During my childhood, I don't believe I ever encountered a mom walking around sporting a genuinely nice diaper bag. It was the 1980s and what you'd see were bags with characters like Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse printed on them -- until the late 1990s. Those cutesy bags of the 80s are now considered outdated and baby bags have entered a brand-new fashion trend, literally, ?designer diaper bags?.

In the last five years, a number of companies have created designer diaper bags, making something as mundane as a baby bag into a fashion statement. These bags that use to look like a bag sported by ones grandmother has now become an elegant and classy fashion accessory made by such style houses as; Juicy Couture, Gucci, Kate Spade, and many more.

What's even harder to believe is what some of these companies use to create these luxurious bags for diapers. Sometimes even silk is the material of choice, which is a little illogical, making buying into this fad a tug-of-war between practicality and desire. As a sort of compromise to oneself, a woman might try getting the best of both worlds and carry around a nice diaper bag while attaching a regular Skip Hop bag to a stroller to ensure resilience just in case the tasteful one gives way.

The fashion path diapers have taken are now also giving dads the opportunity to join what was once just a woman's world with lines that offer diaper bags with manly designs for dads to carry, since most wouldn't be too thrilled about a pink bag with colorful patterns of teddy bears or clowns.

So that means your small family may end up lugging around as much as three diaper bags which doesn't seem at all wise anymore, but if you think about it, as long as you have a baby around, you'll need to use one of these bags almost everyday. When your baby's grown into a toddler, though, you would probably be more comfortable substituting a smaller pod for the less amount of stuff you need to bring and just place it in your own purse. But you'll once again adjust to bringing around a baby bag when you have your second child. An option may be double-dimensioned bags being sold by a few companies which were made specifically with twins and families with two little children in mind.

It goes without saying that even diaper bags will have you splitting hairs to make decisions. It's difficult yet matters a lot. Find middle ground and choose one that's both practical for use, yet fits your style. There's nothing wrong with treating yourself at the fancy handbag stores. It might even be wiser to register for one instead that you picked out yourself for friends and family to chip in and get you for your baby shower. This would not only make you feel less impractical, it would give you a good feeling about your beautiful diaper bag all the way through.