ButIWantedAPony wrote:
One other thing to note: If you're going to spend more than, say, $200 on a leather handbag, I would strongly urge you to buy something that you've had the opportunity to see and touch. Not all leathers are created equal, obviously, and there are some really icky, plastic-y feeling leathers used in handbags -- even designer bags. Last year, I was absolutely set on buying a Michael Kors Hamilton bag...until I went to Macy's and touched it. I've had similar you-had-me-until-I-felt-the-leather experiences with Marc Jacobs and a couple others.
Even cheaper leather bags come in a wide range of leather quality.

My purse is a simple black leather shoulder strap bag from The Sak, and cost about $80. It's buttery soft and has held up well over four years of constant use. Only had to do some minor repairs on the zipper. Not bad for less than a hundred bucks.