Handbag trends: the shapes to grab on the high street

I can’t go anywhere without a handbag and I can’t understand how anyone else can either. Where do you put your keys, phone, cash and card? Not to mention your lippy, some powder, a comb, maybe some tissues… It even irritates me when the characters on TV go out without a bag - that's how obsessed I am.

However, I was never that bothered about handbags, just that I had one, until I started letting my little sis buy me bags as gifts.

Now, this woman is a total handbag addict. She will spend weeks choosing me the perfect bag and then she can barely hand it over. She is totally to blame for the fact that I love bags now, and she has activated what appears to be my ‘designer bag desire’ gene.

Well, a girl can dream of having a wardrobe just for handbags (right next to the one with the shoes!) but with all of us stony broke we need to find some alternatives.

There are some amazing bags out there for a fraction of what celebrities are paying for designer bags. Now, I am not advising you to go out a buy a pile of cheap bags, because they never really do it do they? It’s like cheap shoes, sometimes you are really lucky and find a pair that you love and that last more than a season, but most of the time we treat these cheapies as disposable.

It’s worth getting an investment bag every couple of years. You will love it so much more and you will have it for ages. But it doesn’t have to cost the earth. Check out all the designer outlets but also look at labels that are not as expensive. It doesn’t have to be Hermes! My sister-in-law bought me a Pierre Cardin bag in New York about eight years ago and it is still my go to bag when I am going out. It just seems to go with everything and it still looks perfect. And for my brother’s wedding ten years ago I bought a purple Jasper Conran bag that is totally on trend this year.

All of the department stores have a great selection of bags. High street stores are selling bags that are almost identical to designer brands.

So this year think about buying one investment bag and then just grabbing a few cheaper ones during the year. There are still lots of bargains to be had in shops.

So do you think you might invest in a better bag this year or have you one already?