How To Choose Your First Designer Handbag

Who doesn’t love treating themselves on a luxury designer handbag? This is definitely not an impulse buy item, or a purchase you will just grab while you are on the go. At least not for me. Before you take the big step and spend thousands of dollars on a purse you will either grow tired of or a designer handbag that will not give you the timeless value  you are looking for, I recommend you consider the following before splurging on your first designer handbag.

Set a Budget

This is the most important step in deciding which designer handbag you will purchase. There are so many different ranges of designer handbags out there. You can spend from $800 up to $10K+ so sticking to your budget is key. My personal opinion is that for your first designer handbag you want to stick to the lower tier of pricing. Dropping $4K on your first designer handbag to be quite frank sucks. Even if you have the savings for it,  letting go of money, especially for a handbag never gets easy. It will sting a little less if you ease yourself into it.

 Pick The brand

Setting your budget and the brand you choose go hand in hand. Some designer brands are more expensive than other ones, so automatically some designer brands will not fall under your budget. For example, if your budget is $2K, you are not going to be looking at Hermes. If you do your research you will get a feel of what brands are within your budget and which are not.

 Choose The Design

Think carefully about the style of handbag you want and choose wisely. My tip is to choose a handbag that fits your lifestyle. If you are always on the go, travel a lot and want a bag that does not weigh a ton, you would probably go for a cross-body. Don’t purchase a handbag just because it is pretty. Think if it is a practical handbag that coincides with your personal style. For example, when I chose to purchase the GG Marmont medium matelassé shoulder bag it was because I love big handbags where I can put my entire life in. A mini crossbody does not fit into my everyday lifestyle.

Will the Bag Be a Classic?

When you are choosing the design, you may also want to consider investing in a handbag that will withstand the pass of time, and will remain a classic for years. Do not buy a  luxury designer handbag because it is in trend or the design is too gimmicky for your personal style. Considering how much designer handbags cost, you want the first designer handbag you invest in to be a classic piece. When I purchased my GG Marmont medium matelassé shoulder bag, no one I knew had it. Now, it seems the GG Marmont handbags are in every blogger’s designer handbag shelf. EVERYONE has it. When demand for a bag is high that means it may pass into the classic category. Usually if a handbag is still in high demand after 3-4 seasons since its launch it means it will be a classic handbag.

Pick a Colour

Another important thing to consider when purchasing your first designer handbag is the colour. Pick a colour that suits your wardrobe and you will be able to match with your wardrobe. Also, think of the practicality of the colour. For example, if you wear jeans often, you may want to stay away from handbags that are white or beige because your jeans will rub off on your purse. I wear jeans quite often and some of the colour has rubbed off on my GG Marmont. Imagine my purse was white. Oh the horror. Also, ask yourself do you want to choose a colour that is a classic or a bag with a colour that will be your statement piece? When I chose my GG Marmont in the bubblegum colour, I wanted it to be a statement piece. I just loved the colour so much, so I wasn’t thinking if it will be a classic or not.

Think about Re-sale Value

Shocker, but you may eventually get tired of your designer handbag. If your designer handbag splurge does not end up being an item you want to have for the rest of your life, you want to ensure that when you purchase it, it will be an item that will have a great re-sale value. Some brands have a better re-sale value than others. For example, the top leading brands in re-sale value are Louis Vuitton (especially the Neverful), Chanel, Goyard, Birkin. They always seem to hold their retail value. After some research, I found that Dior and Fendi have the worst resale retention value. Although, I do think that this also depends on the design of the handbag.

Photography: Laura Clarke Photography

How did you choose your first designer handbag?

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