Everybody has things that they love to save up for and spend their hard-earned money on, and if yours is fashion, you might have been thinking about treating yourself to your first designer handbag. If you’re like most women, your bag has pretty much your entire life in it, so it’s nice to have a good one that you can rely on. If you’re tired of bags that fall apart after they’ve been used for a while, it might be time to think about adding a designer piece to your collection. Here are the main things to consider when buying your first designer bag.

Set a Budget:

Step one is deciding how much you are willing to spend on the bag. There are several different tiers of designer handbag pricing, so you’re sure to get something that you like within your budget. Not everybody can afford to invest in a$10K Birkin bag, but there are some awesome options for much less if you look around. For example, you can get some bags from Gucci for less than $1,000 – or you could even opt for a pre-loved bag if you want to pay less for a big brand name.

Pick a Brand:

Once you’ve decided how much you’re willing to spend, deciding on the brand that you want is the next step. If you’ve decided on a limit of $1k, you’re probably not going to find what you want at Chanel, so take a look at what’s available and determine which brands are best for your budget. Take a look at the brand aesthetics and choose one that’s in line with your own personal style. A designer handbag is an investment so you want to make sure it is a bag that will go with your clothing and sense of personal style. You might also want to read some more about the brand’s history and go with one that has a story you like, too.

Consider Colors:

If you’re about to spend big money on a designer bag, you want to be sure that it’s not going to clash with the outfits that you own. While not everybody will use their designer bag on a daily basis, it’s not a great feeling to invest major cash in a designer bag that you can barely use because you don’t have anything to wear it with. Have a look through your wardrobe, if you wear mostly pink colors you don’t want an orange bag that will clash with your outfits.  You want to find a bag that will accent your wardrobe and show off your sense of style. 

Check Out Options:

Before deciding on the bag, you can check out online outlets to see what there is out there. You can often find great bargains at outlets so before you set your heart on that Saint Laurent bag, check out online stores like SSENSE, a designer outlet store with a wide range of designer bags to choose from.  You can see all the options, shapes, styles, colors, and brands that are available. Spend some time looking around, a designer bag is an investment, not an impulse buy.

Decide Where to Shop:

Many people want to get the full luxury experience when they are buying their first designer handbag but bear in mind that it’s not always reality. Plus, you might be able to find the same bag for much cheaper online, so while it’s worth browsing the designer stores to see if a bag really stands out to you, don’t commit to buying it from a certain store until you’ve done some research. You can always have the designer experience in-store without actually spending anything!