29 Under-$500 Summer Bags You'll Reach For Daily

Woman standing in the street with a Dragon Diffusion bag.

(Image credit: @monikh)

I know we talk a lot about the latest designer bags here at Who What Wear, but the prices for designer bags these days are through the roof. Many of the current It bags are $3k and up, so if that's outside of your handbag budget, I'm here to offer you a slew of alternatives.

I find that summer is the best time of year for affordable bag shopping. This is when the trends typically lean more casual, and wallet-friendly materials like raffia are at the forefront. In fact, some of my favorite bags on the market ring in at under $500. Ultra-affordable brands like Mango and Madewell and moderately priced ones like Staud, Dragon Diffusion, and Reformation are great places to find beautiful summer bags, and I've collected all of the best buys in one place for you.

Without further ado, scroll on to shop the chicest under-$500 bags of summer 2024.

Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.