Am I speaking in some kind of code? Lol, nope PB 0110 is just the name of the bag and accessories line founded by a guy named Phillip Bree. I first found this European brand through some of the fancier boutiques in San Francisco and noticed the quality construction of the bags. The leather on the outside was beautiful and the sueded interiors felt luxurious. I also loved their minimal but unique style of bags with no overt branding. But with prices starting in the $500 range, I wasn’t willing to buy and try them.
Then I wanted the Mansur Gavriel crossbody circle bag, but wasn’t sure spending $795 on a trend item was really worth it. So when I found the PB0110 circle bag on the RealReal for less than $200 (with some TRR credit), I jumped at the deal. Not only would I fulfill my desire for a circle bag, but I would get to finally try out this lesser known European brand.
First a quick note about their production practices. They don’t tout themselves as an ethical company per say but their values and production practices do qualify them as such (except if you don’t believe using leather can be ethical then they are not). Their main value is in making quality bags that are meant to be cherished and used for a long time. In fact, they have a blog called Beloved Objects that focuses on the founder’s and designers’ oldest and most cherished items. They want one of their bags to be your beloved object, and you can tell they make their bags to last. They source their vegetable tanned leather in Belgium in a factory that’s been tanning since 1873, their suede leather for the interior in Poland, their hardware in Italy, and their zippers in Germany. You can read all about their materials here. The bags are then made in multigenerational family factories in Poland (you can read about that here).
some outfit inspo with this bag
Now all of this sounds fine and fancy (and maybe justifies their high prices), but how does it translate to the actual bag? Having tried out their circle bag, I can say without a doubt that yes, these are quality bags. And it’s the details that make all the difference. Their zippers are some of the smoothest I’ve ever used on a bag, and it’s especially important on an awkward shape like the circle bag. No snags or stops when trying to zip this puppy up even when it’s full to the brim and with one hand. The suede interior is smooth and doesn’t flake off like in cheaper bags. And the outside vegetable tanned leather is stiff but still supple (and feels so much better than Mansur Gavriel’s super stiff vegetable tanned leather). Veg-tanned leather does scratch a bit more than chrome-tanned leather but the veg-tanned leather is meant to show a patina with time. Veg-tanned leather is also better for the environment (using tannins from natural sources like trees), and much harder to do, takes longer, and is usually done by hand. Veg-tanned leather is also hardier and more durable so it makes sense PB 0110 only uses the best veg-tanned leather for their bags (and it shows).
As for the actual bag itself, it’s called the AB38 bag because it was designed by their designer Ayzit Bostan (they name all their bags after the designer and a random seeming number). I love that this bag has a pretty unobtrusive top handle along with an adjustable crossbody strap. The inside has one small flat pocket that could maybe fit credit cards. Since there are no other dividers or pockets, things do get lost to the bottom pretty easily within the bag (like my keys). But I guess that sort of comes with the territory when using a trendy yet impractical shape like a circle bag. The zipper does come out pretty wide so it’s easy to fit things in, and it fits all my essentials (though the sunglasses case just barely). Overall I’m happy with my purchase and look forward to using this bag more this spring and summer!
I probably wouldn’t recommend buying PB0110 bags brand new since they’re an obscure brand with poor resale value (plus it’s better to buy leather items secondhand). Also since their items are meant to last it means that these bags are usually still in great shape when you find them pre-owned. The RealReal has a pretty good selection of them for sell here (and they even have this circle bag in black here) and the prices are even better when they go on sale!
Anyone else try a bag from PB 0110 and what did they think?