Matching handbags & shoes?

The Radley TSV thread reminded me of something I was reading on the internet, the other day. It was a blog post (with replies), asking if readers thought that matching shoes & bags was a good look, or a bit dated.

I've noticed, as I get older (ahem, 53), I'm leaning more towards matching, than ever before. I mean, a black bag with black ankle-boots isn't out-of-the-ordinary, I suppose, but I also have a green bag, to go with my green Earth Spirit boots (not from QVC), and my green Clarks brogues (also, not from QVC).

Anyone have a preference: to match, or not to match (that is the question)?

Whilst I don't do it deliberately i often buy because "that will match my ......shoes/boots/bag" or go for a particular colour option because I already have a bag or shoes which will work.

Unfortunately I don't always wear them together as usually I'm in too big a rush in the morning to change over bags!

I don't match bag to shoes (which you did in my youth) but will match bag to general outfit.Thank goodness I am out of the going to somewhere / what do I wear (work) event anymore & am more relaxed now I could wear a shoes/bag clothes non matching & no one would notice--called retirement!

Good question actually.

And like Silverfox am out of the work loop. I tend to match, but at the same time wonder if I'm looking 'dated' - but then there are some glittery evening shoes that sell the evening bags to match, so, although I don't have a bag to match every coloured pair of shoes, I do tend to match the shoes to a colour in what I'm wearing.

Silver Fox said:

I don't match bag to shoes (which you did in my youth) but will match bag to general outfit.Thank goodness I am out of the going to somewhere / what do I wear (work) event anymore & am more relaxed now I could wear a shoes/bag clothes non matching & no one would notice--called retirement!

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Yes I largely agree. Often I use a black bag and have black shoes but now I would never be hunting for a,different bag if I had navy shoes on, for instance. And with my new pink Radley bag, well I don't have any pink shoes so that will have to go with whatever I have in at the time!

I`m retired so I tend to live in casual clothes and casual shoes. I have what I call my everyday bag, one which goes with me to the shops, GP appointments, dentist or to visit a friend or anywhere else I may go during the day. My go to everyday bag used to be a navy blue Kipling look a likey but I`ve recently swapped it for a bright orange leather shoulder bag with a big orange and black rose on the front of it, sounds awful but it isn`t. It`s supposedly Spring, soon to become Summer and the bright orange adds a bit of colour to my everyday outfits and its a change from the Winter navy bag. Obviously the orange bag clashes with almost everything, stands out and my husband hates it and says he couldn`t lose me in a crowd even if he wanted to.
If we go out at night, for a meal, to the cinema or if we`re invited to a wedding or other function then not only would I be dressed differently but I`d be wearing nicer more dressy shoes and hence I`d use a bag more fitting to the occasion. I like bags, have quite a few but have never felt the need to collect a particular brand or pay in a particular price bracket. I recently found a lovely tan Italian leather tote which was reduced from £99 to less than £40 and I love to buy them in the sales.
In answer to the thread title, to match or not to match, I`d say I`m neither one way nor the other unlike my dear old departed Mum who insisted every bag should match a pair of shoes and vice versa.

I don't bother with matching anymore. My daily bag of choice is a red floral velvet Cath Kidson number. I love it because it's huge, soft, roomy and I can throw loads in it and wear it either across my body or on my shoulder. It has no "organisation" inside it, yet I can still find everything. I have 3 leather Radleys very similar to the TSV that I find bulky, cumbersome and a bit uncomfortable when on my shoulder. I used to absolutely adore Radleys but their purses don't last and the zip on one of my other design Radley bag broke and quite frankly I don't think they are worth the money!

I used to always, obsessively even, matched, traipsing the town in my quest but now only match for formal events. I passed this onto my DD too, and the headache to go with it, but she has relaxed a bit now in her daily life but now I traipse with her when she is shopping for formal, ha!

I think the must match thing was ok when most people had navy, black, brown and perhaps a neutral set but now I have all colours of bags but couldn't even know where to go for matching shoes even if I wanted.

Bags are a weakness - price has no bearing - I'll happily fall in love with a £25 TK Max bargain or commission a hand made leather one, rarely throw them out, but have still never found the perfect one.

I have some pet hates in handbags the main one being 2 sets of straps particularly where the short ones are static as I find they get badly in the way.

The one bag I get most comments about and which I enjoy using is a brightly coloured tartan one by Ness. It`s a typical handbag, no shoulder strap and in a retro style. People comment about it all the time and because its got so many different colours in it I find it just blends with almost everything, looks great with jeans and i got it at a bargain price when they had a discount day. It`s tweed fabric though and so I tend not to use it in bad weather nor use it as an everyday bag but the colours cheer me no end.
Here it is and I just love it.
https://www.ness.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=harriet+tweed

I don't match, but my mum, who's now in her late 80's, would not be seen dead in shoes that didn't match her bag! It's only recently that she stopped wearing matching gloves as well. She used to insist, when I was a teenager, that I also had matching bag, shoes & gloves, saying 'you don't look finished off without'. I was the laughing stock of all my trendy mates, which is probably why I don't bother now.

Vienna said:

The one bag I get most comments about and which I enjoy using is a brightly coloured tartan one by Ness. It`s a typical handbag, no shoulder strap and in a retro style. People comment about it all the time and because its got so many different colours in it I find it just blends with almost everything, looks great with jeans and i got it at a bargain price when they had a discount day. It`s tweed fabric though and so I tend not to use it in bad weather nor use it as an everyday bag but the colours cheer me no end.
Here it is and I just love it.
https://www.ness.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=harriet+tweed

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Oh dear, Vienna. You have introduced me to a new website, with which to fall in love. I'm a huge fan of tweed & tartan. And I just love the brooches! :happy:

I have one of those tartan bags, lovely colours but as Vienna says no good for wet weather so it's shoved at the back as it seems to rain here every day!