$600 - $799

Ever see a handbag and immediately think, “GAH THEY WERE SO CLOSE!” in regard to the general design and finishing of the bag? That’s what I thought when I saw the Rock & Republic Nivalla Tote. They. Were. So. Close. They almost had a great bag, and now they have a kind of mediocre one. So, what COULD have made it great? Well, I’d start with the overall feel – it needs to be slouchier. I want the leather to look like it came from an old, worn-in motorcycle jacket; thick, distressed, super slouchy. The top handle looks cheap and tacked-on, as does the top trim.

A thick, soft piece of leather would do, it would be even better with some chain or stud embellishments. Speaking of embellishments – the studs need to be bigger. I want oversized. OR they need to be closer together. That’s up to the fine folks at Rock & Republic to decide. I love it when designers go industrial, but they didn’t quite hit it out of the park for me on this one. There is room for improvement, though, should they choose to try harder next time. Buy through REVOLVE for $761.

I’m kind of ok with the Jerome Dreyfuss Toile Billy Bag in a hippie, clove-smoking, poncho-wearing, scraggly-hair-having sort of way. Does it go with my personal style? Not a bit. But maybe that doesn’t mean it’s bad, you know? I could see it with some dark jeans and, I dunno, whatever kind of top hippies would wear with it. Maybe Mischa Barton would wear it. And, presumably, some kind of headband.

Ok, so enough of that. I’m trying to be nice here, but I can’t help but kind of roll my eyes. It looks like upholstery, and not awesome upholstery. It kind of looks like this couch my parents had back in the 80s when I was a little kid that they eventually had to get rid of because I puked on it so many times. Hey, don’t judge, I was just a baby. I can’t say I could really recommend this bag though, but if you smoke a lot of illegal substances, it’ll probably match your style and be a good place to hide your stash. And let’s not even talk about the unreasonable price… $750 through ShopBop.

I have all sorts of feelings about the Bulga Panache Convertible Bag, so stick with me here for a second. My first feeling is that the leather flaps are too long and make it look sloppy. I can imagine them just flopping all over the place and making noise and getting annoying. This bag may have been more successful, were it shorter. My next thought is that maybe it’s just fine how it is. I love that it’s entirely thick, black leather – there’s me and the love of industrial things again – and that it’s a little messy and unfinished. Ok, so it’s a lot messy.

But I could see an Olsen Twin carrying it. Or at least Vanessa Hudgens. With the right sort of hipster-y, slouchy, edgy outfit, this could be the perfect bag. And then part of me thinks “Hmmm, where have I seen this, or something like this, before?” And the answer to that question is the YSL St. Tropez Tote. And it’s YSL (and not only YSL, but Tom Ford-era YSL!), so of course it was executed flawlessly. It’s a pretty decent poor-man’s alternative, though, if it’s your style. Buy through ShopBop for $795.

Sometimes I see a bag and it takes me forever to figure out what it reminds me of. Is it another bag? An inanimate object? Someone I know? It can be hard to put your finger on it when you see so many bags every day. I knew what the CC Sky Mimi Bag looked like as soon as I saw it, though: the Miu Miu Bow Bag. The handle structure is similar, and most strikingly, the way that the zipper closure folds forward to create a more streamlined satchel shape.

The CC Skye version doesn’t have the bows, obviously, and I think it’s a very attractive bag in its own right. The leather looks matte and thick, and I was undecided about the whip-stitching at first, but it’s grown on me as I look at the bag. It’s a bit of a handmade effect without making the bag look like a craft project, which is a line that’s exceptionally hard to walk. I’m still a bit put off by its structural similarities to the Bow Bag, particularly since that’s a purse that’s been very popular, but the price of this one is making me look the other way, comparatively. Buy through Singer22 for $625.

Ever since the Butterfly Tote came out (2005, was it? Maybe 2006), it seems like Bulga has been having a bit of a hard time finding their way. We’ve seen some missteps from them – tie-dyed bags, badly proportioned bags…I’m sure you guys know the purses to which I’m referring. I think they made a good decision this year by getting back to their roots and re-releasing the Butterfly Tote, and now I think they’ve made another good decision – the Bulga Mini Marquis Tote. I’m not saying I love the bag – I don’t.

Something about the handles is vaguely wrong to me, and I wish it was less domed at the top. Also, I don’t understand why it’s called “mini” when it’s 18 inches wide – I’d hate to see the non-mini one. But overall, this is a NICE bag. It’s a nice color, and it looks pretty functional, and there’s nothing on it that makes me think of the male anatomy, as one Bulga bag did not too long ago. As a brand, they generally use really nice leather and I like to see them going forward in their design evolution. Hopefully things continue to improve in the future. Buy through ShopBop for $775.

You know what’s really hard to do? Make a black leather clutch interesting in any way. Most of us, particularly those of us that make regular use of clutches, have seen a million and a half of them in our lives, owned a bunch of them, and are assaulted by another couple of dozen every time we enter a department store’s handbag section. They’re somewhat of a wardrobe essential for a girl with a social life, but finding one that isn’t totally “blah” can be, at times, a challenge. Which is why I like the Vanessa Bruno Fringe Pouchette. It DOES remind me a bit of the Katherine Kwei bags that we covered about a year ago, and maybe it reminds me of them a little TOO much, but I’m willing to overlook it.

It’s so hard to find a black clutch that isn’t just like every other black clutch I’ve ever seen that I’m willing to live with it if it just looks like one other bag. The Fringe Pouchette has an optional shoulder strap (which I love on clutches but hate on basically every other bag, ever) and also a cutout handle, plus the cute fringe detail covering the body if the bag. I’d definitely choose this over one of the zillions of flat black envelope clutches I see. Buy through ShopBop for $640.

Ugh. I kinda don’t like this bag. I kinda really don’t like it. The Ginette Etc. Bogotta Bag just seems a bit…unfinished. It looks like a Rebecca Minkoff Morning After Bag halfway through the manufacturing process. Normally, I’m a big fan of rough details and bags that keep things simple in order to put their leather on display, but something about this is rubbing me the wrong way. Part of it is the flaps at the top…they’re just kind of there. They don’t lay all the way down, and they’re pointy and awkward. I’d never use the shoulder strap, as is my way, so their existence is a waste in its entirety to me.

Another part of my irritation seems to be coming from the handles. They look like they might be a little too, uh, flexible. If that makes any sense. Like they might not have any kind of firm support built in to them to keep them from wearing quickly. I’ve heard of other brands having similar problems with their top-handle bags because there was nothing stiff sewn into the inside, and these handles look like they could potentially be a little floppy and wear out a little quickly. And then there’s the color. It’s just sort of…puke brown. And that’s all I’ll say about that. Buy through ShopBop for $670.

The more I see from Loeffler Randall’s spring collection, the more I think I need to start paying more attention to the brand. We’ve already spoken about them this week, and when I saw the Loeffler Randall Juliet Large Bag pop up on ShopBop today, I knew we’d have to speak about them again. What Loeffler Randall seems to do really well is make a classic-looking bag for a reasonable price, and I’m all about that. There’s no fussiness, there’s no pretension, there’s just a really nice handbag. I greatly prefer crisp white to off-white for spring and summer, and I like that they managed to make a quilted flap bag, which would normally have a lot of structure, look a bit loose and casual. The strap looks like its the perfect length, and if you’d rather carry it as a slightly oversized clutch, then you can detach it and carry it as you like. Loeffler Randall seems to have a great ability to edit themselves – their bags are simple, but not boring, and never overdone. I look forward to seeing more very soon. Buy through ShopBop for $625.

So I’m not too familiar with this Lockheart brand, but their Giselle Foldover Bag looks so versatile that it’s got me interested. Normally, I don’t like extra straps. I’m of the mind that a bag should be designed to be carried in one way, and if you can’t stick to a way, then the designer has not been effective in finishing the design. For some reason, this bag is keeping my interest, though. From what I can see, it can be carried in three ways – by its top handles, as a hobo, or as a crossbody bag. I like the zipper details, but something about it might be a bit masculine for me. The leather looks nice, but…is anyone else seeing a laptop briefcase with some fashionable details?

If you’re a professional woman and that’s exactly what you need, then this would probably be a great bag for you to still be stylish but subtle at work. As an everyday bag for a woman that doesn’t need to schlep a laptop or a lot of files, I’m not sure this is the direction that I would advise you to go in. It’s not terrible, and maybe I’m not judging it in the right mindframe, but I’m not on board. I’m interested to see more, though, because although this bag isn’t my style, I think it’s well-executed for what it is. Buy through Saks for $625.

You know what I always think of when I hear the word “jitney?” I think of the episode of Sex and the City where they all ride out to the Hamptons on the jitney and Charlotte meets a guy in his 20s, lies about her age, and he gives her crabs. And not the friendly, dipped-in-butter type of crabs. No no, the other kind. The itchy, ointment-requiring kind. But I’m not going to let the fact that I associate the word with euphemistic sexually transmitted diseases cloud my opinion of the Foley + Corinna Jitney Tote. A jitney is, in general terms, just a bus or other vehicle that has a regular route and makes stops, which would indicate to me that this tote is supposed to be used for travel. I’ll worry later about the wisdom of using a mostly-white bag as a carry-on; for now, I just really like it.

It has a vintage luggage look to it, and I like the black and white bicolor. It looks like it would easily hold some magazines or books for travel entertainment, plus your regular essentials, and it gives you two ways to carry it. A classy-looking travel bag can be exceedingly hard to find since so many either aren’t made of leather or have odd patterns to them, and finding a nice leather one will usually set you back in excess of a thousand dollars. This one, though, can be had for a cool $600 through Saks.