We’re living in a golden age up contemporary bags. It wasn’t that long ago that wanting to stay in the three figures meant slim pickings unless you wanted something casual, slouchy and adorned in studs, fringe, zippers or something else to distract from the bag’s drab design. Things have gotten steadily better since Mansur Gavriel took off, though; retailers seemingly realized that there’s a huge market for sleek, modern bags that don’t cost four figures, and plenty of upstarts and existing brands alike have rushed to fill the market.
Traditionally, the price for a contemporary brand’s highest-profile day bags usually falls right under $600, so that’s the cutoff we use when evaluating each season’s best new arrivals. Below, we’ve accumulated two dozen bags from brands both new and familiar, all of which are very good bets for their prices.