How Often Do You Change Handbags?

[lavenderjunkie]

I used to change my handbags several times a week. It helped 'justify' my need to own many colors
in many styles. And I enjoyed owning and using my collection.
But these days I'm not changing handbags more than once a week. Not only am I questioning
the need to own more handbags, but my existing collection isn't as much fun to own.

The solutions are obvious.... change handbags more often, buy fewer new ones, get rid of older ones I
no longer use. I think I can do the first 2, but I'm not ready to get rid of any more of the handbags I own.

How often do you change handbags? Are you enjoying your collection?

 

[Katiesmama]

I change into a different bag at the beginning of the week. But I have different bags I use on the weekend, primarily my Vera totes.

 

[starbucksqueen]

You saw my recent post! Sometimes I wear more than one bag in a day. I can be pretty lazy though...my Florentine foldover crossbody gets a lot of use. It's easy to grab and it's color doesn't clash with a lot of my clothing. There are a few forever bags that I will try to keep, but if i find that I am not using a bag,...bye. When I worked in a real office, I probably changed my bag every day. I kept an eye on the weather, too.

 

[RuedeNesle]

I've been carrying my strawberry Dooney Dillen every day since she arrived on 12/31/18. (With the exception of last weekend when I switched to my new "weekends in the city on buses" CBB.) (I'm in Vegas this weekend so I'm carrying my Dillen.)
Before that I carried the orange Dillen every day for 3 months. (I only switched because I wanted it in red.)
Before that I carried my Dooney Ambler every day for 6 months (with the exception of a few weeks when I tried carrying an Aimee Kestenberg CBB.)
And before that I carried my Coach Tyler tote every day for 6 months, until I decided to downsize my every day bag. (Now Tyler is my carry-on bag.)
6 months is the longest I've carried a bag without changing.

 

[lavenderjunkie]

I've been carrying my strawberry Dooney Dillen every day since she arrived on 12/31/18. (With the exception of last weekend when I switched to my new "weekends in the city on buses" CBB.) (I'm in Vegas this weekend so I'm carrying my Dillen.)
Before that I carried the orange Dillen every day for 3 months. (I only switched because I wanted it in red.)
Before that I carried my Dooney Ambler every day for 6 months (with the exception of a few weeks when I tried carrying an Aimee Kestenberg CBB.)
And before that I carried my Coach Tyler tote every day for 6 months, until I decided to downsize my every day bag. (Now Tyler is my carry-on bag.)
6 months is the longest I've carried a bag without changing.

RN: 6 months is a long time for 1 handbag. But it shows how well you chose and how much you loved them.

 

[lavenderjunkie]

You saw my recent post! Sometimes I wear more than one bag in a day. I can be pretty lazy though...my Florentine foldover crossbody gets a lot of use. It's easy to grab and it's color doesn't clash with a lot of my clothing. There are a few forever bags that I will try to keep, but if i find that I am not using a bag,...bye. When I worked in a real office, I probably changed my bag every day. I kept an eye on the weather, too.

SBQ: I was impressed when I saw your post about changing your handbag multiple times in 1 day. When I worked, I changed my handbag every night when I organized my outfit for the next day. I had far fewer handbags then. Now that I'm retired and have the time to change my handbag often, there doesn't seem to be as much reason to do it!

 

[RuedeNesle]

RN: 6 months is a long time for 1 handbag. But it shows how well you chose and how much you loved them.

Thanks LJ!
I do love the bags I buy now. I stopped buying bags just because they look cool when I see other women carrying them and thinking I can make them work for me. And even though I love other colors, I know if I'm looking for an every day bag, it has to be red.

 

[lavenderjunkie]

Thanks LJ!
I do love the bags I buy now. I stopped buying bags just because they look cool when I see other women carrying them and thinking I can make them work for me. And even though I love other colors, I know if I'm looking for an every day bag, it has to be red.

RN: I changed into a red bag this weekend. It makes me happy to look at it.

 

[netter]

About 10 minutes, and hopefully sooner, before I leave my home I decide which handbag will do for this outing. So, it could be no change for a week, or I could change handbags twice a day. There is really no system, and I don't think that I want to understand this inclination to change bags, as this is a part of the pleasure of being at play with the art I reach for, combined with function I need. With so much structure in my life my handbag habits often start out with some kind of logic behind the reason, but changing handbags from the collection is subconscious delight mixed with some functionality, although even functionality takes second place when the art makes the heart sore.

 

[starbucksqueen]

SBQ: I was impressed when I saw your post about changing your handbag multiple times in 1 day. When I worked, I changed my handbag every night when I organized my outfit for the next day. I had far fewer handbags then. Now that I'm retired and have the time to change my handbag often, there doesn't seem to be as much reason to do it!

I did the same with watches and coordinating jewelry! I've been working out of a home office for a while. My rule of thumb for weeding was the one-year rule. If I haven't used a bag in a year and didn't miss it, then it's time to go. There are exceptions: evening bags, summer bags and a few classic ones that aren't around anymore. I'don't know about "sparking joy." It was the same with watches. Sometimes I invent a reason to carry a different bag. If I go to the store for a few items, I sometimes wear a larger bag so I can put them inside. i carry my large totes for trips the the post office. I don't have a car, so larger bags come in handy. Maybe I get bored and change it out. But because I do these quick changes, I don't play matchy match with wallets. I have a nice neutral wallet which I switch from bag to bag. I tried coordinating wallets and found myself forgetting necessary ID and debit cards. I once tried to get along with three bags and it never worked. Guess they're my thing.

 

[Lilybarb]

Lately I change whenever I get tired of whatever I’m carrying, no less than a week. I do change wallets with each bag change, so it’s hardly worth the effort if I don’t carry a bag for at least a week.
I agree, now that I’m not working I have less reason to change other than I want to. When I was still working (in a very conservative field) I changed much more often, owned fewer bags, but the bags were much more conservative. I really enjoy that I can carry any style/color I want to now and truly enjoy picking and choosing which bag will be next. I’m waiting on 2 new bags now, but have got to stop until I get rid of a few as I’ve simply run out of room to store them.

 

[DBLover318]

I generally change them every day, depending on the outfit of the day (I'm a matchy-matchy person). However, there are times I get lazy and keep the same one for a few days and change into a different one for the entire weekend, vacation or business trip.
I have so many beauties that I need to give them all some love!
Wallets, however, are different. I normally use the same one for awhile. I do have a few that come with bag purchases (QVC) in which I then change the wallet since it comes with the bag. I've been in my same Coach one for weeks now.

 

[lavenderjunkie]

When I changed handbags daily, I used the same wallet and cosmetic case for 4 - 6 months before switching (usually for more seasonal colors). Now that I change handbags less often I'm inspired to coordinate my handbag accessories with the handbag color or trim. So, I end up changing the wallet/etc. once or twice a month.

I may not be using as many handbags, but I'm using more of my accessories. And of course, finding the 'need' to buy more accessories in coordinating colors. And I've noticed that now that I'm paying more attention to the accessories, I want the color of those accessories to work well with each other, with the handbag color, and with the handbag lining color. The red linings on a majority of Dooney handbags make this a challenge for me. Between the color of the lining, the color of the handbag, the color of the handbag trim, and then the color of the accessories.... it can be too many colors at one time. And matching the accessories to the lining makes them hard to find inside the handbag.

 

[RuedeNesle]

I agree, now that I’m not working I have less reason to change other than I want to. When I was still working (in a very conservative field) I changed much more often, owned fewer bags, but the bags were much more conservative.

Same here. I retired from 35+ years in banking. In 2014, when I made the decision to move to Oakland and be the Granny/Nanny, I had to gift or sell a lot of my bags for the move. Because I was used to carrying more conservative bags for work, those are mostly the bags I brought with me. I gifted or sold a lot of the bags I only used occasionally on weekends. Had I been thinking, I would have realized those are the bags that would now fit my lifestyle better than the work bags I carried. I spent a lot of time on ebay my first two years here buying bags I sold or gifted because I really did love them and now they fit my casual lifestyle. (Except some styles were so old my new phone outgrew the older, small slip pockets. )

 

[BadWolf10]

I used to change my handbags several times a week. It helped 'justify' my need to own many colors
in many styles. And I enjoyed owning and using my collection.
But these days I'm not changing handbags more than once a week. Not only am I questioning
the need to own more handbags, but my existing collection isn't as much fun to own.

The solutions are obvious.... change handbags more often, buy fewer new ones, get rid of older ones I
no longer use. I think I can do the first 2, but I'm not ready to get rid of any more of the handbags I own.

How often do you change handbags? Are you enjoying your collection?

I love this post. I have purchased a few new bags recently and I was reminded of how big my collection is. I think I need to stop buying for a while. I usually change bags every few weeks unless I have a special occasion or vacation coming up, as I would use specific bags for those. I used to change every 2 months or so, and make sure that my bag was current with the season, but now in order to use all my bags I change every few weeks. I will sometimes change wallets as well, depending on the bag. I do tend to gravitate toward specific bags on a regular basis which makes me question if I really love those bags I hardly use.