In every bag lover’s life, there is a moment when they decide to enter the big leagues and invest in an iconic purse they’ll cherish for the rest of their life.
It’s a big day, and one that we know can be ultra magical, especially if you pick the right brand.
For a bag this important, it’s pretty normal to take your time deliberating the best style and designer. We’ve had certain styles stay on our vision board for years before adding it to the cart.
For most people, a designer bag is not an impulse purchase — and that’s a good thing because it means you can really consider what you want the bag to look and feel like and what message you’d like to send with the style you choose.
Every bag tells a story. Deciding what kind of story you want to invest in is what makes fashion fun.
Plenty of other designers will have you believing that you can’t own a luxury bag for under $1000, but they’re wrong, and we can prove it. Keep reading for a guide to some of the best bags for under one grand.
5 of the Best Bags Under $1000
The key when you’re searching for designer bags is to be clear on what you’re spending your money on.
Fine tailoring and flawless materials should cost more. That means they’re the real thing. Anyone trying to sell you a luxury product at an unbelievable cost is usually too good to be true. Scammers are out there.
What you should be looking for is a product where the price lines up with the value. In the case of these five Brandon Blackwood bags, that is certainly the case.
1. The Bamboo B Tote
The Bamboo B Tote is one of our more elegant styles. With a structured, rectangular shape lined with gold metal hardware in a bamboo shape, this is not a bag that easily blends into any outfit — she is certainly no wallflower.
The Bamboo B Tote is available in two styles. One is made with Ombré Salvator Lizard Skin and two are made with 100% cowhide leather. Both are ultra-luxurious and impeccably crafted.
Let’s start with the lizard skin.
We launched our Ombré Salvator Lizard collection in 2021, pairing gold metal hardware with fine lizard skin on a few of our most popular bag styles. Coming in right at $1000, the Ombré Salvator Lizard Bamboo B Tote is absolutely an investment bag. This is not a material that you come across every day, and the price reflects the scarcity and luxury of the good.
In addition to being made with a smooth lizard skin, the bag itself is stunning. The gold hardware elevates it to a work of art, and you’re bound to turn heads when you hit the town with Bowen in hand.
If the price point of the lizard skin is feeling too steep, you can easily move to the leather version, which is set at a more attainable $375. Available in both Black and Brown cowhide leather, the Bowen B Tote will always be a showstopper.
2. The Kendrick Trunk
You might recognize the Kendrick Trunk from paparazzi snaps and red carpet pics. The style has been worn by some of our absolute faves, from Olivia Rodrigo to Winnie Harlow.
The Kendrick Trunk is popular for a reason. There’s something so fab about a purse that is designed to keep its shape and safely secure all your most essential items with our signature “B” buckle-clasp fastener. The Kendrick Trunk brings together the beauty of luggage and a handbag. It’s, not exaggerating, a revelation of the genre.
Like the Bowen B Tote, the Kendrick Trunk is available in the Ombré Salvator Lizard, which is priced at $950. We tend to produce the Kendrick Trunk in lots of different materials, depending on our mood and what the people are asking for. It’s really one of our staple items.
Right now, we are loving cow print and dalmatian prints made with authentic ponyhair on cowhide. At $320, it’s still a treat yourself moment, but it’s nothing that will set you back too far.
The standard Kendrick Trunk is seven inches wide, but we also have a mini version that has totally stolen the internet’s heart. The price point here really ranges, but we’re kind of obsessed with the Rabbit Fur iteration of the Mini Kendrick available right now.
Available in Black and Brown Rabbit Fur, it’s a small piece of texture that brings an outfit to the next level when it comes to taste. We’re going to be rocking this one all winter; just watch and see.
3. The Medium Cara
A classic for a reason, the Medium Cara is frequently sold out because of her versatility. This is a bag that goes with your life. You’re wearing it, not the other way around.
With a rounded body and genuine leather paneling on the bottom, the Medium Cara has a solid duffel structure but retains a feminine purse feeling. It’s just slightly bigger than a saddle bag or baguette bag, making it more functional in a way that cements it into its role as an everyday purse.
The Medium Cara comes in a few different varieties, including 100% genuine Antelope Hide, which is ultra chic and neutral enough to fit with so many outfits. At $625, we’re now talking well under the $1000 price tag maximum.
In addition to Antelope Hide, the Medium Cara is also available in Blue and Brown Ponyhair, which is just $300. Still a treat and made all the more sweet by how luxurious the materials feel.
4. The Mya Bag
A designer bag purchase is an extra activity. As it should be.
This is a piece of art that you’re looking to wear on your arm. Whatever a purse may be, it should never, ever be boring. That’s why something like the Mya Bag will always be worth the investment.
Mya is small, at seven inches wide and five inches tall. The body of the bag is made with 100% genuine Black leather, which is fab, but the star power of the Mya bag comes down to its Green Fox Fur embellishment, wrapping around the sides of the exterior.
Nothing but respect for the everyday bag, but the Mya is not it. This is “a going out for your birthday” sort of bag or a “seeing your ex for the first time in years” sort of bag. It’s meant to be shown off.
The Mya Bag is $550 and worth every penny.
5. The Marcy Ave Tote
Next up is the Marcy Ave Tote, named after the real-life New York subway stop for all our city girls.
The Marcy Ave Tote is literally everything you would ever want in a tote bag. It’s stylish, it’s structured, and it’s made with quality materials that easily help it shift from an errand bag to a night-out bag.
If a bag is an investment, then this one will get you the most bang for your buck. A totally versatile design, it makes any outfit stylish and any occasion memorable. It also effortlessly fits with your wardrobe, meaning you can start with the Marcy Ave Tote, or you can treat it like the cherry on top. It works either way.
Available in three genuine leather colors — Cream, Pink, and Green — as well as a Camel Net Over Beige Linen style, the Marcy Ave Tote ranges from $400 to $500.
If you’re looking to gift a Brandon Blackwood design, you really can’t go wrong here.
Gatekeeping Luxury Goods Is Over
In a world where you can find literally everything online, the smoke in mirrors era of fashion is over. For us, this moment in fashion represents an opportunity for transparency and accessibility. We’re not interested in gatekeeping luxury goods with ridiculous mark-ups.
We’re about bringing the magic of designer tailoring and expert craftsmanship to everyone who wants in.
That’s why we always bring our customers into the conversation on social media — this process shouldn’t happen behind closed doors!
Brandon said it best when talking to L’Officiel, “These are the people that are shopping and supporting us and making this brand what it is today, so it would be a huge disservice to not listen to them. It makes the job overall more fun being able to talk to and essentially hang out with your customer.”
We know $1000 is not nothing. We know investing in clothing and accessories like that will represent a shift in the way you think about these items. But we hope we can make these timeless products a little more attainable. Once you do decide to take the plunge, we promise they’ll become the prized possessions on your shelf. Just wait.
Sources:
Brandon Blackwood Releases New Collection Of Ombré Salvator Lizard Handbags | Hypebae
Olivia Rodrigo Has Been Carrying Brandon Blackwood Trunk Bags On Repeat | Style Caster
Brandon Blackwood on Activism, Accessories, and Building a Black-Owned Brand | L’Officiel