A self-confessed ‘bargain shopper’ has wowed thousands with her incredible 300-strong handbag collection worth over $30,000.
Katie, from Sydney, is so dedicated to her purses she has a special ‘handbag room’ in her home in the western suburbs, where she has divided up the bags into various colours and different designer brands.
While Katie said she is ‘addicted’ to handbags, she also admits that she is a ‘real bargain hunter’ who ‘only ever buys bags on special’.
‘The value of my collection is possibly around $30,000 but the expensive ones have been given to me by my beautiful friends,’ Katie told FEMAIL.
‘I only buy the cheap ones.’
A self-confessed ‘bargain shopper’ has wowed thousands with her incredible 300-strong handbag collection worth over $30,000 (Katie’s ‘handbag room’ pictured)
Some of the highlights of Katie’s handbag room include a designer option from Louis Vuitton, countless Michael Kors bags and a printed Guess statement purse.
But Katie doesn’t just own designer brands. She also has plenty of options from the likes of Kmart, Shein and Mimco.
Her personal favourite is a burgundy Michael Kors bag worth around $2,000.
‘My best friend bought it for me and kick-started the obsession,’ Katie said.
The 40-year-old said she does manage to use all of her different bags and rotates them on a fortnightly basis.
Katie, from Sydney, is so dedicated to her purses she has a special ‘handbag room’ in her home in the western suburbs (pictured)
The 40-year-old has divided her bags (pictured) up into various colours and different brands, and said she rotates them all on a fortnightly rotation
Sharing her collection and pictures of handbag room on Facebook, more than two thousand women were impressed and jealous of the buys.
‘A real-life Carrie Bradshaw, this is actually my dream,’ one woman posted.
‘Omg, this is handbag heaven. How do you choose which ones to use on which days?’ added another.
A third wrote: ‘You go girl, what a collection. Some very wise investments there, absolutely beautiful.’
Sharing her collection and pictures of handbag room on Facebook, more than two thousand women were impressed and jealous of the buys (some of the bags pictured)
But not everyone was on board with it, with some saying ‘you could feed a third world country with the cost of these bags’ and another writing ‘no disrespect, but you have a problem’ (some of the handbags pictured)
But not everyone was on board with it, with some saying ‘you could feed a third world country with the cost of these bags’ and another writing ‘no disrespect, but you have a problem’.
‘Why would you have so many that look the same? Same colour, similar size and handles, similar design. It just seems really wasteful to me and I’m interested to know why,’ one woman wrote.
Another added: ‘It’s lovely, but a bit first world-y.’
Last year, mum-of-two Mel (pictured), from Melbourne, offered a look inside her walk-in wardrobe that is worth over $200,000 and stuffed full of designer items
Mel said she doesn’t keep her handbags in their dust bags, because she loves to be able to see all of them as soon as she comes into her closet (handbag collection pictured)
This isn’t the first walk-in wardrobe to capture the attention of women online.
Last year, mum-of-two Mel, from Melbourne, offered a look inside her walk-in wardrobe that is worth over $200,000 and stuffed full of designer items – and revealed the organisation tips she swears by.
Mel said she doesn’t keep her handbags in their dust bags, because she loves to be able to see all of them as soon as she comes into her closet.
‘I then organise them by colour order – we go from the pinks and reds to the black shelf, my greens, blues, greys and neutrals,’ she said.
She also stuffs her bags full of air paper or tissue to help them keep looking full and in shape.
If it’s a particularly special handbag, like one of her Hermes Birkins (which retail for upwards of $70,000), she will use a bag insert and protect the handles using seat belt covers.
‘I have a variety of brands here, from Hermes to Gucci and Chanel,’ Mel said.
‘I love mixing vintage pre-loved pieces with newer designs.’
Mel recommends ‘hanging on to any designer boxes’ as she said you never know when you’ll need them (shoe collection pictured)
Mel’s top organisational wardrobe tips
* Use a bag display from IKEA so you can see all of your bags.
She likes to protect the handles of handbags using old seat belt holders (purses pictured)
* Stuff bags with tissue paper so they hold their shape.
* Protect the handles of handbags using old seat belt holders.
* Separate all of your items into colour and length order.
* Roll tops in drawers so you can see everything at a glance.
* Stack purses in a business card holder which acts as a step ladder so you can see them.
* Hang camisoles on a kitchen hook so they are easy to grab.
* Use velvet hangers if you want the best quality.
* Hang on to your designer boxes as you never know when you’ll need them.