We know we’ve talked about how much we love handbags. It’s almost like a bit of a problem. We have a sweater/cubby holder thing in our closet where all of our bags live, and the overflow live in shelves in said closet that are basically behind the wall. We don’t have any light in that closet, so we’ve become very adept at telling which bag is which just by the feel. We told this to a friend of ours and we got a really, really odd look back. So, we’re thinking this isn’t normal.

But we will defend our bags by saying that almost every bag we have serves a specific purpose. From the logo-heavy designer bag that we think dresses up our ratty blue sweatshirt we always wear, to the Jocasi bag that functions as an overnight bag AND an evening/going out handbag, each bag has a job. We’re going on TWO vacations this month, and we are always, always looking for the perfect bag to take on the plane. It needs to be easily carried, loads of pockets with easy accessibility, but some kind of zip compartment for carrying credit cards and passport and whatnot, it needs to sit on the shoulder comfortably and securely. We have a bag that comes very, very close to fulfilling this, but it’s leather and canvas. We would prefer an all leather one, and while searching Etsy, we came across someone who very well might get a chunk of our business – TheLeatherStore. We were actually mad that we found her too late for our current vacation, but we might hit her up before we go away for the second time. She doesn’t have a ton of stuff up right now, but we’ve been keeping an eye on her line and there’s new stuff fairly frequently.

The shopper tote (above, obv) is kind of amazing. We love the dark brown leather, we love the size (big enough to hold our laptop, we think), and we love love love that the straps are long enough to be worn over the shoulder. Did we mention that it’s under $100? So amazing.

Leather shopper, $95

Now, this may seem like any other shoulder bag – but it’s got details that set it apart. We love the outside pockets with proper closures. We are the kind of person who will stop while walking to find our ringing cell phone – which annoys others and has injured us. The padded straps look like they give plenty of room to wear on your shoulder, and the goldy/brass hardware keeps it from being boring. This would be our everyday bag, we think. And it’s still far less expensive than we would expect.

Shoulder bag, $120

This is the bag we want for the meetings we have, and for when we want to look like a grown up. Actually, there’s not a single thing we don’t like about it. It’s a little on the bland side, but we’re willing to bet that the pictures don’t do the leather any justice.

Simple tote, $120

We are a little embarrassed to admit it, but we almost withheld the following information because we haven’t bought the bag we want yet. But then we realized that wasn’t fair. Beckie, the creator of all these lovelies, has her full line on eBay. We love.

-LB