Elegant Bags - Timeless Style Classics

Elegant Timeless Bags - What to consider before buying a bag.

My favourite classic bag.

If I were honest with myself, I'd admit that I was obsessed with bags.

I remembered my gleeful moments when I went straight to a store to buy my first bag with my first paycheck.

Over the years, I've collected the elegant classic bags and they have been my loyal friends and an anchor to my wardobe.

I've picked up several elegant tips along the way on What bag to buy and buying the best I could afford.

Classic Elegance First

If only our shopping budgets were unlimited! However, I think unlimited or very large budgets are nasty teachers of taste (or rather lack there of).

It is through a small or limited budget that we learn how to develop taste and elegance, when we ensure that it is the best purchase especially when it comes to buying an elegant bag.

Bags should be seen as an 'investment'. If you are fine-tuning your elegant wardrobe, classic bags are one of the first things to collect. Bags are not just 'investments' the way most fashion magazines describes them. If you buy correctly and cleverly, you can pass your bags down to your daughters and granddaughters in the future. It could also be re-sold to fetch a tidy sum.

Sometimes, these bags may be hard to get. They may be costly or only sold in big cities. Though more retailers sell bags online, be careful that you do not buy a low quality knock-off.

If a classic bag is out of reach of your budget, your best bet is simply to 'reference' the look. (And I do not mean to buy fake goods - because the purchases of these goods may encourage the exploitation of child labour somewhere or fund terrorists activities.) You can get a similar-ish bag, with good quality make and leather. Check the linings and the boning of the bag. Shop well, select well, employ exquisite and discrete taste.

Before you go out shopping, take an inventory of your bag closet. You'll be more aware of what you need and soon realize that all you need is a little tweak or update.

General Guidelines for Buying An (Elegant) Bag

Proportion Guidelines for bags:

• Keep the size of the bag proportionate to your body

• If you are tall, do not have bags hugged under your arm

• If you are short, do not carry too large bags or bags that hang very low from your shoulder

• If you are petite, do not carry too large bags that may cause you to look like a bag lady

• If you are of a larger size, do not carry bags that seem grab your body too tightly. Also carry a bag that has a softer look, opposed to a boxy bag.

For elegant bags

• Keep them clean

• Get rid of bags that lose their original shape

• Do not collect clutter in your bag! It is extremely inelegant to have a lady digging in her bag for her phone or keys.

• Carry the appropriate bag for appropriate event! Do not use an evening bag for the day. Likewise, do not use an office/work bag to an elegant dinner.

• Do not overstuff your bag. If the things you need can't fit into your bag, you might be carrying too much. Maybe you don't need that extra stuff. If you need it temporarily, for instance, bring back your friend's sweater, dig out one of those shopping bags from designer shops and use them till you have delivered the goods.

• Do not place your bags on the floor as much as you can. They carry dirt back into your house.

• Never empty the contents of your bag in public. Ever ever!

Elegantwoman.org's Collection of Elegant Bags

This collection of classic elegant bags are unlikely to go out of style. These are just style referencing only. I'm not endorsing any of these bags. There are plenty of other designers who does similar items for a greater value for your dollar without compromising on quality.

Classic Hermès Bag - Perfect for Work and the City

The "Birkin" bag is a handbag manufactured by leather goods and ready-to-wear manufacturer Hermès. It is named after British-born actress and singer Jane Birkin, a longtime resident of France.

Classic Hermes Elegant Bags by Laurie Nicola featuring Hermes bags

Classic Chanel 2.55 Bag

Perfect for dinners and evening events. If you want to use chanel in the day, get the ones in the silver chain.

Chanel's wellknown "2.55" takes its name from the month and year when Coco Chanel has launched the luxurious item: February 1955.

Classic Chanel Elegant Bag by Laurie Nicola featuring Chanel clutches

Gucci Hobo

Perfect for day time activities, shopping, meeting girlfriend for tea. I love how it hangs on my shoulders and goes with all the casual outfits that I have. It is roomy and has space for things we carry around in the day. Lip gloss, purse, sunglasses, mobile phone, notebook and pen, a book, tissue, etc etc.

Gucci Classics Elegant Bag by Laurie Nicola featuring Gucci bags

Classic Louis Vuitton Range

• Perfect for travel or when you have alot of things to carry, for instance, a stylish alternative for a baby bag. Perfect Overnight bag.

Louis Vuitton Classics by Laurie Nicola featuring Louis Vuitton bags

Elegant Bags For The Evening

The smaller the bag, the more elegant. It is especially beautiful to carry something made of crystals to a glitzy event.

Elegant Evening Bags by Laurie Nicola featuring Bottega Veneta bags

Now I'm not advocating designer brands and neither do you need designer brands for elegance. I've just used these brands to illustrate some types of classic bags that most people can identify with.

Indes de la Fressange (my personal favourite style icon) says that it is more chic to carry bags without logos or that are obviously designer. What is more important is a luxurious quality and its measure of style. She says in her book, Parisian Chic "She is uninterested in spending for its own sake and sporting the labels to show for it."

We all love to buy the same things over and over again. Sometimes we buy something too similar to what we already have.

My problem is that I tend to buy too many classics. (I'm too safe!)

Are you like me too? :)

I hope that this page will inspire your collection of elegant bags.

Thank you for reading this page!

You might also be interested in:

Picking Elegant Shoes
Elegant Lingerie - A Good Secret</<br>A Refined Look Using Jewelery & Accessories

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