Edit: Sleek bags under US$500

Finding a handbag or purse does not have to be difficult — though patience will certainly help. Depending on how much you are willing to spend, there are many upmarket brands (e.g. Coach, Furla, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs) that offer quality-made leather bags in sleek designs at a fraction of the price of their higher-end cousins (e.g. Céline, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Burberry). The challenge is searching for these bags and creating a shortlist of the ones that meet your budget and most importantly, suit your style. Here's my edit of the bags under US$500 that I find covetable for a capsule bag collection that's easy to style with (I like minimal designs & colours with no frou-frou):

There are also many other brands that are accessible should your budget range from US$500 to upwards of US$1,000: e.g. Mulberry, Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Reed Krakoff, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Burberry, Dior & Louis Vuitton (canvas totes).