Ladies: when buying handbags and wallets, do you insist on buying expensive brands or is that not part of your decision?

this past weekend i bought a new pocketbook and wallet. this made me think about previous pocketbooks i’ve owned. i have had bad luck with department-store quality pocketbooks – they’ve not worn well, gotten shabby looking within a few months and as a result, i did not keep them long. my last one was a Coach brand, and i bought it at an outlet, and it’s lasted about 3 winters (in summer i usually use a more summery style). The one i bought this weekend was a cheaper one, from Macy’s – about $90 before the sale, $65 on sale. My only requirement for any pocketbook besides the style is that I like them to be real leather, and i usually won’t spend more than $200 because i am rough on my pocketbooks. This one is leather, and it’s purple. I like it a lot but based upon my past experience it won’t be around for more than a few months.

i started wondering if other women only will buy name brands, like Coach, Dooney and Bourke, Gucci, Chanel, etc. or if they will buy a department store quality one like mine, no particular brand name, or will they buy a lesser quality one,, for example from a bargain store like Walmart, Kmart, Target – to name a few, because price matters to them.