Highstreet vs Designer: Bags

Hey again!

Today we thought we'd blog about one of our current loves...Bags! We've both been lusting over several designer handbags (Mulberry and Prada) and although being students there is not way we could afford them, it is nice to dream! However, on a recent shopping trip we tried to get these designer bags out of our heads and find some more affordable ones. We found that River Island and Accessorize has some particularly nice ones which were much more affordable.

We thought it would be fun to find our favourite designer bags and our favourite high street bags and compare them, deciding which one is the overall winner. We will have 3 categories: tote, clutch and satchel. We will pick similar style bags to show how easy it is to find a designer-looking bag for less.

Let's get started!

Clutch:

Gucci - http://www.gucci.com/uk/styles/310005CMB2G6260#
Oasis - http://www.oasis-stores.com///oasis/fcp-product/5330028376#GBP

Melissa's views - I really like both clutches, but I think the high street one would actually go with more because of the colour. If it was the gems that made you fall in love with the Gucci clutch, you could always have a go at DIY'ing the high street one. Overall, I would pick the high street clutch as it would go with more.

Leah's views - This is a tough one, as to be honest I am not overly in to clutches. I like to have a bag with a strap because I'm so scared I will put it down somewhere. I personally think the high street one looks a lot cheaper than the designer one, especially if you zoom in on the actual Oasis website. However, with that being said I think I would still pick the high street clutch because I don't love the Gucci clutch enough to spend that much money.

Designer 0 - 2 High street.

Tote:

Prada - http://store.prada.com/en/UK/woman/handbags/totes/BN2438_NZV_F0OIU
Accessorize - http://uk.accessorize.com/view/product/uk_catalog/acc_1,acc_1.7/3891330900

Melissa's views - This is such a hard one, as that Prada bag is my dream bag! The only thing that has made me change my mind, is that I have decided to go out and buy the Accessorize tote, so my vote has to go for the high street tote.

Leah's views - I am a big fan of Prada bags, but this is an easy one for me. The Accessorize one is a really nice quality and in my opinion looks more expensive than it is. Again, my vote goes for the high street tote.

Designer 0 - 4 High street.

Satchel:

Mulberry - http://www.mulberry.com/#/storefront/c6493/8503/moreviews/
Topshop - http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=1&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=8517266&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208548&parent_categoryId=204484&pageSize=20&refinements=category~[209976|208548]&noOfRefinements=1

Melissa's views - I'm not that keen on satchels in general so neither are overly appealing. However, the designer bag wins my vote here because I like the colour and it has a bit more going for it.

Leah's views - This Mulberry bag is possibly my favourite bag I have ever seen! I love the colour, the detailing, the shape, everything. I don't like the Topshop bag much, it's alright and would be practical but it's a bit boring. This is an easy one, my vote goes to designer.

Overall score: Designer 2 - 4 High street.

So the overall winners are the high street bags, which is good because it shows you that it is not always worth spending the extra money on the designer bags. We can still dream though, as Melissa loves the Prada bag and I (Leah) love love love the Mulberry bag.

What is your favourite designer bag? Would you spend the extra money on any of these designer bags?