What is your designer bag history/development?

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#76
Since I was a teenager, my family owned a few handbag shops in my country. All were from China so I just use them - "no name" bag. It was so easy, just pick up one from our warehouse :D. I didn't care much about handbag until I graduated university. My first designer handbag is LV neverfull which my boyfriend (at that time) gave me. It was end of 2010 and I carried it continuously for 2 years. I enjoyed it so much and it is hard to come back no name bag. After that, within 16 months (Dec 2012 - March 2014) I bought Louis Vuitton speedy & wallet, Ferragamo sofia, Mulberry bayswater and alexa, Givenchy antigona, pre-owned Chanel medallion, Longchamp le pliage, 1 Kate Spade, 3 Coach bags and 1 Coach wallet. My mom never know the exact price of my handbags but she always complaints why I don't just take one from her shops.

I can afford them with my current business but honestly, I think I was crazy for last one year. May be I should stop buying anything for a while.
 
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#77
pre-2008 - i bought and wore those cheap non-leather bags that you can get from the fashion boutiques, e.g., Mango, Marks & Spencer, Zara, Laura Ashley, etc.
2008 - got my first Dolce & Gabbana satchel, really like the style and the leather is divine!
2009 - bought my first batch of leather goods from Prada, in love with their products in saffiano leather and tessuto nylon.
2012 - Vera Bradley and Cath Kidston, attracted to the country feel.
2012 - my first Burberry, the house check and bridle is so pretty.
2013 - discovered Rebecca Minkoff and got addicted to her styles and older bags.
2013 - my first Celine (vintage), the leather is divine!
2013 - my first Etro (vintage), great style.
2014 - now, over 50 bags in my collection, seriously on a bag ban. :smash:
 
#78
In grade school in the early 80's preppy heyday, it was all about monogrammed fabric bags.

In high school, I just remember a Liz Claiborne satchel that I wore out.

I don't remember what I carried in college.

In my twenties, industrial-looking bags, then Nine West when I became a store manager for them.

In my thirties, VB and Fossil.

In my forties, I am Coach-obsessed.
 
#79
My first bag was a Loewe canvas crossbody. I must have been around 15 and I got it as "payment" for giving private tuition to a school girl.
My following bags were also Loewe's: presents from my mother. I remember in college being mad at her for giving me for my birthday a bucket bag in Amazone-like mustard suede and brown leather. I thought it was so conventional and boring... wished I knew where that bag is now!
In the 80s there was this time when it was not really cool carrying bags. I then graduated to crap stuff found in street markets and second hand shops, ranging from a white PVC shiny white mini back pack, to old 70s suede satchels and a 20s velvet evening pouch. Around this time I inherit my mom's battered Speedy, which I wore "ironically" with black and DMs.
In my mid-twenties I am living in Italy and going through a phase of whimsical, artsy one-of-a-kind bags, from metallic mesh pouches to a pink suede one in the shape of a pig. But I also buy a patent leather Prada bag in an outlet, and discounted Gucci totes.
In the second half of the 90s it is Prada, Miu Miu, Gucci, Jil Sander.
Then comes Balenciaga. I was a fan of the Day, and I am still into their clutches but generally over the Moto bags.
Then a variety of bags, not being faithful to one brand: Chloe, YSL, Celine, Jerome Dreyfuss... And some vintage finds: Gucci, Courreges, LV, Hermes...
I am now considering a Loewe, so I guess I have come full circle :p.
 
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#80
Once upon a time, I bought 1 bag. And its matching wallet.
Then squealy-wheeled my crazy path through days.
Until poor bag died.
Then donated both items. And chose another bag/wallet. Repeat.

This month, received new hermes bag as gift.
Because new mulberry designs/leathers are rubbish, imo.
But man in my life still misses his days of free cappuccinos & boutique bayswater chatter.
As do I.

Own 12 bags.
Everything from quirky unknowns to posh-snot.
Also fond of ethical sourced materials/labor brands.
However, I still squealy-wheel crazy through days.
And donate what dies/isn't working.

Learned a lot more about waterproofing leather.
And, every once in awhile, use a bag hook.
So my bags live more than 13 months, without safety pins & wishes, now.
Bizarre.

Also have no idea why I need 12 bags.
Instead of 1.
Except that pretty stuff is fun to collect & fling about.:lol:
 
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#81
I started in the middle 90's (circa 1993) buying Chanel, kept it up for many years until I realized how delicate the hardware was, and then my lifestyle changed, and been buying other brands since. Last few year's purchases have all been from Louis Vuitton and now I have more bags than I'll ever need. ( I never sell anything; it's fun to take out a purse I haven't worn for awhile.)
 
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#83
I come from super thrifty (read cheap) people. LOL! So my first bags were no name cheapies.

Once I graduated from college and left home, I branched out to sub contemporary department store brands - think Kathy Van Zeeland (is she around anymore?) and Liz Claiborne.

After grad school I had the money to buy Coach and did so. Then Kate Spade. A couple of MK. I bought tons of bags. Well over 100. All contemporary or sub contemporary. Any color or style that hit my fancy. It was a mess. No direction and a lot of buying just because something was cute or on sale. :facepalm:

Finally I decided to splurge and bought a worn Prada on eBay. Despite its age and wear, the leather and construction were amazing. That was my watershed moment. :lol:

I decided to sell off my bags to upgrade and buy premium designers. It was a lot of hit and miss because I don't have friends / relatives who like nice bags to help me think through my purchases. But TPB / TPF helped a LOT to educate me.

Now I'm a truly passionate luxury bag lover! Less is more (I don't want or need more than 25 - 30 bags) and I'm close to the end of curating the perfect, tight collection of premier bags for me. My favorite brands are Chanel, Dior and Gucci but I find bags to love in other brands like LV and YSL.
 
#84
I didn't discover that I loved handbags until I was in my mid-20s. Then, one day, while scrounging around for bargains in Loehmann's, I spotted a teal Rebecca Minkoff mini Nikki hobo in the locked case (LOL!) that I thought was THE BOMB (LOL again!). I don't remember what it cost, but it seemed very expensive to me at the time and I took the plunge. I think my first post on this forum was about that bag! I carried it for years and thought it was absolutely fabulous. I laugh when I look at old photos from that time, because that bag is in quite a few, and my love of it is obvious. My next big step came when I found an olive green Botkier Sasha bag at a sample sale. I recall that it was around $400, and that that seemed like an absolute fortune to me at the time. I took the plunge again, and again adored that bag.

My wallet misses those days! The luxe bag bug struck me about ten years later and I've bought and sold quite a few beautiful bags that were just wrong for me since then, including the Givenchy Antigona, Fendi 2Jours, and YSL Cabas. I still love luxe bags, but I've learned that my thing is non-obvious, under-the-radar luxe. I feel like my style has improved and matured, but it has come at an obvious financial cost. These days, I'm most into Lanvin, Marni, and Celine (oh Celine!), and have a collection of about 15 bags. My most recent purchase is a navy medium Celine Box, and I can't imagine how I could want anything more expensive than that in the future, but history has taught me to prepare myself for that eventuality (sigh).
 
#85
My handbag love started from when I was about 7 and I watched my mom carry her bags. I was gifted a coach bag in my late teens which then made me lust for more. I went from coach to Michael kors to Gucci then to Louis vuttion. Now I'm buying more contemporary brands because they're less scary to use. I would like one more LV and then im finished. I still have my original coach bag but would like to let go of a few in my collection.
 
#86
I'm almost 21 so it's difficult to pinpoint where my love of bags started to be honest. I've always admired them from afar and loved carrying around a little bag with me even when I was little! haha.
I think my first was a brand called Jack French London, not a well known brand but it was my most expensive bag at the time! Then I went on to Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Rebecca Minkoff, Longchamp, and DKNY. My most expensive piece which I love dearly is my Louis Vuitton key cles, I purchased it as a 20th birthday present to myself ;)
My taste for bags is only growing stronger... Once I get into my dream career etc etc I'm sure I'll purchase my first LV bag ;)
 
#87
My designer bag love is a recent development, but I've certainly been making up for lost time.

As a teenager and in my early 20s, bags were just something to carry your stuff and that should match your outfit. So long as I had checked off one black bag, one navy bag, one brown bag, etc., and so long as they were cute enough, I was fine. I had a love for vintage, though, and my bags were a mix of F21/Big Buddha/Anthropologie/mall brands and neat vintage pieces.

But in my late 20s, I began to realize how nicely high-end purses could complete an outfit and how much wear my cheaper bags were showing. In my late 20s, I got bitten by the handbag bug. I skipped the contemporary designers altogether, and bought a preowned Celine to try out a nicer bag. I was hooked.

Now I have mostly LV, but I also have several Chanel pieces and a bag or two apiece from Gucci, Hermes, Prada, Givenchy, etc. I still have a lot of my vintage pieces, though!
 
#88
During college, I used a few Guess bags, and other bags that I bought from the mall.
When I started working, I used Coach, then Longchamp.
Prada was my first premier designer bag. I felt like I was being cursed after that because I could never go back. It was so addicting. Haha. I continue on with Balenciaga, Celine, Valentino and LV.
And I love them all and my wishlist still going on strong.haha
 
#89
I started with Nine West then Coach, Dooney, and MK. I still buy the last three designers if I'm attracted to the style. Now mostly LV and Balenciaga. Latest love is MCM and Chanel.
 
#90
In high school, anything that was a bargain I would wear. I got a ton of marked down bags from NY&Co back in the day when it was Lerner NY.

In college, I started getting into Juicy (I am dating myself now, though I only got one wristlet from Juicy), along with Fossil (hobo) and Coach (several!). My mom is a huge fan of Dooney and Coach, especially the vintage Made in USA bags. She got me into those brands as well.

After starting work, I became obsessed with finding a luxury Made in Italy bag, and that's when I got my Prada. Then came Gucci.

I'm now debating which brand would be next for me, haha! Maybe something Made in France now.
 
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