Women's Bags
Buy and sell women’s bags in Panama.
New and pre-owned handbags run from the crossbody that keeps its zip in view in a crowd to the work tote with room for a laptop and a lunch. Mall labels such as Aldo, Guess and Michael Kors are one end of it. The other is the chácara, the fibre bag that Ngäbe and Buglé women knot by hand in the highlands of western Panama and around San Félix in Chiriquí. Message the seller for measurements, or arrange to see the bag before you pay.
Crossbody bags, shoulder bags, totes and clutches:
the strap and the opening decide most of the choice. A crossbody rides in front of you on a long strap, leaves both hands free and keeps the zip where you can see it. A shoulder bag holds more but slides off when you lean over a counter. A tote is the one that takes a laptop and a lunch, and it is only as secure as its closure: an open tote in a crowd is a bad idea. A clutch takes a phone, keys and a lipstick, and nothing else. Wallets are listed with the other women’s accessories, and if you are matching a bag to a pair of heels, women’s shoes sits next door.
The chácara, knotted from pita and agave fibre:
Ngäbe and Buglé women have made it since before the Spanish arrived. The leaves of pita and of a sisal-like agave are cut, scraped and dyed, and the fibre is knotted by hand, loose or tight depending on the bag, into geometric bands of colour. Pita gives the softest fibre, so the finely patterned bags are pita. Some chácaras are now made with synthetic thread, and some bags sold under the name are crocheted from cotton yarn. Both are quicker to finish, and neither holds its value the way a pita piece does.
PU, leather and Saffiano, and what a used handbag fetches:
many mall handbags are polyurethane (PU) faux leather. New, a handbag from a mall label like Aldo or Guess runs around $70 to $90. PU passes for leather until the coating cracks along the handles and painted edges, and once it flakes there is no fixing it. That is why a used PU bag sells on the state of its handles rather than its label, and for a small fraction of its tag: the buyer knows the same shape will be back on the shelf next season. Genuine leather can be cleaned and conditioned for years and holds far more of its price; Michael Kors’s cross-hatched Saffiano leather also shrugs off scratches. A pita chácara of ordinary shoulder size is about $15 to $30, and a large piece with an intricate design $80 or more.
A second-hand Michael Kors or chácara, checked by hand:
start with the corners, the base and the handles, where a bag wears first, then open it and smell the lining. A musty smell means mould, and it rarely comes out of a fabric lining. On a Michael Kors, Coach or Guess, the hardware should feel heavy and the logo engraving should be crisp and deep, not shallow or blurred, and the stitching should run straight and even. An inside tag with a production code helps but proves nothing alone, because copies carry tags too, so judge the whole bag. On a chácara, run a hand over the body for broken or thinning strands, look at where the long strap joins the bag, and press the base, which carries the weight.
Photos and measurements for a handbag or chácara:
shoot it in daylight from the front, back and base, then the corners, handles, lining and inside tag, the shots a buyer asks for before agreeing to meet. Give width, height, depth and strap drop in centimetres, since every bag looks bigger in a photo, and copy the brand, model and material from the tag. Name any peeling, ink marks or repairs yourself. For a chácara, say whether it is pita, agave fibre or synthetic thread, and if you know which community it came from or who made it, write that down too: on a handmade piece, the maker’s name adds to it.