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"  You know what&amp;#039;s even better than getting compliments on a designer bag that cost thousands of dollars? Getting compliments on a bag that looks high end, but cost less than 100 bucks. Designer bags are great and all, but it can be tough to justify dropping serious dough on a purse when you&amp;#039;ve got real bills to pay, especially since there are so many great, inexpensive but luxe-looking options out there if you shop carefully and know what to look for. Here are 24 awesome bags that look way more expensive than they are, plus four tips to help you hone in on the best-looking bags wherever you choose to shop.  1. Choose leather and hard plastic over cotton or other fabrics. Cottons and other fabrics just never look as expensive as leather. Of course, real leather is preferable to the fake stuff (it lasts longer and looks richer), but faux leather has come a long way in recent years. Some faux leathers are almost impossible to tell from the real thing at first glance, especially when they come embossed like snake skin or crocodile. For evening, hard plastic is great for achieving a luxe look without spending a lot of money. Even high-end, luxury designers like Jimmy Choo and Chanel use molded plastic to make their glossy box clutches \u2014 they call it Lucite, but it looks and feels the same as plastic, so it is unlikely anyone is really going to be able to tell the difference. Glitter-Infused Box Clutch, GLINT, $58; Navy Faux Croc Satchel, H&amp;amp;amp;M, $99; Black Box Clutch, ALDO, $30   Wine Faux Croc Cross Body, FOREVER 21, $25; Pearl Box Clutch, NASTY GAL, $48; Genuine Leather Bordeaux Fringe Drawstring Bag, ASOS, $82 2. Look for structure. Floppy, completely unstructured bags rarely look as luxe as crisper, more structured bags, especially when they are made out of faux leather, which bends and moves differently than the real thing. Synthetic leathers also wear out faster than the real stuff, so if your bag is loose and unstructured it will wear out that much faster from all the stretching, pulling, folding, and bending that comes with just taking things in and out of it.  Brown Snake Satchel, RIVER ISLAND, $90; Red Quilted Bag, ASOS, $61; Gray Chain Detail Clutch, METROPARK, $39  From left to right: Light Pink Quilted Clutch, MODA LUXE, $25; Cognac Winged Satchel, DANIELLE NICOLE, $70; Coral and Black Satchel, RIVER ISLAND, $80 3. The heavier the hardware, the better. You can always tell a cheap bag by its lightweight hardware. Go to a designer store and hold one of those chain straps in your hand and really feel the weight of it \u2014 that&amp;#039;s what you want to look for. The metal on your bag should feel substantial, even if there is only a little bit of it.   Tan Leather Cross Body with Chain, ASOS, $100; Black Quilted Satchel, NASTY GAL, $58; Beige Faux Croc Chain Bag, H&amp;amp;amp;M, $80  Satin Harness Clutch, BCBGMAXAZRIA, $71; Camera Case Cross Body, ASOS, $46; Shoulder Bag, ZARA, $80  4. Think about color and texture together. Richer colors like black and burgundy are usually a pretty safe bet when you are trying to achieve a luxe look on a budget (as are earth tones), but you can&amp;#039;t really talk about color without also talking about texture. Suede, for example, looks rich and saturated in almost any color because its texture creates a lot of natural color variation, which adds depth whether it&amp;#039;s black, beige, or bright yellow. Leather, on the other hand, especially faux leather, is a smoother surface, so lighter and brighter tones in particular benefit from subtle color variations or a grainier texture, so they don&amp;#039;t look flat.  Red and Black Mini Tote, SOLE SOCIETY, $40; Gray Hobo Bag, SOLE SOCIETY, $50; Camel Tote, VINCE CAMUTO, $100  Yellow Suede Hobo Bag, ASOS, $70; Black and White Tote, 2B, $25; Black Backpack, NASTY GAL, $75 Do you have fashion or style questions? Email them to our Style Editor at styledbycosmo@gmail.com. Follow Charles on Twitter. Photo Credit: HBO "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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