The Diaper Bag Dilemma

I'm obsessed lately with finding the perfect diaper bag, which is requiring hours and hours of perusing online till all hours of the night.

Here are my top ten requirements:

1. Must be a normal bag, not an actual diaper bag so that I can wear it out with or without babies. 

2. Must be high quality so that it will last forever (100% genuine leather). 

3. It has to wear well (100% genuine leather usually wears well). 

4. It has to be able to stand on its own (in other words, little feet at the bottom of the bag and nothing that slouches). 

5. It has to be roomy, preferably with some compartments. 

6. But it can't be too big that it dwarfs my short stature. 

7. It has to have handles for carrying on my arm and also a detachable cross body strap.

8. It has to look luxe. 

9. It has to be a neutral color but not white.

10. It has to cost $120 or less.

I wasn't sure these requirements were possible until shopping this past weekend when I saw this bag of my dreams which started this whole obsession in the first place. At the time I saw the bag it was 30% off its original price, with an additional 30% off for that day making it come to a grand total of $136 - only $16 over budget!

I passed it up only because I was sure I could find something better.  Thanks to eBay, I did find almost the exact bag a little cheaper on eBay (also here). 

Because of all my research, I learned which brands to look for that offer genuine leather products for the best prices. If you're in the market for a quality bag, I suggest running searched for these brands:

1. Fossil

2. Sak

3. Calvin Klein

4. Emma & Fox

5. Antonio Melani

6. Vince Camuto

7. Tiganello

8. J.Crew

9. Zara

10. OrYANY

Not even sure where to run your online searches? Try these stores:

1. Neiman Marcus Last Call

2. Off Fifth Saks Fifth Avenue

3. Overstock.com

4. T.J. Maxx

5. Marshalls

6. Shopstyle.com

7. eBay

8. J.Crew

9. Zara

10. 6pm.com

Check out these eBay steals that meet most, if not all of my top ten requirements:

Cole Haan off eBay starting bid at $29.99!

This Kate Spade bag also looks like it meets my specifications and it's going for as low as $85:

Here is a J.Crew bag that almost fits my specifications for only $100!

Or how about this DKNY beauty up for bid, right now at $6!

I found this one and almost bought it for $96.99, but was too late and lost the bid. I'm hoping to maybe snag it the next time around.

This B. Makowsky satchel is only $79.99. Maybe this is the one for me.

Caveat for eBay shopping - be sure to choose in the advanced search option "US only" products so you don't get duped by a foreign company copying a brand and lying about its authenticity. Also, be careful to look thoroughly at the pictures of the item presented, as well as read the descriptions thoroughly. Many of these bags are being sold at such a low cost due to a missing part or defect.

Many bags meet so many of my requirements, but there's only one thing missing - a detachable strap. I found these great  detachable leather straps that I could buy if my dream bag has everything but the missing strap.

What are your dream diaper bag requirements? Any suggestions on where to find one?