BAF Weekly IT List from top left: Mary Janes / Dior holiday top coat / Hermes fall nail polish / Chanel fall nail polish / grey sweater / caramel top handle bag / fall lipstick / golden hoop earrings / black studded bucket tote / boots / suede shoulder bag / suede and leather bucket bag /

So many beautiful, anonymous investment handbags below $1000! Love this! If you are a handbag fan like me, then you must be enjoying this era in handbag style. The anonymous handbag, sans loud logos, is reigning supreme. It’s a beautiful thing.

Several years ago, we found ourselves spending $3000+ on one handbag with a loud logo. It would have been an “IT” bag with a shelf life. This was not a sustainable time in fashion. To add salt to the wound, as prices rose, quality declined. There is nothing worse than to have the strap snap and break on an expensive designer handbag-while you are walking down the street. Yes, that happened to me. The bag was one month old. I started looking at my older bags with their superior construction and materials, then I began comparing them to my newer bags. Something was off. Very off.

The newer bags, which cost twice as much, had thinner leather, loose stitching, loose hardware, and more. I looked at my older bags from ten to twenty years ago and I could see why I loved designer bags. The leather was top notch, the construction was impeccable. These bags could possibly last through a nuclear war; well maybe not the lambskin bags, but I digress. . .

Fast forward to the past few years and I am not the only one finding this disappointment. We have all started to gravitate towards the anonymous handbag. It isn’t just quality, some designer houses have been accused of, shall we say, odd activities? There are some designers we don’t want to advertise anymore. On that note. . .

Bags from emerging designers, modern designers, and popular brands started to attract my eye, as well as yours. We are all flocking back to Coach, discovering and falling in love with designers such as Toteme, and finding thick, fabulous leather in bags under $200 from brands such as Madewell. Yes! Madewell! I am in love!

As we enjoy this golden era in handbags, let’s enjoy the lower prices, higher quality, and beautiful styles anonymously. I hope it never ends.

Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned for more fall coverage and the start of holiday coverage this month.

XOXO

Cathy