▎❝ Handbag Hunter: I can’t believe it’s not Gucci. ❞

Today we are on the hunt for affordable handbags inspired by some popular luxury styles from Gucci. Honestly, this has been such a fun little game I’ve been playing with myself since I first realized how many designer dupes sites like Amazon and Walmart sell. Most people don’t even realize it and since the Walmart inspired Birkin—lovingly referred to as the Wirkin—has taken the internet by storm, I thought it would be fun to explore some other major labels and the budget bags that they inspired. Given my own expansive handbag collection which you can read about here, I have a pretty good idea of what sets a good inspired handbag apart from a poorly executed replica so that’s what we’ll be focusing on as well as some brand staples to note. As a disclaimer, I have not had the time to actually acquire all of these handbags myself so I will be writing this based on internet comparisons alone and the focus will be on finding handbags that have a similar style, design, or features to luxury labels. I can’t speak to the quality of handbags I don’t have so be sure to read the individual reviews too!

I have talked about how important it is to pay attention to the little details in fashion before in my designer dupes post and this is one of the biggest reasons why! Designer dupes—or designer inspired bags—are all around us hidden in plain sight at prices that make them not only attainable, but highly reasonable. In many cases, these inspired bags are not only reasonably priced but may even be priced lower than a regular handbag from a generic brand but it varies. Please make a habit to learn brand trademarks if you are a fashion enthusiast because it will make your life so much easier when you’re shopping and you stumble across something that looks familiar but you just can’t place it. Without all the years I’ve spent collecting, I would be just in the dark about what to look for and I’d be missing out on some amazing deals.

Also, though I am writing about designer inspired handbags, I do believe that investing in true, authentic pieces is important and I encourage you to do so if and when you can. One of the reasons I don’t have an issues investing in an inspired piece or two is because I’ve already invested in the real brands several times over. By writing this, I am in no way diminishing any of these brand’s work or condoning blatant theft of their original designs. I am, however, a woman here for the people and I’m not about to gatekeep these style secrets. I’ve never believed that fashion should only be for a certain social class or wealth bracket—it should be accessible to everyone. We also have to admit that it’s these top luxury brands that create the “trends” we see in lower cost stores. There is a serious trickle down affect when it comes to fashion and what’s produced on the global runways which is a known fact. Fashion and luxury are separate concepts to me. It’s for this reason, that I don’t mind sharing these handbags that I found as well as any other inspired designer pieces I find in my travels for my budgeting fashion friends.

Gucci 1947 Mini Bag

The first handbag that we have is a bamboo handle black leather mini bag. On the left is the original 1947 mini bag from Gucci, currently retailing for $1,750 according to their website. Anyone who knows Gucci would’ve spotted bamboo handle and closure detailing as a staple of their brand. The bamboo was actually the first thing that drew my attention when I was scrolling through Amazon and found this handbag’s twin completely on accident!

On the right is a black leather bamboo handle handbag from Amazon selling for $36.99 depending on which color you’d want. I will add that if you didn’t want such an exact dupe but you just wanted something more in the style of Gucci without being too on the nose, you could choose one of the other colors! They have a green option and it would be another good choice considering green is one of Gucci’s brand colors though it’s not as commonly featured in their handbags.

There is actually more than just one shop on Amazon selling handbags inspired by the original Gucci bag so if you wanted something similar but a little different, try the crocodile texture handbag for $23.99.

Gucci Broadway Bee Bag

One of the most iconic and widely recognized symbols of the fashion house of Gucci is the bee. You can find it’s motif interwoven into various collections and designs. The reason why Gucci chose to incorporate the bee into their lore and symbolism is because of it’s association with royalty, luck, and wealth. Founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Italy, Gucci decided on an inspect with rich ties to European royalty.

This handbag is called the Gucci Broadway Bee bag and retails for around $1,100 depending on where you get it. I don’t know that it’s still available on the official Gucci website but you can get it secondhand from sites like Poshmark, Vestiaire Collective, Ebay, and The Real Real. From what I’ve seen, it mostly comes in black, red, silver, and white, though I did see a pink one!

I have found these closely matching bee studded handbags from Amazon for $29.99 in a variety of the colors that I mentioned above so take your pick! Also keep in mind that the thing that makes these handbags such good Gucci dupes is the proper use of their symbol—the bee—without actually stealing their copyrighted logo. This is really good to look for if you’re looking for designer inspired handbags because while a logo is usually off limits to replica makers, a broader logo such as an animal or widely used symbol is not making them much more accessible to include in inspired pieces.

Gucci Dionysus Handbag

The Gucci Dionysus collection was first released in the Fall/Winter collection by their creative director at the time, Alessandro Michele who later left the label in November 22 after seven years. Stealing a page from Versace, Gucci named the handbag after Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, theatre, and festivity. Basically, anything in excess was attributed to Dionysus in the ancient world so it was the perfect inspiration for a luxurious handbag. Anyone familiar with designer fashion knows that using mythology in their collections and clothing is nothing new for Versace but in 2015, it was for Gucci.

In one myth from Dionysus’ lore, Zeus sent him a tiger to cross the river, Tigris, which is where the bag gets it’s unique tiger’s head clasps at either end like a horseshoe, symbolizing both the beginning and end of Dionysus’ mythical journey on tiger back. Depending on which model of the Dionysus collection you’re looking for, the metal tiger clasps come in silver or gold but the most common one I’ve seen is silver. Like many of the bags we’ve discussed, the Dionysus handbag comes in a variety of colors, patterns, and textures! It’s one of Gucci’s largest and most popular bag collections.

Retailing anywhere between $4,700 and $1,400, the Dionysus collection is priced by size. I found some good dupes on Amazon including these similar handbag styles for around $29.99. These seem pretty popular so I think colors go in and out of stock. If there’s a particular color you’re looking for, just keep checking to see if it’s back.

Gucci Diana Mini Handbag

Gucci introduced the Diana handbag in 1991, naming it after the late style icon, Princess Diana, who made the bag famous by wearing it casually. With the signature bamboo handles of Gucci, it features a box design and chunk hardware. It was re-released in 2021 as part of Gucci’s capsule collection inspired by Diana herself. One of the most popular Gucci handbags, the Diana handbag retails for around $4,300 according to the official website. Though you can buy preloved handbags in this style anywhere secondhand fashion is found, I’ve linked the official bag from Gucci.

This handbag is not only a staple of Gucci but of the 90’s itself. This style of handbag is perfect for that understated chic elegance of the time and is still highly sought after by collectors. It comes in a variety of colors such as green, brown, tan, and monogram but is most popular in the original black leather.

I have found a bag matching the similar shape, bamboo handling, and border detailing as the Diana handbag from Amazon for $89.90. If you are not a fan of the black crocodile bamboo handle handbag, you can find this other Gucci inspired style here in a different color and texture for $29.99.

If you liked this post, maybe I’ll make it into a new series and update it with new designer inspired handbags that I hunt down in my travels. If anyone gets their hands on these bags before I do, feel free to leave a comment and let me know more information concerning things like quality and if they are true to their advertisement. Again, please read all of the reviews available before deciding to purchase these items. I have not gotten any myself and can’t comment on anything other than their designs.

disclaimer: sometimes prices change and I can only account for the prices I see for an item at the time. The prices I’ve posted here as the “regular price” are the current prices listed at the time of this article’s publishing. I will try to check back and update it in the future if need be.