With the prices of "IT" designer bags skyrocketing ever out of the reach of most bag buyers, the rise of the "designer inspired" handbag sites was inevitable.
Sites like
Purse Boutique and
Baghaus provide bags that are not copies but versions of the popular designer bags. They vary in looks, but many of the bags are wonderful takes on the more expensive bags and, sometimes, a more practical take as well.
These sites are not to be confused with sites that claim to sell the general article but are actually selling cheaper quality copies. Purse Boutique and Baghaus are both careful to state clearly that their bags are not the real thing but inspired versions.
I, myself, own the following 3 bags purchased from these sites and am quite pleased with all of them.
From Purse Boutique:
Green Danska Satchel Purse - $34.95I have no idea if this is an designer inspired bag or not - I've never heard of Danska. However, I love this bag. And when I carry it when wearing my chocolate brown outfit it really pops!
Black Alligator Embossed Kelly Bag - $34.95You can't quite see it in this picture, but this bag is much more a tribute to the Hermes' Birkin than it's sister the Kelly.
From Baghaus:
Dark Coffee Birkin Tote Inspired by HermesA much clearer take off on the Hermes Birkin.
As I said, I love all these bags (I'll post a longer post on the bags and what I like and don't about them at another time) and can attest that the customer service I have received from Baghaus (I've not had to have any such contact with Purse Boutique) has been absolutely excellent.
These sites provide a way for you to get the silhouette of the more expensive bags without mortgaging your house or giving up your first born child!
However, the one thing I have been thinking lately, is that it would be nice to get their inspired bags in leather instead of having only PVA versions available. I figured that they could still do good quality bags at affordable price points (I was thinking somewhere between $99.00 and $150.00 dollars - not bad for a leather bag).
Well low and behold, I'm not the only one with that idea.
Shop:Lush has done just that, producing the designer inspired bags but in leather, not PVA.
An example:
The YSL Muse Bag:
YSL Muse Oversize - $1,395.00 (Saks Fifth Ave)The Baghaus PVA version (Which they don't seem to have in stock a the moment - but when they did, I think it ran about $59.99):
And Shop:Lush's leather take:
Half Moon Lock - $99.99I think both the Baghaus and the Shop:Lush version is lovely - but I'm thinking that it would be nice to have it in leather rather than PVA. Sadly, it looks like Shop:Lush only has it in white - still if the leather is pretty good, it would be quite a nice addition to your bag wardrobe for not a ton of cash!
Shop:Lush has many other nice looking bags on their site, so take a look! If you've been wanting to modernize your handbag choices, prefer leather bags but don't have all the money in the world to buy them, this might be an option that can work for you! (By the by, Shop:Lush is offering a 15% discount for purchases in September - Enter code: PSWFall0715 at checkout.)
