One brand, one category. What follows is STAUD only, ranked by price, so you can see exactly what each step up buys. The range runs from Demy Beaded Shoulder Bag at $150 to Alden Shoulder Bag at $277, across 20 pieces. If you are buying one thing, start at the bottom of the range and only move up when the leather and hardware genuinely changes.

Check the drop and the opening before the leather. A bag you cannot get your hand into quickly stops being used within a month. The jump from $150 to $277 buys leather and hardware, not a different idea, so decide how often you will actually carry it before you pay the top of the range.

Buy Lani Raffia Bucket Bag at $245. It sits in the middle of the range, and the middle is where you stop noticing any improvement in leather and hardware. Demy Beaded Shoulder Bag at $150 is the sensible first purchase if you have never owned one and are not sure how often you will carry it. Alden Shoulder Bag at $277 is the one to skip unless you already know the brand suits you, because at that price it holds less than you think. Load it with what you actually carry before you cut the tags. A bag that needs editing down to close is the wrong bag, however good the leather is.