For those of us who are sick to death of alternating those dragged-out black and brown handbags in our closet, the brightly hued handbags of spring are a gift from the fashion gods. Yellow is super hot, but we’re kind of partial to the green (so refreshing!), and we’ve picked two versions for your consideration. One could nearly wipe out your tax rebate check, the other will get you a great bag and leave you with enough to chip away at that credit card debt too. So which is which?

On the left, the not-in-our-budget option, Marc by Marc Jacobs, $448, eLuxury.com; on the right, a pick that’s much more agreeable to our bottom line, a Gain Medium Hobo, on sale for $49.99, at Nine West.