Contemporary Mid-Luxury Handbags
Gold hardware galore
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been thinking about handbags. Specifically, I’ve been drawn to the “contemporary mid-luxury” space: quality leather bags from relatively new brands (usually founded in the 2010s) in the $300-$500 price range. These brands appeal to me because they are less mainstream than similarly-priced brands such as Tory Burch or Michael Kors and significantly less expensive than traditional fashion houses like Chanel and Hermès. With their high quality and minimal branding, the bags are examples of quiet luxury, or “if you know, you know.”
To capture what has been living in my head rent-free recently, I’ve rounded up several contemporary mid-luxury brands that each have at least one design I like. And it hasn’t all been an abstract mental exercise; my current small leather everyday crossbody bag rotation consists of a (discontinued) taupe Dagne Dover and a cream Coach Cassie Crossbody 19. I recently bought a brown A.P.C. Demi-Lune Mini Bag and would like to buy a black bag to cover all the neutral bases.
Polène
Polène is likely one of the more well-known brands of this bunch. Their designs tend to be very clean, with minimal exterior embellishments. However, the bags still stand out thanks to their sculptural, statement shapes, i.e. the dumpling Numéro Neuf and wavy, asymmetrical Tonca. My favorite bag of theirs is one of the originals, the Numéro Un Mini. The simple design catches my eye, and I like the gold tone of the clasp, chain strap, and feet. I am drawn to the colorways that have a leather body and a suede flap, though I would be very nervous to carry suede in real life. And the chain, while beautiful, would probably be uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Strathberry
Strathberry is the other contemporary mid-luxury handbag brand whose ads you probably have seen on social media. Their bags have also been carried by celebrities such as Meghan Markle and Sarah Jessica Parker. All of the designs feature the brand’s signature gold bar, which gives their collections a cohesive look. The Strathberry Nano Tote has a classic, minimal shape, but interestingly, it only has one handle, located on the front side. The bag has a magnetic top closure, but two straps connected by the gold bar slide over the single handle to further secure the opening. This should theoretically distribute the weight evenly on both sides of the tote even though it’s only carried by the one handle on one side.
DeMellier
Maybe you can tell by now that I am drawn to distinct hardware. That is exactly what caught my eye when I saw DeMellier’s two most popular styles, the London and the Vancouver. Both are somewhat reminiscent of the Céline Classic Box Bag (more so the Vancouver), and I specifically like the Small Vancouver for its petite-friendly size and the fact that the crossbody strap is attached to the bag on the sides as opposed to the flap. I try to avoid bags whose strap connects to the flap, whether on top or underneath, since I feel like that weight distribution design is detrimental to the bag’s durability.
Parisa Wang
Parisa Wang is actually what spurred my recent foray into contemporary mid-luxury handbags. I saw one of their ads while scrolling on Instagram and promptly looked up some reviews on YouTube, as I had never heard of the brand before. I have my eye on the Madison Micro Top Handle Bag, which features a decorative ring on the front (present on many other Parisa Wang designs as well) and Hermès Kelly-esque buckles. The bags in the Madison collection also have a flap closure similar to the Lady Dior. I like how the Madison Micro looks with either the buckles in place, which is more clean, or loosely dangling, which feels more carefree and relaxed.
Ateliers Auguste
Looking up Parisa Wang on Reddit led me to discover Ateliers Auguste. I think the Mini Monceau Gold Edition, with its substantial gold clasp, is very handsome. Like the DeMellier Vancouver, the Mini Monceau is also quite similar to the Céline Classic Box Bag. I find it interesting that Ateliers Auguste has Silver and Gold Editions of their bags in addition to the regular designs and that they are all slightly different from each other as opposed to just being a copy-paste bag with different toned hardware. I would love to see the Mini Monceau Gold Edition in more leathers other than smooth box leather, which is pretty high maintenance.