Help me choose my new handbag?

I have been diligently accumulating my Nordstrom Notes (part of their rewards program) for the singular purpose of adding to my handbag collection. My budget is $250 or below. I have 3 that are in regular rotation (top row) and 3 that get pulled out occasionally (bottom row). It needs to be fairly good-sized (1-3 are good for reference) because it needs to go to work with me.

I'm going back and forth between a color: red/olive green/peacock or a cognac. Cognac would be perfect with my new oxfords (not shown here) and my leather jacket and Fluevog boots (in #2). But a burgandy or oxblood would be awesome with my new Donald Pliner boots. I've also been really loving the teal/peacock colors.

A few that have caught my eye:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/el.....n=wishlist (in olive or teal)
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/st.....n=wishlist (added benefit of being well under my budget and allowing for some extra shopping)
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/te.....n=wishlist
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/st.....n=wishlist
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/br.....ltback=462
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/lo.....n=wishlist (in wine)
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/t-.....n=wishlist (a bit over my budget, but still doable)

I have to post and run, but would love to hear your thoughts! (and any other suggestions, though it does have to be Nordstrom/Nordstrom Rack).

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13 years ago

Traci

Veteran

I really love the Brahmin.

Vicki

(website)

Christy, Looking quickly here, but liking the Elliott Lucca bag in Teal Exotic and also like the Brahmin a great deal, too. I love both of your new shoes! The Fluevogs are little works of art!

Anonymous

Ah, bags are so personal it is hard to say but for me #1 is the best, followed by #2. I actually like #2 a lot since the bag looks so relaxed, so it's a nice justapoxition to your more corporate outfits. I actually mismatch the formality levels of my accessories vs. clothing on purpose.

Suz

I'm no help. I like them all!!

Parsley

So many pretty choices!

In looking over what you currently have, my first inclination was that you need something red. I've been amazed at how well a red bag goes with everything and gives a nice punch to an outfit.

So, my favorite one for you of your selections is the Tahari red one. Yes, of course, it would be the most expensive one. (sorry!) But I think the structure of it would go well with your style, and add some variety since already have a lot of slouchier, more unstructured bags.
I'm crazy about that rich, gorgeous color, too.

The Steve Madden one is nice, but I really think that you should hold out for real leather.

deb

I like the Elloitt Lucca but wonder if it is big enough for you. My second choice is the Brahmin.

jennifer

Looking at your favorite bag pics and posted outfits it seems like you prefer more cooler colors (grays,blacks,navy,white, blue-er red boots,cool lime,and purple) vs warmer colors with more of a yellow base like the leather jacket.
I like both the Elliot Lucca colors Olive and Teal
I love the Steven red Snake bag and think it would work well with the boots,and with some of the outfits pictured very easily.
I didn't care for the Ted Baker bags -the red was very bright and doesn't seem in line with your stated goal of the tan,teal or oxblood choices.
The Steve Madden Venice was very pretty especially in the Cilantro -on my monitor it looks like a blueish-emerald green -very nice for the fall/winter season.I once had a deep green bag and LOVED it .It went with a lot more than I initially thought it would.
The Paprika color looked a bit bright .
The Bramin is nice -but for the price I think it should be 100% LOVE IT .Not a like/okay.
The London Fog seems a bit brownish-it would go with the jacket and the navy suit ...do you have any shoes/boots to match/coordinate?
The Tahari looks too orangey-red to go well with the boots in the oxblood color.
Overall I think I like the Venice in Cilantro,the red Snake,and the Elliot Lucca Cordoba in both colors.

harmonica

I'm no bag expert, but Elliot and Brahmin are both gorgeous and would both be versatile

sarah

I like 1, 2, 4, and 5! I LOVE the idea of getting some red or teal into your wardrobe to go with all of your black and white/cream. And teal would be awesome, too.

celia

They are all beautiful but I keep going back to the first one. And the teal would go well with the red boots.
But I agree that a bag is a very personal thing, so I say follow your heart.

Ariadne

#1 in teal is my absolute favourite.

Jaime

I am so much more a shoe person than a bag person that my first reaction to this post was show me the oxfords! But I can appreciate bags also - I like the Brahmin one.

qfbrenda

I like them all except for #2 because it's not leather and #3 because it's too shiny for my taste. Definitely follow your heart!

DonnaF

I really like the Elliott Lucca and the Brahmin bags, but it can be difficult to assess bags w/o seeing them IRL. The Baker bag struck me as an outlier, and I'm not sure that I would want to spend $235 for PFC. I wonder how the straps of the first Madden bag and the London Fog bag would hold up. I also noticed that the second Madden bag had a much more casual vibe; the others struck me as more structured and ladylike. You mentioned that your bag would be going to work, but not whether you envision using it on weekends or otherwise outside that world. You have identified some great bags!

Deborah

My preference for you would be

#1 in teal
#3 in red
and the London Fog but I am not sure of the colors.

April

Christy, I'm a fan of structured bags because the bigger and looser they are, the more it becomes impossible to find anything within. I love the first one the most, in either color, but I have a question -- have you seen it in person so you can see the color and tone of the hardware?

(I find it incredibly frustrating when retailers don't include the color of the hardware in the written description -- it's just not always possible to tell the color of a metal in a photograph on a computer monitor.)

My complaint is that gold hardware on bags can very easily look brassy and cheap. I don't know why this is, but somehow it's easier to make silver-tone hardware look good.

shiny

The red Steve Madden or Ted Baker. That shade of red would go with every outfit you posted. It would also go with both booties. Really, you can't go wrong with red. Personally I adore the super shiny patent ... but either works.

The Brahmin is also quite lovely but how much wear do you get out of your purple bag? That's the question I would ask yourself. You'll get just as much wear out of the peacock. I'm guessing you will get a lot more wear out of the red: it can stand in with any outfit you currently wear the white or black or animal print bag. That's my guess... I only just added a red bag to my own collection!

christy

Thanks everyone! I just realized that I never even *looked* at a cognac bag, so I guess that answers my question about that! I think I'm going to focus on finding a red bag first. It's such a classic color and will work with just about everything I own. If I'm lucky (I'm going to hit the Rack and see what I can find on sale) maybe I can find a great price and end up with red and teal!

Thanks for all the great feedback.

Christy, I came back to see the latest developments LOL. I see Brenda noticed #2 is not leather. Uhh... That's a deal breaker for me. I think you should look into that color. however.
I'm sticking with #1 then.

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