Mid-Range Handbags | My Favourite Brands & Where To Purchase

If the pandemic brought me anything positive, it was a handbag addiction. Some may not see that as a positive- BUT those handbags brought me joy when little else did. How sad, right? I’m laughing in limited closet space.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I never pay full price for anything, and I LOVE finding deals. That’s why mid-range handbags work so well for me.

I spent YEARS of my life buying cheaper purses. I would use them until they wore out, then throw it out, buy another, and continue the cycle. It didn’t matter what outfit I was wearing, I would carry the same old bags around until their straps would snap tragically from being overloaded. When I had my son, I traded purses for diaper bags, and used them for a few years. Transitioning from diaper bags back to purses was a strange time. I mostly just carried my debit card around - leaving it in the cup holder of my truck and grabbing it when needed. As you can imagine, that resulted in a few lost debit cards, and nowhere to store my other belongings, should I need to bring something else shopping with me.

It was Easter a couple years ago when I decided to venture back into the purse world. I had some Easter money burning a hole in my pocket and I took it to Winners. I knew I wanted something that was decent quality and would last a while. I ended up going with a large pink Matt & Nat Satchel. I’ve used that bag a lot since then, and it’s still in almost perfect condition.

I went back to just carrying a wallet after that, until last Christmas when my nan gave me Christmas money to get whatever I wanted. I browsed around Marshall’s and came across two purses that I loved- a fun Betsey Johnson novelty bag that looked like a latte, and a vegan canteen bag. I also ordered myself an LL Bean tote that I had been wanting forever.

Not technically a handbag, but this is one of my favourite bags that I own.

A few weeks later, I was gifted some money for my 30th birthday, and ordered myself a Michael Kors bag- thus my bag addiction began.

Queue the pandemic and every store having insane sales and free shipping. And here we are.

I also feel the need to note that most of these brands probably aren’t considered “in” or particularly trendy anymore, BUT I’m going for quality at a decent price here. A lot of brands that used to be trendy are also making comebacks, which is fun and exciting to see. Basically, if I like it and it’s a good price and quality, I’m going to buy it regardless of the brand.

NOTE: A lot of these brands are popular in the “knock off” purse world, and I’ve seen many of them posted in local buy-in groups. I wrote a lengthy blog post on why you should not be buying knock off products, and where to find the real thing for less. You can read that HERE.

My Favourite Mid Range Brands & Where To Buy Them

MICHAEL KORS

I was gifted my first Michael Kors bag last winter for my 30th birthday. I picked it out myself on their website during their Black Friday sales. I really like the Michael Kors website because they actually have a Canadian site with items priced in CAD, unlike many other brands.

This is the “Jet Set Large Saffiano Leather” Crossbody.

The bag was around $100 CAD. It’s really great quality and actually quite roomy for a camera crossbody type bag.

You can also get Michael Kors bags at Winners/Marshall’s etc but I would check the website first, as they actually tend to be cheaper online during sales.

GUESS

I remember when I got my first Guess bag during Black Friday in 2008. That’s probably the last time I remember this brand being REALLY in, but I’ve always loved Guess for their quality.

I bought this black Camera crossbody from The Shoe Company, and it’s honestly been my most used bag this year. This bag is the real MVP of this post honestly. It’s been used SO often, tossed around, brought everywhere and it’s literally still in perfect condition. Like it basically looks new. I have friends ask me where I got this bag ALL the time, and they always assume it was more expensive than it was.

I think I paid around $20 for this bag, after using some of my Shoe Company rewards points. It’s regularly $59.99 but goes on clearance regularly. It currently also comes in yellow and light pink. This bag is worth getting if you’re looking for a simple everyday crossbody.

RALPH LAUREN

This is another Shoe Company find, but you can often get RL bags at Winners & Marshall’s too. The pricing is usually similar to Guess pricing, if not a little bit higher, and they usually have a good mix of simple staple bags and fun bags like this.

You guys know I can’t resist a blue and white stripe, so I bought this little crossbody over the Summer and LOVE it.

MATT & NAT

As mentioned above, I got my first Matt & Nat bag a few years ago, and it’s still in great condition. This is a Canadian brand that prides itself on quality vegan leather goods, so I always feel good about supporting them.

I also had a Matt & Nat wallet a couple years ago, but after daily use it didn’t fare as well as the purse. I would definitely still purchase from them again. They can also often be found at Winners & Marshall’s at decent prices.

This is the only picture I could dig up of the purse I have from when I first bought it.

BETSEY JOHNSON & OTHER NOVELTY BAGS

I am a sucker for a good novelty bag. They’re SO fun and always a great conversation starter. This first one is Betsey Johnson. I got it at Marshall’s the Christmas before last as a gift from my nan.

Last Summer during all of the pandemic sales, I ordered this pineapple purse from Call It Spring, and I am still obsessed with it. I got SO many compliments on it when I was on vacation, and it’s just a really fun statement piece.

I also bought this Donald Duck purse that I LOVE. It’s a fun piece to wear on vacation when you’re going to dinner at the wharf. Once the world opens back up again, I am SO taking this purse to Disney. This one is also from Call It Spring.

Coach

When I was in high school, Coach was ALL I ever wanted in a handbag. The popular girls in my school would always go on vacation to the outlet stores in the states and come back with Coach bags. When I went on vacation the Summer after grade 10, I made my mom go to the Coach outlet with me, where I purchased the only thing I could afford at the time, a $50 wristlet. I left the store floating on air from that purchase, and never forgot how I felt that day.

Flash forward to 2020, where I’m a 30 year old mom and Coach is now the bag that other 30+ moms carry- I still wanted one. A quick google search told me that Coach is actually kind of making a comeback, so I felt no shame in buying myself a Coach bag during the Black Friday sales this year (another gift from my nan!)

The bag I ordered is the Rowan Satchel in black crossgrain leather with the gold hardware. The Rowan Satchel is available in a few different fabrics and colors.

Kate Spade

I don’t personally own a Kate Spade bag (yet), but her bags fall under the same type of mid-range handbags that I love. Several times a year, they have a secret sale (sort of like an outlet site), where you can get Kate Spade bags at a steep discount. You can also regularly find them at Winners & Marshals.

Other

I also have a lot of bags from Winners, Marshals & The Shoe Company that would not be well known brand names, but were great quality!

What’s your favourite mid range purse brand? Let me know in the comments below!

D