Leather weekend bags shopping in the UK: What started out as a war orphan’s one-man bridle and harness-making shop now produces some of the world’s most sought-after designer handbags, led by the Birkin. The high price tags and strong resale value make them the top handbag investment piece. The exclusive nature and timeless designs have helped cement Hermès bags are some of the most covetable designs available today. The Kelly: Designed as a luxury handbag and designated ‘for the princesses of the world’, and named after a real-life princess and owner, Grace of Monaco (née Grace Kelly). The Constance: The perfect everyday shoulder bag, the Hermès Constance is an ideal, compact choice. See more information at https://www.penshop.co.uk/pens/leather-bags/leather-tote-bags.
If you prefer a duffel to a hardside suitcase but want a top-of-the-line design with wheels, check out the Tumi Large Split 2-wheeled Duffel. It’s extremely spacious: we were able to fit a week’s worth of clothes and essentials with room to spare. With so many compartments and pockets, plus a zipper divider and compression straps, packing it up was actually an enjoyable experience. This duffel bag has two recessed wheels that roll smoothly over all surfaces. It also survived our bat-hitting and drop tests without any noticeable damage. While the ballistic nylon lives up to its abrasionproof claims, it collects dirt and dust pretty easily. (You can wipe it down with a damp cloth as needed.) The price is high, but it’s backed by a five-year warranty and will likely last much longer. If you can swing it and are looking for a durable, large-capacity bag, you really can’t go wrong.
When it comes to wardrobe investments, there is nothing quite like a great designer handbag. Choose the right one and look after it correctly, and it will be a wardrobe mainstay for the rest of your life. It may even be an item that you pass down through the generations, or something you eventually sell and may even make money on. It is certainly worth doing the research before you invest, so here, we present our definitive guide to finding the perfect designer handbag, for now and forever. When it comes to versatile classics that won’t date, you can’t go wrong with The Row – and the label’s new bag, the Blake, is a great choice for your day to day.
We were impressed by the thoughtful design features of this gorgeous Hartmann Reserve trunk both inside and out, with a curved handle that adjusts to 12 different positions, waterproof pockets, built-in compartments and dividers, two packing cubes, a shoe bag, a large garment bag, leather details, and hand-painted wheels (that didn’t get chipped or damaged even after we directly hit them with a baseball bat). This Hartmann suitcase has a 50/50 divide, which we thought helped us to evenly distribute the weight using the different compartments. This ultimately made the suitcase light and easy to maneuver, despite the fact that it weighs 14.11 pounds — the heaviest suitcase on this list. The wheels rotated seamlessly, even more smoothly than some of the smallest carry-ons we’ve tested, and you’ll be able to maneuver through a crowded airport pretty easily with this, though it would take up a lot of space in a car trunk or on any sort of public transportation.
Clocking in at under $300, the Calpak Ambeur Medium is a relatively affordable suitcase with high-quality features: It expands up to two inches for extra packing room, for example, and has easy-to-maneuver dual spinner wheels. One of our testers notes, “It’s super lightweight and so roomy, and as a chronic over-packer, I never have an issue fitting everything I need.” There are also four zippered interior compartments (although no exterior pockets), plus a cross compression strap to make sure belongings remain in place, even when transported over bumpy cobblestone streets. “It has a compact design and wheels effortlessly, so I never feel like I’m lugging an enormous bag through the airport,” she adds. Of the suitcases on this list, the Ambeur Medium features some of the most comfortable grip handles made with a rubber lining that won’t hurt your hands as you’re lugging heavy baggage around town.