1. L.L. Bean tartan tote, $49
2. Marc by Marc Jacobs tote, $178
3. Target Xhileration tote, $14.99
4. Hayden Harnett Barnard bag, $296
5. Old Navy cable knit tote, $19.99
6. Deux Lux top stitch bag, $58
7. Calvin Klein bucket bag, $158
8. 1Aeon white horse tote, $22
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OK, I’m a little bummed that the $296 Hayden Harnett bag counts as a “cheap bag,” because that’s a splurge for me.
But I’m going to have to suck it up and buy it anyway, because it’s damn cute and just what I’ve been looking for.
That marc by marc tote looks like the cheapest thing up there.
$296 is a “cheap” bag?
this is bullshit. 296$ is not cheap. its midrange for a leather bag. “cheap” does not mean under 500. it means affordable- for almost everyone. i know fashion can be exclusive, but this is absurd
I don’t consider $296 “cheap” for a bag. Nor is any MJ purse to be considered “cheap” either. That is unless it’s a fake ;]
I like these! Yay for cheap bags. But I consistently cannot help but wonder if I’m the only one who thinks $296 does not a “cheap” bag make.
Maybe it’s just because I’m a poor college student …
296 dollars isn’t cheap. its not as expensive as some other designer bags, but that still doesnt qualify it as cheap.
I like these! Yay for cheap bags. But I cannot help but wonder if I’m the only one who thinks $296 does not a cheap bag make. It’s a little out of my price range, anyway.
Maybe I’m just a poor college student …
I think that this is wonderful of you to do. I read other blogs about handbags and they are constantly saying that $600 handbags are “cheap” and it just blows my mind.
Unfortunately in the past I have bought knockoff bags. My mom just bought me a great tye dye patent leather bag from a store around where she lives, which looks suspiously like the new Prada ombre bags. I know my mom has no idea about the Prada bags, and she was just trying to do a nice thing for me. I really like it too, but I might feel uncomfortable walking around with an obvious Prada inspired bag. The only good thing is that it doesnt have fake Prada tags on it…but Kate Spade might think I am lying about where I got it :)
I stopped buying fakes when I realized that it wouldnt make me any more stylish if I had a copy of an expensive bag, or an original cool bag from Target. I totally understand that there is a lot of anger from the fashion community surrounding buying fakes…and with good right! Imagine if you will that you have designed something amazing, only to find that someone has exactly, stitch by stitch, knocked it off. Not to mention the child labor and other shady activities surrounding fakes.
Keep this up Fashionista!! It would be an amazing feature to see you recommended handbags that cost under $300!!! Kudos!!!
Hooray! I totally agree with this one here. There are a million expensive things I lust over and can’t afford, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pay someone on the street $20 to steal them for me! It’s the same thing with bags — if I love the look and can’t afford it, I’m just going to find something real that I love that’s within budget.
A lot of bags that aren’t fake are also made under deplorable conditions; hating fake bags is an easy catch-all for avoiding exploitative labor practices but I’m pretty sure that Forever 21 and Target don’t pay anything like minimum wage to their workers in the ‘developing’ world.
Does a $300 bag really count as cheap? wowza girls…you’re the big time!
target does have cute/durable bags. I also really like the purses that Aldo (shoes) sells. They are cheap (40-70) and I always recieve compliments like “that is so cute, it looks like you paid a lot of money for that..etc”–even from random people. If you aren’t looking to go designer, they do have a lot of cute and reasonable bags.
I get where you are coming from but I wouldn’t be so sure these (and the real designer bags) aren’t made under equally sketchy conditions…. sad to say.
is the turn off with fake bags really the fact that they’re ‘illegal and made in sketchy conditions’ or would it be safe to say that those with a real love for fashion would just rather go cheap than wear something that wasn’t authentic (yet claims to be so). i mean honestly, we have no problems idolizing underage girls that are photographed drinking, drugging, and clubbing (both illegal, and sometimes under sketchy conditions). and nowadays, it even earns you some style cred. to have scored something thats worth $2 at the thrift store as opposed to sporting some stiff, monogram Louis Vuitton or what have you. so lets not beat around the bush and get straight to the point, i’d rather go naked than fake, because at least naked doesnt leave room for faking it.
Actually real designer bags tend to be made in the exact same factories with the exact same working conditions as the fake bags. Which makes it even crazier to pay the full amount for something equally sketchy.
ACTUALLY yesterday whoever posted that article said they didnt like fake bags because they didnt like seeing other girls with a copy of whatever they just spent $600 on. but hey, whos paying attention?
i have the grey target one and i get compliments on it allllllllllllll the time
I get not liking fake bags, but we don’t all have fabulous jobs allowing us the luxury of ridiculously expensive bags. I’m sorry, but the designer bag market is the perfect example of how elitist the fashion industry is. Why hate on a girl (who can only afford to spend 20$ on a bag) for buying a fake when all she wants to do is be a part of something she admires?
What we should be worrying about is why the bags are marked up so much. We all know it doesn’t take 800$ to make an LV…
While it is true that authentic designer handbags aren’t made by people working in wonderful conditions, most are of legal working age and have proper documentation, and willingly choose to work at factories with low wages. Please read “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster”. In the counterfeits chapter, a police officer describes families that sell their children to factories, and the awful conditions they must endure. In a raid in Thailand, all the children were sitting indian style on the ground, sewing, because the factory owner broke their legs and tied their calves to their thighs. All this because the children has asked for permission to play outside.
I have never bought a counterfeit good in my life, and never will, especially upon reading the book. EVERYONE SHOULD READ – DELUXE: HOW LUXURY LOST ITS LUSTER
I would much rather have my money go to poor people, shady/illegal or not, than to bloodthirsty corporations. The Gap is completely legit as a company, but didn’t they recently get in trouble for using child labor? But I don’t buy counterfeit goods regardless because I think most of them are so garish.
I’m sure at least one, it not more, of your cheap bags listed above were made in less-than-worker-friendly conditions, so if that’s your grounds for argument you fall a little flat. Gap, who owns Old Navy, the maker of one of your bags, is now under human rights scrutiny for their factory conditions.
Regardless, you still come across as judgmental and nasty in your assessment of the ways other people choose to dress.
I have the grey target one too, and everyone seems to love it (even guys!). I knew it was cute but for some reason it just makes people want to gush.
that grey bag seems reminiscent of pierre hardy…
Hmmm. I wonder what kind of conditions that Target bag is produced under to keep the price so low. Think about it. Cheap stuff = cheap overseas labor. Very very cheap labor.