Amanda Mull May 23, 2011 Savvy

PurseBlog Asks: Would you buy a Jessica Simpson handbag?

Jessica Simpson Bella Faux Leather Crossbody, $42 via Nordstrom.

Seriously, I want to know. I came across the Jessica Simpson Bella Faux Leather Crossbody on Nordstrom’s website while casually browsing yesterday, and it struck me as decently cute and on-trend. A rigid bag in a poppy shade of pink-red with a chain handle? It doesn’t get much more current than that. But it’s fake leather, which I loathe, and I have a feeling that would be more obvious in person than it is in photos. Although for the price, this bag could be a lot worse, and I’ll confess to having a pair of Jessica Simpson shoes in my closet. In fact, I don’t know a girl my age who doesn’t, no matter her normal shoe budget. But for me, handbags are a different thing. Are they for you? Vote in our poll and then give us your thoughts after the jump.

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AshleyG

Jessica had a FEW really nice ones when her line first came out. I had a black satchel that EVERYONE tried to steal from me but her collections in the last couple of years have been awful. Also, for some reason she keeps insisting on making bags in these skins which make them look even cheaper. I hate to rag on her but I’ve seen this bag and the others in its family in person and they suck. They remind me of the bags sold in the chinese beauty supply stores :/
Marianna

Not on a bet! Yes that’s a cute bag at a great price point but I still say NO! . I will admit to being just snobby enough that I would never carry a faux leather celebrity touted handbag. I would rather carry a budget conscious brand of leather bag such as Tignanello. My handbags are my biggest fashion statement and Jessica Simpson(or anything of the same ilk) is not in my volcabulary.
PhotoGirl

So far, I have resisted. Not because it’s faux leather, but because it’s Jessica Simpson. But I think this says more about me than it does about her, and I’m beginning to feel that what it says isn’t very good. After all, doesn’t Vince Camuto own the licenses for that line? I buy and wear his shoes all the time.
YMMV, of course.
FashionFanboy

Although it is extremely cheap, and quite chic, I don’t think I ever could get myself to actually use that outside..
The handle looks quite sloppily forced on the bag.
The hardware aren’t even useable, it gives the impression of “cheap”.
The material is fake leather which is a big minus.

Basically this bag is chic on first sight, but with a tiny bit closer inspection is written fake all over it. The material, the hardware, plus the fact that the handles looks like something you’d find on a child’s toy-purse.

Sorry, but I don’t think this bag is eligible in my gangstah gang any time soon, yo!
- http://www.purseblog.com/ Amanda Mull
  
  It’s the kind of bag that’s cute from a distance and at a quick glance, I agree. The longer I look at it, the more it makes me itch. In a bad way.
Diane

No, Def not. No on the shoes also…but my teen daughter just got the peep toe Jessica Simpson Kendale heels in red for her upcoming dance. They are sweet shoes btw!
Mochababe73

The pictures are nice, but her product looks horrible in person. I wouldn’t dare wear one of those handbags even if someone gave it to me.
With all due respect, those handbags remind me of Guess. You can take the same amount of money and buy a nice Nine West bag. If you go to the Nine West store, you can find bags in suede.
With that being said, I don’t own a Nine West or a Guess. Too junior for my taste.
anonymous

Not even Jessica Simpson carries these handbags. Most of the time I see her pictures she’s carrying Louis Vuitton.
Jacki

I just don’t like fake leather.
- Lulugurl
  
  Agreed! The minute its pleather, I don’t care how cheap it is, it could be a buck at a garage sale and I still wouldn’t buy it. :P
rose60610

I’m far too much of a self-absorbed, vain and shallow snob to wear a non-designer bag most of the time. Just sayin’. However, I’ve seen worse. I’ve never felt the need to carry an exact bag/clothes color match, but if i did (we’re talking non-black), it’d make sense to get an inexpensive bag because it’d be about the color, not the label. On the other hand, when I go to ethnic supermarkets in Chicago which are sometimes in dicey neighborhoods, I wear a nondescript bag and no jewelry. Jessica Simpson might even be too flashy for some places.
Chiyong

I wouldn’t buy it because it looks cheap. Cardboard backing, fake alligator or croc that isn’t even leather, this purse looks like it’d fall apart after a month. I’ll always prefer to save up money to spend on something that I’ll cherish that will last a lifetime.

I tend to stick to brands I know and trust, but will venture out if it’s an item I must have. This is not and Imve not seen anything from her lines I like.
danieli

Good from far, far from good. That being said about this bag, I certainly would buy her shoes and if the right bag spoke to me, then a bag too. If something catches my eye, should it really matter the label? Love nice things, hate being snobby.
Riry

I don’t think I would wear her purse, but I must confess that I have her shoes. Three of them. The “Jessica” pump in black, nude, and tan. More comfortable than any of the Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks that I used to feverishly collect. And I wear them proudly with my Balenciagas and PS1s!
Cathy Fitz

Can’t do fake leather.
ts

They look very cheap and I personally think if you can’t afford a reasonable quality leather bag it is so much better to go with a canvas material or save for the leather. (This goes for most plastic “leather bags” not just Jessica’s). I just think women look much chicer with a canvas land’s end tote than a faux leather bag. :)
Seejayluvsbags

No but I so respect her as a business woman. But no. No for her shoes or bags. I won’t even do Kooba/ColeHaan/MarcbyMarcJacobs/ToryBurch or the majority of Coach bags. I’ve been there & done that but never JS.
Staci

The bag is cute in the picture but I agree – I’m not willing to rock a JS bag.. I’d rather something vintage or higher end/better quality from a consignment shop.
XXAL

only carry bags that are made from top quality materials & craftmanships! even if they aren’t the most expensive, clean and high quality look is the only thing that matters. i LOVE the stud lock idea though! no way she came up with that? did it come from other designers? PLEASE let me know so i can look into it!!
- Trixwitch
  
  Actually, I think this bag is EXTREMELY similar to a certain sonia rykiel bag!
  
  Look!:
  
  http://shop.soniarykiel.com/accessoires/sacs/1737-sac-zelda?look=Look_4
  
  It looks very similar, only with worse quality…
  And the stud locks weren’t actually useable on the JS bag…
  As FashionFanboy said in an earlier comment.
  If you look at the inside picture you’ll see that it has magnetic locks.
Lucinda

I’m not keen on the design and would never buy a plether handbag, they usually fall apart pretty quickly and it makes me pretty sad when I see ladies carrying bags that are splitting with threads hanging out etc, also I dislike fake exotics even more than fake leather. I’d rather have a no name leather one any day, but saying that ever since I got my first high end bag I’ve never looked back, I probably wouldn’t even do MBMJ, Tory Burch, Coach etc. now.
Jazz

no, because I dont wear non-leather bags. Her shoes though- super hot and affordable
Jennifer

I’ve carried nice bags for a long time now. Its hard to go back. My bags of choice these days are the classic Coaches from the 90s. Long strap, right on trend & 1000x better quality than the stuff Coach makes now & I’m a Coach fan.

I will say I’d much rather see someone carry this JS bag than a fake LV, etc…
- Jazz
  
  you do have a point. I would rather see someone wear JS, guess , etc versus fake LV, fake gucci or fake balenciaga.
Alena

I try not to say “I’ll never wear plastic bags” simply because you should never say never. :) But it is a big turn-off to me when a bag is made of plastic. That cold tacky sticky plastic…. brrr, yuck!
Stacy

Hubby “gag-gifted” one of her bags a few years back. It was a hobo, I think, done in faux leather. It was tacky and oh so ugly. I couldn’t bear to “regift” that ugly monstrosity so I gave it Goodwill. I also threatened hubby that if he ever spent good money on one of her bags (even as a gag-gift) ever again he would pay dearly :)

As someone else said, I would rather have an inexpensive
all-leather bag rather than a name brand faux leather/PCV bag, any day of the week.
Anita

Not that one, for sure. I have a real hard time going back to faux leather after getting into real leather bags.
- Alena
  
  same here! been there, done that, thank you very much! :)
Chele

No. The phase “faux leather” makes my skin crawl!
EJae

I’ve purchased a Jessica Simpson satchel last year. It’s pretty durable bag. I’ve worn it with dresses and with jeans. I get alot of compliments on the coral color too! I think it just depends on the item. Some may look cheap while others you would know it was made by JS until you look at the label.
CraveBuyLove

I’m not a huge fan of the puses because they seem pretty trendy. I do have 2 pairs of her shoes in my closet (ballet flats). As far as bags go, I don’t care so much about the brand as much as the shape and quality. In the end, I usually end up with a classic, lesther bag from Italy or France. :-)
Sally

I have a Jessica Simpson handbag that is 3 months old the bag is falling apart the straps are tearing away from bag holding on by threads. I will not buy anything of Jessica Simpsons again. I saved my money to buy this handbag close to $100 and doesn’t last 3 months very cheap product.