Handbag Choice - Opinions Please

[AmberGretchen]

Hi all - so I think I''ve fallen for a Dooney and Bourke handbag. Not as fancy as everyone''s gorgeous Balenciagas, but that''s out of the budget for now, at least while I''m still in grad school. I really like basic, classic shapes with silver or bronza (no gold) hardware, in versatile colors. I have a dark brown and a black handbag but I''ve been keeping an eye out for something a little different. I''ve seen this D&B hobo in Nordstrom''s a couple of times and I keep coming back to it. But I can''t decide a) what color or b) what size, though I''ve narrowed it down. Here''s a link to the bag on the D&B website, showing the size difference between medium and large, the two sizes I''m considering. For reference, I''m a pretty solid size 6 in most of the major brands that I shop right now (Banana, Ann Taylor, etc...), or a 29 in jeans (COH, SFAM, etc...) if that''s easier to picture, and fairly short, around 5''3". My DH thought the large looked a bit too large, but I really liked how oversize it was. However, I wasn''t able to try a medium for comparison. Anyway, I''d really appreciate some input from all of the fasionable ladies on here as to the size and color you think would be best. Oh! And I live in San Francisco, which is pretty casual, and where jeans and dark-ish colors (black, navy, chocolate, plum, teal) most of the time on top with jeans usually on the bottom.

Here''s color #1 I''m considering, a darkish teal color called Marine:

 

[AmberGretchen]

And here''s a picture of the beige color, which is really more of a creamy color than a tan color:

 

[neatfreak]

I''m your height, and I think that large bag would just overwhelm someone our height! I would vote for the medium as long as it''s still big enough to hold all your stuff.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks neatfreak - DH thought it did overwhelm me. Its hard for me to judge, since I''ve recently lost a lot of weight and I often still look in the mirror and see the old "fat" me. So that''s really helpful to have input from someone of around the same height. I am very curvy but not (probably never will be) skinny, although at this point no longer fat either (woohoo!!).

Which color do you think is better?

 

[neatfreak]

I voted for the Marine, but I do have to admit that it''s because of 2 biases:

1. I am really really bad about keeping light bags clean and in my experience they look dingy very quickly. I got a gorgeous whiteish Kate Spade about two years ago (luckily on sale) and I had to stop carrying it after one season because it just looked so dirty at the corners and I haven''t figured out a way to fix it yet.

2. I have a "thing" about wearing beige/tan with black and the marine could go with brown or black!

But really, both colors are great!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Very nice looking bag! To be honest, I''d be totally happy having 4 like these as opposed to one bag at $1000!

 

[AmberGretchen]

neatfreak - that's a good point about getting the lighter color dirty. I've honestly only ever had a lighter-colored handbag that got daily wear once, and it did get pretty dirty, but I suspect I'd be more careful with a lighter bag. I do hate the way dirt looks on light bags though as well, so that's something to keep in mind for sure.

I actually LOVED the picture of the model on the D&B website with a black tee-shirt and dark jeans and that beige bag - she has dark hair like mine, and I just thought it was such a fabulous look (although I have much lighter skin than that, so I'm not sure how that might affect things).

Thanks for the nice words DS - I honestly could get one in each color if it was up to me, but I'm not sure DH would go for that LOL

Hmm...maybe I could get one of each "to see how I like them in person" and "forget" to return one...

Which color would you get if you had to pick?

Another question to think about - does the beige look too old? I'm only 25 (though I get told all the time that I look much younger, which actually kind of sucks since I feel like people don't take me seriously sometimes), so I don't want to be carrying a bad that looks too "old" for me (no offense to anyone older - I'm really looking forward to the maturity, I just don't want to look like I'm playing dress-up right now)

 

[monarch64]

I voted for the beige large! I will post a pic of my MBMJ (marc by marc jacobs) collection so you can see what as a new 30 yr. old I wear every day:

 

[neatfreak]

I''m your age and I would wear it. But I do think that the beige looks older than the Marine. The marine color is just a fresher color so it makes an otherwise older looking bag a little younger. Hope that made sense...

If you want a ton of bags try zappos.com. I just ordered a gorgeous Kate Spade that I orginially found on zappos, can''t wait for it to come! Anyway, they let you sort by material, color, price, popularity, everything. Not to mention no sales tax (unless they are in CA, which they might be actually...) and free shipping and returns! They also have models with almost all the bags so it makes buying sight unseen much easier.

 

[monarch64]

I also look young for my age, and just love the lighter colored bags. So don''t let anyone tell you light colored bags are only for older gals...we young girls can rock them too!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks netfreak - I will definitely check out Zappos. I love them for shoes already (can''t beat the free shipping both ways!!), but I don''t think I''d really noticed they sell handbags as well. I agree with you about the marine vs. beige. I''m honestly really into very simple, classic (or maybe just boring) handbags - I think I''m spoiled for life after I saw the handbag departments at Liberty and Selfridge''s and Harvey Nic''s in London, and I just decided if I couldn''t afford one of those amazing to-die-for bags I didn''t want overdone American knockoffs, so I''m trying to stick to simple, classic and well-made.

Monnie - thanks so much for the input. I love your MBMJ with the sunglasses - that looks very cool to me, and definitely age-appropriate. I''ve never really been into light colored much of anything for clothes before because I was too self-conscious, but I''ve started to branch out a little. I think I might need to try on the beige color in person somehow though because I have super-fair skin and the wrong light shades can make me look really washed out.

 

[firebirdgold]

I voted Beige Medium. You definetly should go for the medium size. Not only would the large be overwhelming for you but it''d probably get to heavy to carry easily. (at least my big purses do!).

I picked the beige simply because I personally prefer lighter colors in the summer and I think a creamy beige would also work in the winter. (I like light colored winter coats) I wonder if age makes a difference? I''m in my mid thirties, if that helps. Maybe the marine is a younger color.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks Indie - I used to be into darker coats, but there have been so many gorgeous lighter-colored ones that I''ve sort of switched it up a bit recently. My main ones that I wear are an ivory-colored Ann Taylor longer felt coat, an apple-green Coach car coat, and a dark green wool peacoat. That''s interesting about the lighter colors in winter - I''ve never really noticed what people seem to do here in Cali, but will keep my eyes more wide open in the future...

 

[diamondsrock]

I vote for the marine in medium. I think the large would be too big, and I like that shade of green/blue. I would like to see the bag in that color first, though, before ordering. Are you sure that dogleash wouldn''t bother you? I love the look of the bag but couldn''t picture myself undoing the dogleash every time to get into it.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks for voting DR - I am trying to see if I could see the color in person first, although I tend to love most colors of teal/dark blue so I am not super-worried about that. That''s a really good point about the clasp though - I will make it a point to practice with it and see how much it bothers me next time I am near a store that sells it, because I have a tendency to fumble with my purse/wallet/money anyway and wouldn''t want anything that will make it worse!

 

[FireGoddess]

I voted for the marine medium - I would be so worried about getting the beige dirty it would be hard to enjoy it! Are they stainproofed, or can you apply something that would work?

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks FG - we certainly have similar taste in kitties, so maybe its similar in handbags too LOL

I am pretty sure the beige one could be stain-proofed even if it didn''t come that way. But I would still worry about it showing every little thing...

 

[VegasAngel]

Cute purse-I voted for marine medium.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks VA - you seem to be in the majority

 

[Julianna]

Voted for beige medium. The marine is far too...marine. Wow that was really descriptive, sorry about that.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 5/27/2007 11:28:59 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Thanks neatfreak - DH thought it did overwhelm me. Its hard for me to judge, since I''ve recently lost a lot of weight and I often still look in the mirror and see the old ''fat'' me. So that''s really helpful to have input from someone of around the same height. I am very curvy but not (probably never will be) skinny, although at this point no longer fat either (woohoo!!).

Which color do you think is better?

I don''t know, Amber, I''m sure that many, many women would consider a 6 to be pretty dang slim. I''m just sayin''.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks for voting Juliana. I know you''re right about the 6, and if I were tall I''m sure it would be slim, but keep in mind I''m only 5''3", and so a 6 is not really all that slim. Thanks to having lost 36 lbs since January, I (mostly) don''t feel chubby anymore, but definitely not slim either!

 

[monarch64]

AG, I was just reading back through your thread and I wanted to mention that I chose my bag because I was shopping in February and had my ivory J.Crew lady day coat on, the bag just looked so great with that coat (it''s my favorite coat ever, lol) I had to have it, and the zip clutch to match...the sunnies I ordered a week later from Nordstrom.

The light color has really not been hard to keep clean. You can treat your bag with protectant which will make it easier to clean if it does happen to get dirty. Also, I have to say that I used to think of beige or off white or even white as an "older lady" bag...I would never have considered mine if I hadn''t tried it on and just flat out fallen in love with it! I think the style of the D&B you''re looking at is young enough for a 25 yr. old no matter what color you choose, and I think the clean lines and fun shape will suit your petite frame as well.

I''m in the process of trying to figure out which LV to buy right now...and part of me is sorry I posted on PS about it because so many people offered up points I hadn''t even thought about yet when considering which style I wanted! I''m starting to feel like I''m just overthinking things and it makes me feel like just forgetting about it for a while...I think PS will do that to you, lol!

 

[Gypsy]

I really like that bag. And I too would rather have 4 of these than 1 1000 dollar bag. In fact I have a Dooney Croco Hobo that I LOVE and use all the time. It''s about the same size as the medium one of your style so I picked that. And I like the beige it''s a perfect summer bag.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks Monarch - you''re right that this thread definitely brings up a lot of issues I hadn''t thought of, but some of them are really helpful. Plus I don''t think that my DH will mind if I put off buying it for another few weeks while I think about it

I''m also incredibly flattered anytime anyone describes me as having a "petite" frame, because I definitely don''t feel that way LOL!

Gypsy - you are so sweet. I really appreciate the sentiment. I''m glad to hear that your D&B is holding up well and gets a lot of wear - I tend to get just a few pairs of shoes and a few bags I really like and wear them a ton (except for party shoes - I have an entire half of a closet''s worth of those

). I really am still going back and forth about the color though - I might try to make it a couple of different stores that sell them this weekend since DH has to work anyway so I can hopefully see both colors in person.

 

[flopkins]

amber - did you ever decide? I think I voted for the blue. I think it''s more versatile in the bay area, where it seems like I''m wearing a sweater thru most of the year... hehe. I still feel like lighter bags as ''summer'' bags, even though nowadays they''re chic in the winter too. you can''t go wrong either way!

 

[cutes814]

darn it, i clicked the wrong tab. i meant to vote for the large beige, but clicked too fast and hit the large marine.

so did you get the bag yet? it''s such a cute bag! i''m only 5''4", so i''m around your height. i think you can definitely carry off the large size, it''s only 2 inches bigger than the medium. i''m a little biased, cuz i''m in the phase of loving large bags right now. it can carry so much stuff!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

flopkins - I STILL haven''t decided!! Well, that''s not entirely fair, I was encouraged in my decision to put off getting it because I got a few other goodies

I found out that Joe''s Jeans makes petites (they sell them at Bloomie''s) and the 28''s fit me perfectly so of course I just had to get a pair. Then I found some gorgeous blue bowls in their home department - I''ve been looking for bowls for ages, so this was a pretty big deal. Then a really cute black dress I''ve had my eye on at Banana Republic went on sale so I had to get that as well...this losing weight thing is very dangerous for the wallet!

Seriously though, I''m having second thoughts about the whole thing. I still haven''t seen anything I like as much but I also haven''t been able to see the colors in person either which I think is giving me doubts (so silly because I could just get it in both and return the one I don''t want...). Anyway, I digress, but I''m still very up in the air about the whole thing.

Milly - thanks so much for chiming in on the great bag debate. That''s really helpful to know that you are only 1" taller than me and that you think even the bigger size would be OK. I love the big bags too, but I am finding that I have to be more careful since I lost weight because its much easier to get something that overwhelms me and looks silly rather than big and cool.