Sunday, September 09, 2007

The Handbag Dilemna

The Feminine Cardigan is finally blocking. Clapotis 2: The Ugly One is progressing. The skirt was constructed and is in the washer. And I've got purses on the brain.

It's been long planned that Mr. Beagle will be getting me a (grown-up*) handbag for my imminent birthday. I just have to pick it out. Ugh. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems that handbag-wise, you have your $59.99 Nine West bag and you have your $600 Coach one... but not much in between. All I'm looking for is a medium sized (it'll hold a book or magazine or a bit of knitting along with the purse stalwarts) leather shoulder bag.

My friend Christen and I braved the mall this weekend to browse. The Coach store yielded the only bag that either of us really liked. This one:

Although Chris prefers it in brown. Online I found this one:
Which I find particularly lustworthy. A little more online browsing found me these from Dooney and Bourke:



Eeee (the squeek of frustration). All these bags are lovely, but expensive. I just don't know if spending $300+ (totally blowing my birthday wad and then some) is the thing to do. Will this handbag purchase be a well-deserved investment in a durable and timeless accessory? Or is it a frivolous waste of money (which would be better spent on the aforementioned Nine West purse and a small mountain of yarn)?

*I lurve my beat up Timbuk2 bags I've been carrying for the past couple of years (I switch back and forth between this:

and this:)
But I really want something a little more classic and sophisticated.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey, don't know if I'm too late to the party (here via craftster), but I have the "lustworthy" purse in black, and it is absolutely splendid. Lots of room but not so big you lose things, and good for everything from job interviews to weekend shopping. The one thing I don't like about mine is the lack of a zip closure (I tend to knock mine over and spill things out a lot) but it looks like they added a clasp rather than a magnet in that version (mine's like 3 years old) so you're probably good.

The short version: totally worth it.