How to choose a handbag.

Hello. Today I’m going to talk to you about choosing an everyday handbag. For a lot of us, buying a handbag over a certain price (depending on budget) doesn’t make any sense. We don’t believe it’s worth the extra money to buy what I like to call a ‘serious’ handbag. I’m not talking here about designer bags. I personally am yet to buy my first big name designer bag so that is not what this post is about. I’m talking about a good quality handbag. A lot of ladies would prefer to own twenty cheap bags that two or three quality bags.

What they don’t seem to understand is that when it comes to handbags, you get what you pay for. Quality bags last so much longer than cheap (disposable?) bags. Those handbags that you buy for four (4) thousand naira that you have to change every year are costing you more than the bag someone else bought in 2006 for twenty thousand, carried everyday for four years, rested for six months and has been carrying everyday since and is still in perfect condition. Your four thousand a year handbag habit has cost you twenty four thousand naira in that same time and you probably don’t have anything decent to show for it. At the end of the day, when shopping for your basic everyday bag, cost per wear is a good consideration. There is now the added benefit of second hand value if you choose to sell through a ‘vintage’ stop.

Making the move from buying cheap bags is quite a serious business for a lot of us. I remember when I first made the decision that it was time to start carrying quality bags. When I thought about how much it was going to cost me, I almost changed my mind. However, when we do get to that point, a lot of us don’t quite know what to look out for and some even assume that because it costs more, it must be better quality.

The first thing to do when buying a bag is to pick it up. A good quality leather bag will always have some weight to it and the handles will be quite sturdy. Another thing is that stitching will be very neat and very secure. As an example, I know that an authentic Hermes handbag’s stitching is so secure that if the stitch gets broken at a point, the rest of the stitch will remain in place and even the next point will not unravel. It will stay put. Also, ALL the edges around a good handbag will be covered so that you cannot see the roughness of the leather. All hardware on the bag will be strong and of good quality. The zips will be metal with big sturdy teeth. The lining of the bag will be some kind of soft leather like material and these days most good bags come with a lot of compartments inside for you phone, credit/ atm cards, a key ring etc and even an attached matching purse for you money.

I hope this has been helpful to anyone thinking of buying a quality handbag. Don't forget to enter the competition below. Entries close on Saturday at midnight. Good luck. Remain

fabulous.