A couple of weeks before I left for my China trip, I started hunting for a great big bag that could double as a carry on bag for the plane & a purse for everyday. Of course, I found a bunch of great bags, but it's been hard to find a bag that fits all of my criteria (needs to be comfortable for long days of constantly being on your feet, must hold laptop, pens, notepad, highlighter, mini stapler, measuring tape, snacks, bottled water, sunglasses, iPod, Passport, wallet, itinerary, etc. in order to be prepared for anything while catching domestic flights & taking 3 hour car rides without sacrificing stylishness). Oh & did I mention I wanted one with a cross-body strap and a reasonable price tag too?
No. 1: So this bag was never in the running for my needed jet-setting bag, but when I stumbled upon it on sale at Anthropologie, I had to document it. Even if I could rationalize this purchase, it is no longer available on their site.
No. 2: Like many others, I can't get enough zippers right now (did you see the zipper embellished headband in the September Issue of InStyle?), so I love the extra ones on the side of this Nine West beauty. It's still available & now on sale, so I may have to reconsider this one. It'd make a great everyday bag for fall since it's coloring could lend itself to a variety of outfits.
No. 3: Yeah, like I noted when I saved this image originally, the coloring is fabulous. This one is also a Nine West edition, but you won't find it on their site... head straight to Piperlime for it. In addition to Rust, it's also available in Cognac. Although it's not on sale, the price is still reasonable too.
No. 4: Wow, this one blew all of the others out of the water (based on my needs). It's practical without sacrificing on design and beauty -- I absolutely adore tan + black together. The cherry on top is the long cross-body strap, but I wasn't so sure about the price tag when I first found this Lucky Penny bag on Anthropologie. Now after seeing what is (& more importantly isn't) out there in the way of cross-bodies, I think I could maybe, possibly, rationalize this purchase. I am a fan of quality versus quantity in the handbag arena because I do not change bags on a day to day basis. I usually get stuck on one bag for a few months at a time then retire it until I want to fall in love with it all over again; this cycle repeats until I inevitably wear out the bag.
Seeing as how I couldn't even think about rationalizing the Anthro bag at the time, I knew this one was way out of my league, yet I still torture myself with its image. It's J.Crew, it's gorgeous, & still at full price -- it's gonna cost you a pretty penny... duh.
Needless to say, I did not leave enough time before my trip to purchase one of these online, so I took to the stores for temporary filler at best (I'll be going back to China in October for a longer trip, so the real deal will definitely be needed by then). I ended up settling for a leather work tote from Target -- no bells & whistles, no cross-body strap, but surprisingly roomy, comfortable, & crazy inexpensive; however, the search continues...
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