The Quest for the Perfect Bag

I'm not a bag addict at all (I usually carry around the same handbag for years until it falls apart, and only then will I buy another one), but since the summer, I have been giving a lot of thought to finding the best bag to use.

I bought this tote early in the summer from H&M, and have gotten a ton of complements on it. I don't usually go for light colors in bags, so I decided to shake up things a little by buying it. I like that it is big (about xin by xin), and that it is sturdy and stands up on its own. It's great over the summer when I had to carry extra shoes with me to switch into when I got to work, and for carrying any other large items (my umbrella for those sudden summer showers, folders, paperwork, light packages, etc).

The downside to this bag is that it can be a pain to carry during my morning commute on the trolley. Because it is big and stiff, it doesn't have a lot of give to it, and sticks out when I'm standing on the trolley, making it difficult for people to get past me, and for me to move past others when I need to. Since I don't carry as much with me during the fall and winter, I decided to look for a smaller bag.

Image from Forever 21 website

The first bag I came across was this faux leather satchel from Forever 21. I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the bag; I was expecting it to be a little smaller In fact this bag has ample room to carry what I need, including my up miniature umbrella and a few extras, with out having a bulky bag in the way. I also like the shape and the color. On the website, this satchel is listed as Pink, but one of the reviewers said that the color was really Nude, but when I got it, to me it looks like Blush. Basically, it's somewhere between the light pink/blush palette range. Either way, I like the color and think it is very feneimin. My only complaint is that the zipper can get a little stuck at the rounded corners of the bag, but other than that it seems to be perfect!

Image from DSW website

Next, I went to check out DSW to see if I could find a bag with bold color. Of all of my years of shopping on DSW's website, I never knew they sold handbags (silly, simple me)!  I fell in love with this Steve Madden Dale Mini satchel in red and a similar red Audrey Brooke satchel. Now, I'm not a designer hound, in fact, I've never even bought a designer bag for myself, but this time the Steve Madden satchel won out mainly because it is a Steve Madden product.

Despite this, this bag was actually a slight disappointment for me. First, it was much smaller than I expected it to be (it is actually significantly smaller than the Forever 21 bag). The color and material are nice, although it is more of a reddish coral color than just plain red, but the biggest downside to the Steve Madden satchel is that it doesn't have inner pockets for my phone, only the inside zipper pocket, but I will just have to make due for Steve Madden's sake.The inner lining is also not sown down, so it move around and comes up when you pull on it.