Where are you Purse Forum Gals?

However, generally, I don't see great handbags when I am in the U.S. or traveling on airplanes. In Manhattan, most of them are on Madison Ave., accompanying very expensive women, but other than that....I'm not seeing them.

Yeah, in London I think most of the beautiful bags out on parade would be accompanying rich women in Chelsea/Kensington/Knightsbridge!
 
I live in Sydney and often shop in the city so i have come across quite a few LVs, Balenciagas, Chloes, Guccis, etc... just never any Birkins... But i have to admit that i have seen more fakes than the real deal. I'm usually really bad at spotting fakes but the ones i've seen have been really poorly made ones.
 
Living in Miami, I see tons of gorgeous bags everywhere - The shopping malls and especially my beauty salon are great places to "bag watch". Actually, in Nordies the other day, a woman I didn't know came up to me and asked me about my bag (a Gucci Pelham), she had just bought a Gucci on sale at Saks and wanted my opinion on her choice!!!!! Bag people are very friendly!!
 
Here in NY there are tons of bags- from all designers some real, some fake. Where I live in Brooklyn, I see a lot of Marc Jacobs, Anna Corrinna and Chanel. Seems to be whats popular right now.
 
Not to be found very often in my little town, but when I go to Southpark Mall in Charlotte, I definitely get to enjoy some serious bag watching!

An aside to this, I work in a state rehabilitation agency. Most of our clients don't have much money at all so it's not the sort of place you see designer bags.....until last week. I had a client (not the typical sort of client-she had some serious money) that walked in with a Marc Jacobs bag. I didn't recognize the bag itself, but it was definitely one of the MJ Collection bags. I would have asked her about it, but it wouldn't exactly have been professional given what I do!
 
I know what you mean about "where are these gorgeous handbags?" It has only been recently that I have been looking at bags and have noticed that there aren't many who wear fabulous bags - and I live in DC. BUT - I don't work anymore, am close to the 'burbs and the only time I see great lookin' bags are when I'm in NM or Saks sniffing around and the customers there do have nice lookin' bags.
From the threads I have read, I think it's the younger set (20's-30's) that have these bags....before the next right of passage into marriage or children, etc. I could be totally OFF here. I have only been lookin' at bags after buying homes, home renovations/remodeling, artwork, landscaping, etc....I need to spend my money on something...HAH:yahoo:

So - what bags do I see when I'm on the street? Mostly fakes, I think. LV, Prada, Gucci, Kate Spade. If it's real, then mostly Coach or Cole Haan. It's a pretty conservative town. I saw my first YSL Muse on a live person in Anthropologie and practically stalked her....you could tell from a mile away that the bag screamed quality. I have yet to see someone carry a Balenciaga IRL.
 
I'm from Singapore and 90% of the time, if a woman is carrying a designer purse, it's LV, Gucci or Coach. I spot many Balenciagas around too but most of what I see are either "inspired" bags or poorly made fakes. I hardly spot ladies carrying Hermes and Chanel unless I'm shopping at a high end place. So when I do spot such ladies, I tend to stare a little. Also, from the time the Fendi spy has been released, I've seen less than five authentic ones around. It's boring here where everyone is carrying the same monogrammed LVs/Guccis/Coach.
 
I live in a city where Coach and Dooney rules. My bags are usually gawked at fiercely everywhere I tred. I'm sure there are ladies in my city with high end bags, but they're very few and far between. I love it!! I sometimes see Chanel and LV, but they are usually fakes and look like hot garbage warmed over.
 
I live in perth, western australia and i see quite a a lot of chick girls here carrying premier designer bags. esp LV, Gucci, Blaenciaga, Chloes, MJs, Chanels, even hermes! ALso, the ladies on my family are addicted to expensive bags and shoes. Only my Aunty owns a Hermes Birkin so far. Im so jealous!
 
I live and work in the Seattle suburbs. I'm in the IT field, currently with a large wireless company.

Traditionally, IT is a very casual field. Combine that with the (generally) more casual northwest style and you get the idea.

In the area where I live it IS changing, however. I see much more pulled together urban style, especially when in a larger suburb or downtown Seattle. But there is still a heavy dose of what I call the "I'm going to go hiking at any moment" look. It's not uncommon seeing men in expensive suits with a gortex jacket worn over it! :confused1:

Bags: in the immediate area where I work I am a lone pioneer carrying around my type of bags (LV, Coach, Fendi) with one fun exception (a coworker who loves bags too!). But when I'm in more urban areas around here I do see a lot of Coach, LV and Gucci.
 
I'm in the Palm Beach area, and I see lots of gorgeous bags..especially when shopping on Worth Ave. Just in the last week, I saw 2 black birkins, one in a fancy restaurant and one at Boston Market. I see lots of fakes too though. We visit Miami a lot too, and there are plenty to go around there. =)
 
I live in the Bay Area, and I am surprised at the lack of nice bags I see. There are plenty of houses around here that go for well over $5 million, but where are the cute bags?

Even in San Francisco I don't see too many.