You’re probably wondering why we’ve produced our top 5 ways to spot a great handbag?
Well, firstly we all love to get a real bargain, but we really need to know what we’re looking at to be able to determine if we really are getting what we’re paying for.
Secondly, & perhaps more importantly, it’s coming up towards Christmas and if you’ve hinted to your other half that you’d really like a gorgeous new handbag, then you want to make sure that he’s going to come back with something at least half decent – just sit him down in front of this & he’ll be good to go.
So, just how can you tell whether a bag is a good one or not, & whether it’s worth the money? Here are our top 5 tips to spot a great handbag:
1) Does it have Feet?
All good quality handbags come with little metal feet or studs on the underside to protect the underside of the bag when you put it down. There is usually one in each corner, & without them the underside of the bag will become dirty, tired, & worn – the feet help to keep the material off the floor, keeping the handbag in great condition.
2) Check the material
Feel and look at the material that the handbag is made from to see whether it’s a good quality synthetic or leather. Good quality fabrics & synthetic materials are pretty easy to spot, they should feel nice, look nice, & not be wafer thin, they should feel & look like they have some substance to them.
Leather is a bit more tricky, although the rules are pretty much the same. You’ll be able to tell if your existing handbags are made from poor quality leather when they get wet in the rain – dark patches, a change in color, & smears indicate that it isn’t made from the best leathers.
3) Check the Stitching
Usually the stitching to the outside of a bag will be pretty good, after all, that’s the side that you’ll see when you’re considering buying. If it isn’t, if there are loose threads for example, uneven stitching, or even missing stitching (look closely at things like the 4 handle terminations where the handle joins the bag, you can sometimes find 2 or 3 stitched & the others not!), then steer clear.
The stitching that you need to pay the most attention to is inside the bag since this is what holds the bag together, & if the bag has been made without care then this is where you’ll see it. Check the stitching around the trims, & how the lining is stitched into the bag too, a good handbag will look as well made on the inside as it does on the outside. You don’t want it falling to pieces just as you’re running for the bus!
4) The Lining
Check that the lining feels & looks like a good quality material. Is it carefully stitched together & into the bag? Does it look like it fits the bag properly? The answer to all of these questions should be a resounding “yes!“
5) Look at the fittings
Check the metal hoops, links, rings, etc that you might find adorning your potential new handbag, and also look at the zips or other fasteners too, you want good quality fittings that have some substance to them. If they feel like they’ve been made from tin plate, don’t sit nicely onto the bag, & just have a cheap feel & look to them, then personally I’d avoid it.
Zips can be another problem, a bag can look great and tick most of the boxes, but then you look at the zip & it looks like it belongs on a pair of 7.99 jeans. Remember that your handbag is going to be zipped & unzipped a lot, & if the zipper isn’t up to the job it’ll break in no time at all. Other fasteners need to have a similar inspection, some handbags have magnetic fasteners – is the magnet really powerful enough to keep the flap snugly shut?
Other considerations that you can make are to look for little features in the handbags that just help to make life that little bit easier, does it have a nice little pocket to keep your mobile phone safe for example?
One of my favorites is the little clasp that you find inside some bags to clip your keys onto – how many times do we stand in the rain fumbling through the essentials we keep in there to find the car or door keys?
What clever handbag designers!