My Purse Collection Ranked

As you guys all know by now, I’ve been so fortunate to have had quite a few purses in my life. Lately I haven’t been buying and selling as many bags as I have had in the past (thank goodness) so my collection has been pretty steady. And since a reader asked me how I would rank the purses currently in my collection, I thought why not? So here are the rankings of all 20 bags that I currently own from least favorite to favorite.

20) Longchamp backpack: I purchased it on impulse last year and have yet to use it >.< . I’m not a backpack person but I thought it might be useful with a toddler or when traveling. I’m keeping it around just in case but if I don’t use it this year I’m selling it.

19) Everlane Form Bag (reviewed here): I never use it because it’s just too large for my needs. I much prefer the mini form bag (see #7) on this list. This bag is also on the chopping block.

18) Longchamp medium tote: I use this for times when I don’t want to carry the larger Longchamp tote, but tbh those occasions are kind of rare. We’ll see how long I keep this one.

17) Lululemon Crossbody/fanny pack (similar here, but mine is smaller and in black): I bought this bag a long time ago and it used to be my music festival bag. It can be worn both as a crossbody bag and a fanny pack, it’s waterproof, and it has a ton of pockets for organizing. I still sometimes use it for hiking or other times when I don’t want to have to worry about a bag. I’ll probably keep this indefinitely since I plan on it being the last fanny pack I’ll ever buy.

16) Longchamp Weekender: I used this as my hospital bag and plan to use this as my “personal item” the next time I catch a flight. Also just got this at the end of last year.

#15 and #13

15) Everlane Foldover Crossbody (reviewed here): I love using this crossbody when traveling since it’s pretty discreet yet can hold a ton of stuff if you need it to. It also can double as a clutch when going out.

14) PB 0110 Circle bag: I just reviewed this bag here and as much as I love this bag, there are so many more bags that I love before it so sadly it gets pushed down to number 14. And as much as I love the quality construction of the bag, the circular shape is just a trend, I know. We’ll see how long this ends up sticking around.

13) Balenciaga Work Bag: I used to have a lot of Balenciaga bags like this (it’s actually the bag that got me addicted to high end purses and started my former PurseForum addiction). I’ve sold them all a long time ago, but recently purchased this bag used on the Fashionphile (because of nostalgia and the fact that they go for such good prices now). I don’t think they’ll ever come back in style (they’re sooo 2000s) but I’ll always love them!

12) Hermes Bolide (reviewed here): I love this discreet Hermes bag and to me it’s the definition of understated luxury. But since it’s currently so low on my list here and it’s so expensive, I’ve decided to return it to Fashionphile using their buyback program. It just didn’t make sense for me to keep something that I didn’t love love love, especially since we’re trying to do FIRE.

#10 and #7

11) Acne Studios Musubi bag (reviewed here): I just got this bag at the beginning of the year (from TheRealReal), but this bag has made my top ten list. I love the sturdy leather, the great useable design, and its unusual shape. The more I use it the more I fall in love with it. Plus it fits a lot more than my usual “just essentials” daily bag.

10) Chanel small crossbody flap : I purchased this bag in London at the end of our Europe trip last year. This is probably the most useable Chanel I’ve purchased and I wear it often when going out. It holds just the essentials and can be dressed up or dressed down. And unlike the regular flap bags, which have a strap length that at the longest makes for a short awkward crossbody, the chain on this one is long and it’s a very comfortable crossbody length. Plus there’s a strip of leather that makes carrying it crossbody comfortable (instead of having the chain dig into my shoulder and leaving marks).

9) Longchamp large tote: This bag has been my travel workhorse over the last decade. I’m planning on replacing it with the weekender (see #16) since this tote is starting to wear out (the nylon corners are usually the first to go and mine are starting to have tiny holes in them). But I plan on still using it until pencils can fall out of the corners (like my friend’s longchamp tote).

8) Everlane Mini Form bag: This is my current obsession and also the newest addition to my collection. I just reviewed the bag here and I mean it when I said it was one of the best crossbody bags I’ve ever purchased.

7) Fendi By The Way bag: I recently reviewed the bag here even though I’ve had this bag for over 3 years and it’s the second oldest bag in my collection (the oldest being #9 above). Even though it was never a popular style, it works really well for my lifestyle (durable leather, easy to organize inside and multiple ways to carry it).

6) Everlane Day Market Tote (reviewed here): My most used item in my closet period. This is my work tote and all around “haul-anything” tote. You can see how it’s worn after 100 days of wear (and it’s taken a beating).

5) Chanel Medium Flap (featured in the post comparing vintage Chanel caviar leather to new Caviar leather): This was a gift from my mom on my 30th birthday so it’s the one bag I would never sell. And now I plan on passing it on to my kid eventually (hope she likes Chanel!). I only use this bag for special nights (mostly weddings).

4) Celine Small Cabas Phantom (reviewed here): This is my fancy tote that I treasure and baby. I use it when I want to look a bit more polished but still have to carry around a lot of stuff. I think a good dupe for it though is the Cuyana structured leather tote (I reviewed their original classic unstructured tote here).

3) Celine Nano Belt Bag : I’ve always loved the design and shape of the Celine Belt bag (and have purchased the Mini, Micro and now the Nano size—I’m like a crazy Celine Belt bag Goldilocks). I unfortunately sold my Mini bag before I started seriously blogging but I reviewed the Micro Belt bag here and did a comparison post between the Micro and Nano here. Now I have just the Nano and it’s the perfect size for my essentials without weighing me down!

2) Celine Soft Cube (reviewed here): This is the second most used bag in my collection after the Everlane Market Tote and it’s because the Soft Cube is a super functional bag. I like the crossbody strap (that’s a good length on me) along with the two top handles (which is how I carry it most of the time). The leather is durable and the inside is spacious enough for my essentials and then some. The only thing it’s missing are some legs to keep the leather bottom from touching the floor (not that I put it on the floor).

1) Hermes Lindy (reviewed here): This was my holy grail bag for over a decade, and I finally purchased it about a year and a half ago. And it was everything I had dreamt it would be. It’s my second Hermes bag (my first being a vintage Kelly that I had in my collection awhile ago), but I love it as if it was my first. This bag is a lot more functional for me than the Kelly was since the Lindy is a more casual bag. I love that I can carry it two different ways and even though it’s a high-end bag the leather is durable and not fragile at all. It’s the best of all worlds: functional, luxurious, and discreet.

Whew, that was some bag blog post! This is for all my bag-loving readers out there! I never really realized how many bags I had until I started to write this post, but 20 feels like too much. I think I’ll be selling some of those on the lower half of the list. How many should I cut my collection down to?

P.S. I found this old post with my old purse collection here. Not gonna lie, I definitely miss some of those purses!

Hermes Bolide 27 Review

2018 was a crazy year for me: We moved from an Airstream to a larger trailer to a house to an apartment, we sold our business, we got pregnant, and then I went in and out of the hospital a couple times and had several pregnancy scares. So that might also explain my temporary insanity when I impulse-purchased this very expensive handbag. I walked into the Hermes store in Palo Alto (just to browse lol) and picked up a Bolide 27 bag in epsom (a black one and not this one I’m holding) and just fell in love with the lightness of the bag, the usability, but also the gorgeously smooth interior leather and the hardy epsom exterior leather. I also loved that it wasn’t flashy and you wouldn’t know it was an Hermes unless you knew bags. I might also have been influenced by Shoko over at simplytokyo who loves her non-flashy Hermes bags and styles her Bolide 27 so beautifully.

Well whatever the reason (and this was before my one lengthy hospital stay and before we had discovered FIRE in December), this bag is in my life now. To be completely honest I still have mixed feelings about it because even though I love it, it’s also uber expensive and I really don’t need to be adding money to my bag collection right now (I should actually be liquidating and putting that money into ETFs and mutual funds lol).

This bag is the definition of understated luxury and there are several other brands that make a bag like this, from Louis Vuittons BB Alma to Linjer’s Crossbody Purse for much less than Hermes’ Bolide retail price of $6300 (I know, ridiculous right?!). No, I didn’t purchase this brand new, instead I got a used one that’s 9 years old and at less than half the price over at Fashionphile (in Epsom leather and in the color Bleu de Prusse). But still, I wonder if it’s worth it considering the more frugal lifestyle that my husband and I are going for these days.

On one hand, it’s a great bag that can fit all the essentials (wallet, keys, sunglasses, coin purse, lip balms, a reusable bag—though with all of that it’s quite full and causes some puckering because the bag narrows at the top). And I love it everytime I use it. Also it’s an Hermes classic that will retain its value over the years and hold up beautifully (even at 9 years old, this bag looks just as great as the new one I saw in the store). But on the other hand, I could get the same look for much much less.

I think the true test will be how often will I carry this bag in my new life post-pregnancy with a baby. I have a feeling not much, and if that’s the case I’ll probably sell it back to Fashionphile using their buyback program (TBH I’m getting more wary of ebay buyer scammers these days, especially when I’m trying to be frugal I can’t be out thousands of dollars). But until then (the buyback offer at 70% of the cost ends after 6 months), I’m going to use this bag a ton and keep trying to decide if I want to keep it. If you’re interested in this classic bag, I highly recommend purchasing it used from a reputable source instead of new. You can find a selection of Bolides at Fashionphile or TheRealReal.

So what do you think: keep or not?

{August 2022 Update: So I did sell this bag and I 100% regret it. Lol, I still miss it from time to time and tbh i was probably the best deal I would have gotten on the bolide. True, it didn’t fit everything but man, it was a beautiful bag.}

Acne Studios Musubi Mini Bag Review {Updated January 2024}

So as I mentioned before, this Acne Studios Musubi Mini bag was my one purchase for the month back in February and I purchased it secondhand (and for 20% off) at TheRealReal. I’ve been eyeing this bag for over 6 months and I still loved the look, so I decided to go for it. And I have to say, I have zero regrets!

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I first was influenced to wanting this bag via Eva Chen’s Instagram (darn you Instagram) but when I polled y’all on stories only half of you guys liked it (which also truthfully sways my opinion). I myself was intrigued but wasn’t sure if it was cute or just too much. And I’m so glad I did hold off on impulsively purchasing right then and there because it gave me time to ruminate on it and now I know I really do love it. Also, during those 6 months, I got my favorite Celine soft cube bag (which I still really love but am currently letting it “rest” so I don’t wear it out too soon) and realized I love leather bags that look soft and pillowy. So I was pretty sure when I bought this in February that I would love it.

If I had a choice, I might have gone with the tan colored one, but since the black one was what’s available on TheRealReal, black it is! As for the quality of the calf leather of the Acne Studios bag, it’s really gorgeous. Comparing it to the calf leather of my Celine soft cube bag, I would say the grain of the Celine bag is slightly finer but not by much (but the Celine bag also retails for $700 more). And while the Celine bag is lined with calf leather, the Acne bag is lined with lambskin making the inside buttery soft but also helps keep the bag light (lambskin is lighter than calfskin).

Since I’ve been using this bag during the rainy California winters, I first protected it with some Chamberlains Leather Milk No. 3 (reviewed here). It gave the leather a slight sheen, due to the slightly waxy formula that’s meant to repel water, but the bag has held up in downpours with no issues so far. Also the durable calfskin has held up great with zero scratches or nicks.

The interior of the bag is divided into 2 sections with a zippered pocket divider. It’s perfect for keeping my things organized with my wallet and phone in one section, my keys in the zippered pocket, and everything else in the other section. The bag closes easily with snap buttons at the top, but I’m also not too worried about the security of the bag when wearing it over my shoulder or crossbody because the thick top handle tends to hide or cover the opening of the bag.

Currently all my bags have pretty thin crossbody or shoulder straps so I love the thickness of the Acne Studios strap and top handle. It makes carrying the bag super comfortable. Also the long crossbody strap is adjustable via some pegs on the sides of the bag that’s hidden by the mini knots.

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Having never tried Acne Studios clothing before, I wasn’t sure what to expect about the quality of these bags. But I have to say I’m quite impressed (and this is coming from a long time bag lover). These made in Italy leather bags are really beautiful and durable. Also the design is different enough so even though it’s a pretty minimal black bag, it’s not plain or boring.

Also the word musubi refers to my favorite rice ball snack (and in Hawaii, my favorite spam rice snack) which maybe makes me love the bag even more. But the word also works for the tying of the Obi sash on Japanese kimonos, which is what Acne Studios was referring to. Either way, I love this snack of a bag and can’t wait to get over 100 good wears with it!

{2022 Update: So I sold this bag to a good blogger friend Andrea last year and she reviewed it on her YouTube channel here. Here are my last pictures of it before I sold it:}

{January 2024 Update: Even though I no longer have this bag (and neither does Andrea, I helped her sell it to know of my readers here) I thought this review of the Musubi bag from a leather crafter was interesting.}