Current Good Quality Fair Price but Little Known Recommendation Thread
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Absolutely stunning!I absolutely love ostrich! All of Karoo Classics’ handbags are made in South Africa of farmed ostrich leather. I ordered this little Kelly-style bag earlier this month - it finally arrived from Stellenbosch today! The interior is leather-lined with multiple pockets. I think it’s so pretty!
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I am so glad I found this thread because it's so helpful to hear from others who have purchased from brands I've only ever seen online so thanks for all of your comments! I wanted to share a few brands I didn't see on this thread and some experiences I've had for consideration:
- Aeta: This is a Japanese brand that I discovered at a local home goods store. I have two leather bags (photos attached) and the quality is incredible and I absolutely love each of them. Lots of cool shapes too, but only silver hardware as far as I can tell.
- Tsatsas: I purchased their 931 a couple years ago and I ended up returning it because it didn't meet my needs at the time, but it's on my list to purchase again in the future when budget allows. I can't attest to wear and tear but it is a beautiful bag. Leather was really nice, soft, and rich in color. I just saw this bag by them when I was searching for this post and now I'm newly obsessed!
- APC: I just purchased the Grace Mini bag from Ssense (on sale) in a lavender lizard embossed leather and I am in love. I just got it so haven't used it yet, but I found the embossed leather to be more pliable than their regular smooth leather (I ordered the Grace Small in the regular leather and returned it bc it was too stiff). I will say the Mini is very small, will probably hold even less than my Celine Pico Belt but I just loved her so much that I kept her as a bday gift to myself. Quality looks top notch.
- Hereu: Like many others here, I've drooled over their bags and shoes for a while. I ordered their Tresa pouch on sale last month and there was some yellow adhesive visible where the handle connects to the pouches so I reached out to them to request a refund. I had a great experience with their customer service, and they refunded me not only the item cost but also shipping for a final sale item so that was amazing. However, based on the item I received, I will not be re-ordering. Also the leather feel was not as soft as I wanted. IMHO they're a tad bit overpriced.
- Vintage: I have been obsessed with vintage bags for the past year or so, and wanted to share some of the lesser known designers/brands that I've found and loved (shout out to @papertiger for recommending some of these to me on another thread): Martin van Schaak, Koret, Charles Jourdan, Antonio Scepi, Dofan
Anyone have experience with Vasic or Porto?
- Aeta: This is a Japanese brand that I discovered at a local home goods store. I have two leather bags (photos attached) and the quality is incredible and I absolutely love each of them. Lots of cool shapes too, but only silver hardware as far as I can tell.
- Tsatsas: I purchased their 931 a couple years ago and I ended up returning it because it didn't meet my needs at the time, but it's on my list to purchase again in the future when budget allows. I can't attest to wear and tear but it is a beautiful bag. Leather was really nice, soft, and rich in color. I just saw this bag by them when I was searching for this post and now I'm newly obsessed!
- APC: I just purchased the Grace Mini bag from Ssense (on sale) in a lavender lizard embossed leather and I am in love. I just got it so haven't used it yet, but I found the embossed leather to be more pliable than their regular smooth leather (I ordered the Grace Small in the regular leather and returned it bc it was too stiff). I will say the Mini is very small, will probably hold even less than my Celine Pico Belt but I just loved her so much that I kept her as a bday gift to myself. Quality looks top notch.
- Hereu: Like many others here, I've drooled over their bags and shoes for a while. I ordered their Tresa pouch on sale last month and there was some yellow adhesive visible where the handle connects to the pouches so I reached out to them to request a refund. I had a great experience with their customer service, and they refunded me not only the item cost but also shipping for a final sale item so that was amazing. However, based on the item I received, I will not be re-ordering. Also the leather feel was not as soft as I wanted. IMHO they're a tad bit overpriced.
- Vintage: I have been obsessed with vintage bags for the past year or so, and wanted to share some of the lesser known designers/brands that I've found and loved (shout out to @papertiger for recommending some of these to me on another thread): Martin van Schaak, Koret, Charles Jourdan, Antonio Scepi, Dofan
Anyone have experience with Vasic or Porto?
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I managed to buy one bag directly from Italy around 16-17 years ago. I got a bag with chipped hardware. It took a lot of struggles to ship it back at whooping 90 dollars at 2006-2007. I think it was called Pierotucci. The claims this company made were so wonderful. I learned it is hard to ship it back to Italy, it cost a lot unless it is American company and it is not worth any hassles.
It is gorgeous. Admittedly I am careful with my bags but the durability is solid. The leather and the construction are truly top notch. Enough so that I purchased another bag!
I’m curious about exploring more contemporary brands such as Songmont (interested in their large Reset Tofu bag in white), Cafune (Stance bag in black), Strathberry, and Demellier. Now that I have enough high-end luxury bags, I want some more affordable brands I can use and abuse on a daily basis. Does anyone have the Songmont or Cafune bags? Curious how they wear.
I had the Songmont Luna for awhile and I love it! Leather is smooshy and although not as super luscious as something from Loewe, it still felt very nice especially for the pricepoint. Hardware feels really solid and much better IMO than any Coach bag I've owned in the past. I've been toting it around mostly as crossbody and so far, it held up really well.
They also recently released the Icon collection which use more premium leather, been looking into getting one from that line.
I definitely wanted to provide an update since I recommended the brand to you all - I reached for the handle and the metal piece attaching the strap to the bag broke (please see photo below)... I reached out to them twice to see about repairs but have yet to receive a response.
Doing an unboxing of my new Daniella Ortiz that I had sent to me from Palm Beach. I was doing a Worth Ave Historic Tour last Wednesday and stopped in her boutique after the tour and fell in love with the Gigi in Hunter Green. The sales associate (Shannon) said I wouldn't get charged sales tax if they ship from the store and I got to use a 15% off promo code.The dust bag is substantial like a fleece blanket!! It's very roomy for a small bag!! This will be a small memento from my trip! 
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what a gorgeous bag! I love the stitching on the handles, contrasting seams, and color.Doing an unboxing of my new Daniella Ortiz that I had sent to me from Palm Beach. I was doing a Worth Ave Historic Tour last Wednesday and stopped in her boutique after the tour and fell in love with the Gigi in Hunter Green. The sales associate (Shannon) said I wouldn't get charged sales tax if they ship from the store and I got to use a 15% off promo code.The dust bag is substantial like a fleece blanket!! It's very roomy for a small bag!! This will be a small memento from my trip! View attachment 5945295View attachment 5945296View attachment 5945297View attachment 5945298View attachment 5945299View attachment 5945303View attachment 5945306View attachment 5945307View attachment 5945308
Thank you! I love the contrast stitching too. Some of the colors didn't have that.
Enjoy your new bag!Doing an unboxing of my new Daniella Ortiz that I had sent to me from Palm Beach. I was doing a Worth Ave Historic Tour last Wednesday and stopped in her boutique after the tour and fell in love with the Gigi in Hunter Green. The sales associate (Shannon) said I wouldn't get charged sales tax if they ship from the store and I got to use a 15% off promo code.The dust bag is substantial like a fleece blanket!! It's very roomy for a small bag!! This will be a small memento from my trip! View attachment 5945295View attachment 5945296View attachment 5945297View attachment 5945298View attachment 5945299View attachment 5945303View attachment 5945306View attachment 5945307View attachment 5945308
Love it! Very cute bagDoing an unboxing of my new Daniella Ortiz that I had sent to me from Palm Beach. I was doing a Worth Ave Historic Tour last Wednesday and stopped in her boutique after the tour and fell in love with the Gigi in Hunter Green. The sales associate (Shannon) said I wouldn't get charged sales tax if they ship from the store and I got to use a 15% off promo code.The dust bag is substantial like a fleece blanket!! It's very roomy for a small bag!! This will be a small memento from my trip! View attachment 5945295View attachment 5945296View attachment 5945297View attachment 5945298View attachment 5945299View attachment 5945303View attachment 5945306View attachment 5945307View attachment 5945308
