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The Affordable Designer Bags To Invest In Now
Plenty of proof that a standout tote needn't come with a prohibitive price tag.
There’s a lot of stuff out there, and not all fashion pieces are created equal. Luckily, the ELLE editors know their way around a shopping rail, and when it comes to helping you find those niche brands worth knowing to high-street hits of quality, and a few vintage treasures too, our ELLE Edits showcase the very best of the season.
While there is nothing quite the thrill of unboxing a major designer investment, you don’t need to spend more than the average mortgage to get your hands on a handbag that’ll make every outfit feel that little bit more special.
Today, plenty of mid-range brands are leaning heavily into accessories, serving up affordable designer bags that don’t disappoint in either design or quality. In recent years, the rise of the contemporary label – fuelled by the likes of Ganni, Rejina Pyo et al – has opened up the floor for a stable of cult designers that challenge the traditional blockbuster offering, serving up something far cooler for a price that isn’t completely out of reach.
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For quiet-luxury fans, Little Liffner, Chylak and De Mellier are delivering forensically considered designs that marry form and function perfectly. Here, uncompromising quality is combined with planet-positive initiatives, from partnerships with independent artisans to charity projects that ensure your purchase has a positive impact.
At the other end of the spectrum, the likes of Charles and Keith and Puppets and Puppets are imagining sell-out statement bags that look as good in real life as they do on Instagram (if you can actually get your hands on one, that is). You'll find all the new season's key silhouettes at JW Pei – think silver leather, sculptural shapes and the essential puffer bag – and of course, for designs destined to blow up on TikTok, turn to South Korea’s young designers: Marge Sherwood and Osoi are two gaining fans in the ELLE UK office this season.
Here, see the ultimate guide to the best affordable bag brands of 2024.
The Inexpensive Designer Bags You'll Find In ELLE Editors' Wardrobes
Little Liffner
Totally timeless design is on the menu at Little Liffner, the brand that combines Scandinavian simplicity with Italian craftsmanship.
Practical yet polished, these wear-forever companions make their luxury status known through fine materials rather than shouty details. Expect the most supple brown suede totes, pillowy leather shoulder bags and some of the most refined basket-weaving we’ve laid our eyes on.
DeMellier
Barcelona-born, London-based Mirei founded De Mellier following a career advising some of the biggest fashion houses on the planet. Her design nous is clear to see in this considered edit of slick, perfectly formed bags, which are striking enough to spark conversation, yet never tied to an ephemeral trend.
Each piece is made in a small Spanish factory using palm raffie, apple-based vegan leather and food byproduct animal leather, certified by the Leather Working Group. Absolutely nothing goes to waste: even the scraps are donated to local apprentice schools – and the brand’s ongoing initiative, A Bag, A Life , means every purchase funds the provision of vaccines to children in need.
Coperni
A brand that understands the power of a viral moment, Coperni was propelled to the forefront of fashion when its SS23 show featured Bella Hadid having a dress spray-painted onto her in front of the captivated front row.
The best way to buy into the brand, however, is via its excellent bag designs: you've likely seen the oval-shaped Swipe before, but for the new season don't sleep on the roomy Belt Cabas.
Aesther Ekme
Aesther Ekme specialises in slick, sculptural bags made from leather sourced from tanneries approved by the Leather Working Group.
A minimalist dream, the brand's architectural, angular shapes make a statement in the most sophisticated way: expect shoulder bags masterfully curved to slip around your shoulder, and crossbodies that are nipped and tucked to create new, outfit-refreshing shapes.
Chylak
Chylak was one of the first fledging brands to hit the bigtime based purely on the strength of its design. In 2014, founder Zofia Chylak launched the label with the aim to bridge the gap between high-street, low-quality accessories and the four-figure Big Fashion stable.
The bags are made in the brand’s Polish hometown using fine Italian leather, while the more recent shoe line is made entirely in Italy by a family-owned workshop (that’s a byword for very good quality indeed). Keeping production small allows Chylak to stay brilliantly pedantic about every last detail: trims are all made from recycled materials, linings are fashioned from EcoVero™, and every hot-stamped edition number, which appears on the front of every bag, is precisely finished to reflect the light perfectly.
Cecilie Bahnsen
Cecilie Bahnsen's dreamy dresses are at the top of many fashion wishlists, but what you not know is that the designer also makes a line of beautiful bags. Now for the really good news: they're currently all very generously reduced in the Luisaviaroma sale.
Marge Sherwood
Sungeun Um and Soonyoung Kim created their bag project, Marge Sherwood, as an ode to the restrained style of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character in The Talented Mr Ripley. Turns out, that niche (yet conveniently timely) starting point translates as a series of simple yet precisely formed bags that seamlessly combine form and function. Here, slouchy silhouettes are cinched by Noughties style buckles, cut to curve neatly around the body, and finished with bold embossed logos.
Osoi
Helping cement Seoul’s reputation as the home of promising young designers, Osoi combines slick silhouettes with on-point details to create bags that bely their pleasing price tags. We love the curved croissant bag, the Mini Toni, but for something a little more fun, it has to be the bleach-splattered denim Folder Brot shoulder bag.
Mashu
Mashu’s vegan-leather shoulder bags are handmade in Athens by a group of independent artisans and small, family-run factories. An ode to her Greek heritage, designer Ioanna Topouzoglou elevates each striking design with sublime molten-gold hardware, crafted just like a piece of jewellery.
With its neat bar-style top handle, the Iris is ideal for summer nights and special events, but currently stealing our hearts is the waved-edge Aphrodite.
Charles & Keith
Here's one for those who want a statement-making accessory without a bank-bulldozing price tag. Singaporean Charles & Keith has long been the fashion influencers’ secret destination for bags and shoes that make a serious impact.
Right now, there are so many viral successes on the site: the Crescent Hobo is your shopping-at-the-weekend winner (you need to see the metallic silver version) while the Odella Curved Tote is large enough to stuff your trainers in, should you be inclined to finally use that gym membership.
Giarite
Here’s one for the magpies. Giarite makes the kind of evening bags that are best combined with your slinkiest dress and highest heels. You may have seen the brand’s star piece, the Brilly bag before: when it launched in 2021, it instantly gained main-feed real estate on some of the biggest Instagram grids. Covered in crystals in just big enough for the out-out essentials (phone, keys, lip gloss), it’s the ultimate late-night companion.
Puppets and Puppets
Carly Mark’s unique brand of sartorial surrealism is perfectly summed up by a slouchy leather shoulder bag, swinging from a banana handle.
Does that sound like just the thing to shake up your wardrobe? You’re in for a treat. Beyond the fruit-bowl inspiration, there’s a host of art-becomes-fashion madness in store here, namely tote bags punctuated by chocolate-chip cookies, telephones, and tarantulas.
Ganni
One that likely needs little introduction, Ganni is our go-to for bags that combine capital-F fun with the kind of practicality a girl needs when her day starts at a sunrise pilates class and ends in a bustling bar.
The brand is banking big on the Bou this season – a shapely, squat shoulder bag with a cute braided handle – but equally living rent-free on our wishlists is the logo-embroidered shopper in the brand’s signature leopard print, into which you can stuff your every last essential.
Furla
Furla may have been a fashion mainstay for decades now, but this year the brand has delivered some especially fresh-feeling bag silhouettes. The Nuvola, pictured left, is a true marriage of style and practicality: it's shaped to an architectural silhouette that'll work perfectly alongside easy denim and smarter looks, yet is big enough to actually fit your phone and make-up bag in.
Staud
LA-based brand Staud is another mainstay in many a fashion insider’s wardrobe, and this season the brand has gone all-in on a collection of seriously fun summer bags. Expect beading, braiding and basket weaving galore in this high-impact ode to the joy of the annual big holiday.
JW Pei
Jw Pei might be a cool-girl go-to, but the brand has only actually been in operation for a mere five years. Nevertheless, the LA-born vegan-friendly bag brand enjoys quite the cult following for its sculptural shapes and statement embellishments.
This season, we’re obsessed with the faux-bamboo Lily bag which, in deep dark brown, looks so much more expensive than it is. For something more architectural, consider the asymmetric cured Harlee shoulder bag, last seen on, well, every influencer on your feed.
Roberta Schroeder is the Senior Ecommerce Editor at Harper's Bazaar, ELLE and Esquire, overseeing shopping strategy and content across fashion, beauty, and travel. Roberta has reported on everything from market-leading skincare brands to the world’s most iconic fashion pieces, while also regularly updating a range of shopping guides, including LED masks, heritage cashmere brands and niche new dress brands to know.
Roberta has over fifteen years' experience in the luxury sector, spanning editorial consultancy, trend forecasting and journalism. Over the years, she has worked for global brands including Farfetch, Chanel, and Vogue.
When not testing beauty products, trialling trends and curating content that spotlights the very best in fashion and beauty, Roberta can usually be found trawling resale sites and vintage stores for a long-coveted designer find.
Follow Roberta on Instagram at @roberta__schroeder
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