The Vera Bradley bags do look interesting. There is a retailer close to home so I can go look, though I'm not sure they will carry what I want. They are a gift store with things like lotions, soaps, note cards, pens, yarn, and trendy gift items. The site tells me a Vera Bradley store has opened in San Francisco, 90 minutes from me. It is in the same center as the other stores my daughter and I like. Of course, it will be a very expensive trip! I signed up to get a catalog on the site. The web images are too small.

I'm cursing this thread ;) I love nice handbags - I don't wear much jewelry or buy expensive clothes, and I'm a very practical person. But handbags ARE practical! I'm fairly conservative and like very classic bags, but also love color. Shoulder bags are my favorite. I had some old-style Coach bags when I was younger, but haven't bought anything from them in years. But, I did have my eye on an eggplant bag I saw in one of their NYC stores just before Christmas. I really, really, really want a purple bag, but don't see it on their Web site. Guess that color was so last season?! Probably a good thing because if I remember, it was over my price range anyway. Mitchdesj - Love that bag!. Some reviews have said the chain makes it heavy and that the bag doesn't hold its shape. What do you think? I don't like stiff leather anyway. I've been wanting a nice tote for day trips, and just ordered this Trina Turk bag on sale: For more moderately price bags, I like Tignanello, which I buy discounted. Just picked up these two in black at TJ Maxx for about $70 each and am trying to decide which one to keep for casual wear: Awhile ago I bought my first Dooney & Bourke. This one "spoke" to me when it popped up on one of the discount sites at an incredible price. I love the plaid: What is it about handbags??

I have too many bags for my own good! My go to bag is a larger black Tory Burch with gold chain straps threaded with leather. The straps have comfortable leather at the top where they go over the shoulder. It's big enough to fit my ultrabook computer which is a big plus. I switch out with several Coach bags in brown, gray, and silver, an orange leather Hobo tote, a great summer purse of pebbled white leather with luggage brown handles and straps and buckles (forget that brand), and Longchamps bags in seemingly every color. I have a cute nautical navy and white canvas bag from Stella and Dot (just happen to have striped shoes that don't match but look great together) and those are my mainstays. I have a few specialty type purses that I use infrequently, like a canvas and leather drawstring bag from Studio Ghibli in Japan and a tooled leather purse from Mexico shaped like a small saddle. My 29 year old dd loves Vera Bradley and has several purses, totes and overnight bags in various patterns. They are fun and colorful but I liked the older patterns with less black and purple better. My cloth bags were Provençal prints from Pierre Deux back in the day.

"Looking for enablers" . . . and reeling in all of us hopeless handbag addicts, too (LOL)! Oh my gosh, there are so many seriously wonderful handbags on this thread! My handbag storage is as crammed as Spanish's, if not more! And I passed along my addiction on to my sweet DD. Her birthday is later this month and what does she want for gifts from us? More handbags! And so, I've just bought her a gorgeous rolling tote bag, and now a beautiful dress purse from Karl Lagerfeld. It was honestly very hard not to keep them both for myself! Hmmm, but my Summer bag is getting a bit shabby, so perhaps I'll take another stroll through this bad boy thread (LOL)!