What better way to end the year than with a handbag purchase. Whether for yourself (preferably), or someone else, Christmas presents us with the perfect excuse to indulge our latest bag obsessions without feeling bad about it for a single second. So, if you’ve decided that Christmas 2018 is the year of the bag (I certainly think it is), then here’s some inspiration for you.
1. Saint Laurent’s Sac De Jour
The correct translation for ‘Sac De Jour’ is ‘day bag’, meaning a bag you’d wear during the day. If it were ‘Sac Du Jour’ it would translate to ‘bag of the day’, and I suspect that's what super Designer Hedi Slimane was playing with and alluding to... and the popularity of the bag has made it just that. Although it’s been around for a while now, it's still part of Saint Laurent’s latest collection, a testament to the bag's classic design and staying power. Celebs just totes (sorry, can’t help myself) loved it from the beginning, it’s has been seen on the arms of: Jessica Biel, Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie, Kate Moss and Nicole Ritchie.
Above: St Laurent's Sac De Jour
The bag’s similarities to the Hermès Birkin are not lost on me, but do I really care? No, not really. It's just beautiful and let’s face it, unless you’re the first with a totally original design, everything looks like something else. And the great news is, if you buy this bag, although not cheap, but at a fraction of the price of a Birkin, you’ll still be able to afford Christmas lunch.
The Sac De Jour comes in 4 different sizes and a huge variety of colours and materials including smooth leather, textured leather, suede, alligator, embossed crocodile, studded and calf hair. The biggest decision is not whether to buy the Sac De Jour, but which size, colour and material combination to go with.
2. Dior’s Saddle Bag
When I first saw this bag, I had to pinch myself just to make sure I wasn’t back in 1999 when the original Saddle Bag was launched. And that’s something I just adore about this bag. Close to 20 years ago I loved it, and I love it even more now.
Above: The Dior Oblique Saddle Bag 2018.
The shape’s the same but the interpretation is fresh yet timeless. The Oblique version is my favourite with its 1970s feel jacquard canvas that Dior is so well known for. There's over 15 versions of the bag available –including the Oblique version, a denim patchwork bag, and one with colourful patterns and fringe beading.
Whichever one you choose, you’ll be transported bag to the heyday of Dior; and that time when you couldn’t bear to leave your TV screen for fear of missing an episode of Sex and the City. Carrie Bradshaw was also a big fan of the Dior Saddle back in the day, no doubt SJP loves the latest incarnation.
3. Any bag from Off-White
In case you don’t know, Off-White is streetwear label founded in 2012 by American Designer, Virgil Abloh. Before starting the brand, Abloh was Kanye West’s Creative Director and right-hand man, good credentials indeed. But the unique thing that Abloh has managed to do, is to make streetwear red carpet appropriate – no simple feat.
Above: Off-White Logo Crossbody bag.
You may also be familiar with the brand due to Tennis Ace, Serena Williams. It’s the Off-White x Nike collection that you’ve seen her wearing of late. The collection is aptly titled, “Queen”.
And unless you live under a rock, you probably know about the recent controversy around the naming of Serena as “Woman” of the year by GQ magazine. The use of inverted commas on the word “woman” had many confused, in fact, outraged, and drew massive attention to the magazine. But like most things in life, the answer as to why this was done was very simple, the inverted comma’s a trademark of Virgil Abloh’s brand. All his items are named with inverted commas around them – branding genius! So when you go to the Off-White Website, you’ll see at the top: “website”, on the brand’s shoelaces, “shoelaces”… you get the gist.
Anyway, back to handbags… I particularly love the bags in the line. So if you’re after a bit of street cred this Christmas, you really can’t go wrong with any one of the bags from the current collection.
Above: Another one of Off-White's gorgeous cross body bags.
4. Blatant Sales Pitch
And finally, a blog about handbags wouldn’t be complete without a blatant plug for my beloved handbag hangers. So if you can’t afford any of these bags this Christmas, or can and just don’t know where on earth you’ll fit them in your home, then our handbag hangers are just perfect for a bit of Christmas cheer. Our collections come beautifully gift boxed, and as a special offer ‘till December 4, we’re giving you an unheard of 30% off as many of our collections as you want, no limitations; just use this code at checkout: “XMAS18” - yes, with inverted commas, I’m taking a leaf out of Abloh’s book! Stock up for yourself and your friends and show your bags some love this Chrissy.
Above: Our hangers are the perfect addition to your handbag collection this Christmas.
We’d love to hear your comments and thoughts on this article, our hangers, or anything else handbag related that you’d like to share below.