Our top 5 investment bags for under £2000

Welcome to the best place to learn about what bags are actually a good investment. Why are we the best place? Because this is what we do for our day job. We buy and sell handbags and we have been doing it for over a decade.

In most investment bag blogs you will find all the usual suspects. The Chanel classic flap, the Hermès Birkin, but not everyone has over £4500 to spend on a handbag. I would suggest that actually very few people would have this sort of budget so here are a few basic rules when considering what to purchase followed by some of our favourite picks.

If you want to maximise the resale value of your bag here are our quick and easy tips:

1. Colour - black has the best resale value generally because it wears better than most other colours
2. Style - Classic, if you are trying to purchase something that you can resell in 5-10 years time maybe then it needs to be a classic design that will still be in production
3. Fabric - choose a more hardwearing fabric. Think a Caviar leather if opting for Chanel or equally canvas bags wear very well
4. Documentation and boxes - your bag still has excellent value without these but with them you might just squeeze out a little bit more so do your best to keep them. Do, of course, if you are buying Chanel keep the card and you won’t believe it but I have known people to peel off the serial sticker. Don’t be that person!

Now onto the juicy stuff: Our top 5 investment bags for under £2000?

1. Chanel Wallet on Chain:

Image: Chanel

At the time of writing in 2021 these are £2150 so forgive me I have already blown the budget but come on - don’t tell me you haven’t done that before! The bag most certainly ticks the classic box as it has already been around for two decades. The perfect balance between a cross body day bag and chic enough for the evening you will get a huge amount of wear out of it too. The Chanel WOC bag also holds its value really well due to regular price rises. Want to know which one will wear best? Choose black in Caviar leather.

2. Chanel Clutch on a Chain

Image: Chanel

Chanel has a variety of clutches on chains and they are not talked about nearly so often. One of my favourites at the time of writing is the gorgeous circular Chanel 19 with a cross body strap. You can also find a more classic shape or they also do a Chanel Boy clutch too. These are all well under your £2000 budget coming in at circa £1500 it might even leave you a little extra to treat yourself to something else. Did someone say Chanel brooch?

3. Louis Vuitton Alma BB

Image: Louis Vuitton

The Alma is a personal favourite of mine, its chic shape and the ability to wear the BB crossbody makes it an easy day to night option. I would advise that if you are looking to purchase this as an investment, certain colourways and leather finishes will wear better than others. For example, the Epi and Vernis finishes in a darker colour may show less wear than the beautiful monogram. Don’t forget, as cute as it is to personalise your Louis Vuitton, it does detract from the value so try and pass on that option. With prices from £1030, you could almost buy two! My only criticism? Sometimes the zips can be slightly awkward to open on this shape.

4. SPEEDY 25

Image: Louis Vuitton

I love this little bag. Coming in at £830 currently, I am supremely below budget. The Louis Vuitton Speedy is super chic, super durable and you can get A LOT in them due to their barrel shape. My friend used to travel for the weekend in her Speedy 30! She was most certainly an outlier in terms of a light traveller but still - impressive. You will note that I have opted here for the regular Speedy rather than the Bandouliere. I do also really like the Bandouliere and having the option of that extra strap is great. I was just trying to watch my budget. If you can stoop to the extra approximately £300, I probably would.

5. Prada Galleria

Image: Prada

It took a lot for me to recommend any other bag than a Chanel, Louis or normally I would of course have thrown in a Hermès to the mix, however my price cap rather limited me here. The Prada Galleria is beautiful, timeless and classic. Having been in production since 2007, it still looks chic and modern today. For £1950 in the small size, it also comes in just on budget. The Saffiano leather is incredibly durable and means that your investment will stay looking her best for years to come

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear what you would choose as your top investment for under £2000 and why - share below!