid for one that was a couple of years ago

Claremont

Claremont

and a lot of them made with cruelly farmed crocodiles, sadly.

BTW I have a vintage real wild crocodile handbag, silk lined, from my grandmother, from the 30s I guess. Wonder how much it is worth. If I can sell it for a good sum, would be happy to donate to the WWF.

Thanks for all the contributions, it makes for interesting reading.

Re the above- can anyone recommend a top quality vintage bag site where I could get the above valued and sold for the best price.

Money will be given to WWF- I would not wish to profit from such a disgusting trade. However, I imagine crocodiles in the 30s where not inhumanely farmed, but wild caught and killed.

I went to a crocodile farm once. The crocs seemed perfectly happy but obviously did not know their fate.
I thought it was a rescue place until I was informed otherwise.

I have seen some very beautiful designer bags at very beautiful prices (!), but being a frequent traveller on the tube in London and on the petite side I would be afraid to carry a designer bag with me.

I have a friend who has several Michael Kors bags that she sticks prominently next to her so that everyone can see she has a designer bag. My sister does the same with her Prada bags.

I have some very nice non-designer leather handbags that I use when going out in the evening but mainly stick with small backpacks day-to-day.

Each to their own.

I own a couple of Mulberry bags bought in a Harrods sale some years ago. They were 300 in the sale so obviously more expensive normally. They are wonderful bags, so well made and the softest leather. Definitely one of my better choices.

I have 5 Bridge leather handbags, all brown. The one I use mostly is like a large purse which I wear as a crossbody. I buy and occasionally sell these bags on eBay and have never paid more than £50. I also have a small black lacy bags which cost about £15 in M&S maybe 20 years ago.

None of these names of handbags mean a thing to me.
Apart from Radley - I know they feature a dog.

I find that strange, too.

I did once watch posh pawn or something, and there was a woman on there with a collection of bags, bought for her by some of the richest men, over the years.

All wrapped up in tissue, they were, and people wore white gloves before touching them

Thankfully I'm not bothered or even impressed by expensive accessories. So it's not something I would ever spend much money on.

I have a small selection of bags. My favourite two were made by my very clever DDil. They have been made with zip pockets the size I wanted so are very useful. If I'm out and about I use a small rucksack and my pockets mostly. I always used rucksack type bags even way back when they were baby changing bags.

I do have a few small handbags which match shoes. All originally bought as part of mother of the bride/groom outfits. I wouldn't have spent more than £50 max on the handbags. They do get used on the rare occasion I need to dress up.

As little as possible!!!

I really don't understand the obsession with designer handbags, nor shoes for that matter. Bags are just a receptacle to carry things in. I always use a backpack for convenience as I use a walking aid, and I also have a stoma so I find crossbody bag irritates it. The only requirement for shoes is that they fit and are comfortable.

I was with a very wealthy friend who frequently shopped in Harrods.

She bought a handbag for her daughter’s birthday, can’t recall the make, but it was about £800! This was a few years ago.

Couldn’t believe it. Am sure she had many others (bags).

To me, a handbag is just that, a handbag, something to carry your purse and ‘stuff’ in.

No idea of makes or fashions.

I love handbags and have several Radleys, Tulas and Ennys. Plus many more. I did however draw the line at a brand new Mulberry after my friend got one for her 50th at a cost of over £1200 (and bought in the Emirates). But… I did sell loads of stuff on Vinted and bought a second hand Mulberry for £100. It is beautiful - think soft leather hobo style rather than Alexa - and it been my main bag for the last couple of years.

As much as I could afford, I can't so I don't. My daughters do though, worked hard earn good money, good luck to anyone who does.

I like Ness tartan handbags and Radley, but l don't like the price, so I tend to buy them on Ebay or Vinted, either new or nearly new.

Georgesgran

It’s good job we aren’t all alike M0nica. My bags are as much a part of me, as my clothes, not just an accessory.
I’m afraid (being shallow?), I do notice other people’s bags and often think they say something about the owner - a bit like shiny shoes used to.

I notice bags too, but actually I think shiny shoes do still say more, because they show the world that you look after yourself, regardless of how much money you have.
With handbags I’m fickle, I’ve got a few expensive ones, bought years ago, but I don’t use them now because since I retired I prefer a much smaller and lighter bag, as I need to carry less with me. My current favourite is a tan Barbour saddlebag style which is cross body with an adjustable strap to make it a shoulder bag, but I regularly change them round.