This summer, there’s only one thing that everyone on the PurseBlog team wants: handbags as bright as the July sunshine. Everything about summer is flush with color – the plants, the sky, the clothes – and this summer, your bag better follow suit or it’ll be left out of the fun (and you along with it). This weekend marks the official start of the season, and if you’re not prepared with a bevy of bright bags at your disposal (and even if you are, everyone always needs another bag), Gilt.com has an absolutely killer selection of kate spade new york bags that are just the pop of color you’ll need, all at below-retail prices that make stocking up the only option.

If you haven’t thought about California contemporary brand Linea Pelle in a while, it might be time you seek out the brand’s bags once again. They’re casual, made of wonderful, soft leather, and best of all, they won’t absolutely empty your bank account – everything on the brand’s website currently retails for less than $400, all the way from mini crossbody bags to large, carry-everything tote bags.

We’re one week closer to the arrival of summer and mere days away from the three-day weekend that unofficially begins the beach season, and it seems like it was just yesterday that we were all complaining about the cold and its refusal to leave. (Ok, it sort of was yesterday – it got downright chilly in New York at the beginning of the week.) To console yourself for the fact that it’s not quite Memorial Day yet (but so, so close), we’ve taken done our usual Friday thing – scoured the Internet for bags that are on sale and begging to be purchased.

As we inch ever closer to summer, we also inch ever closer to the full-on spring collection sales, and online retailers are starting to put more and more interesting things on markdown. As we always do on Fridays, we’ve taken the liberty of pre-shopping those new markdowns and finding the best of the best bag deals to present to you, our dear readers.

Now that May, glorious May, has finally arrived, things around here seem to be heating up for good, finally. That also means we’re inching ever closer to summer sale season, and although it’s not here quite yet (be patient, my friends), retailers are starting to mark things down here and there to try and move through spring’s finest wares. That means that the bags you’ve been coveting all season long might be a little more affordable than they once were, and as we always do on Fridays, we’ve scoured the Internet to see if today is your lucky day.

The best thing about Friday is that we get one every week. Nothing beats the anticipation of waking up on Friday morning and knowing that there are only eight hours of work standing between you and two sweet days of freedom and relaxation. To speed that process along, we’ve done what we do every Friday – scoured the Internet for discounted bags that we believe will be relevant to your interests.

Despite the fact that we obviously love super-pricey designer bags, the PurseBlog team also firmly believes in the notion that a bag doesn’t have to be back-breakingly expensive in order to be totally lust-worthy. We try to highlight as many attainably priced bags as possible around here, and today, we have some big news from one of our absolute favorite contemporary bag (and shoe!) brands.

[Editor's Note: Because of the very serious events in Boston at the end of last week, our regular Friday features will be running today.]

It’s been, to put it lightly, a tough week if you watch the news. It’s Friday, though, which is a day that brings with it the hope for a better, brighter week to follow. In the meantime, we’ve got our weekly roundup of the Internet’s best bag deals for your perusing pleasure, should you need a bit of a distraction.

After a small hiatus for my spring vacation last week, we’re back today with your weekly dose of Friday bag deals from around the Internet. If you’re in New York, as I am, you may want to salve your frustration over the fact that it’s gotten cold all over again by buying a handbag, and if that’s the case, we always suggest that you do it while said bag is on sale, if possible.

Glimpses of Spring have been shining through and because of this, my mind has drifted off to summer plans. I love a good nautical theme just like the next girl, and if you don’t want to get too kitschy, opt for stripes to show your preppy spring and summer spirit. I immediately got excited when I found this MICHAEL Michael Kors pouch, because not only does the clutch provide the nautical spin I’m craving, but it does it at a price that makes this quite the bag deal.