This Week's Obsession: Must-have Summer Bags
Summer styles are tricky - let's face it unless you live in a place where summer is longer than 3 months our summer bags don't get much use each year. And if you live in a location such as London, they may only get used when you're on holiday. So why buy them the traditional way, only to sit in your closet for the majority of the year?
Another reason why More is so genius, so we decided this month's Fab5 would be a recommendation for the 5 bags that are the perfect for a summer collection. But we need your help by voting for your favourites.
We examined the trends for Spring/Summer 2024 and and came up with our favourite summer must-haves for you to vote on.
When putting together a collection of summer bags, we would recommend:
- A beach tote
- A woven tote/bag for daytime casual dressing
- A clutch that works both day/evening
- A cross body preferably adding a pop of colour - can be mini or micro
- A tote/bag for daytime business or business casual
According to Vogue these are the top Spring/Summer Trends you can use for inspiration - we have combined some of them in our voting curation. From the ultra-practical clutch bag to the supersized tote, Vogue breaks down the key bag shapes for spring/summer 2024, and highlights the specific styles destined for cult status.
1. Overstuffed - the spring/summer 2024 shows, where the bags were overflowing with the stuff of daily life. Stefan Cooke’s Mulberry bags were adorned with charms and foam fingers (sure), Bottega Veneta’s had gym bag energy and contained rolled up newspapers and spare shirts, Givenchy’s totes were weighed down with keychains and trinkets, while Prada’s new bag clasp is a tiny man’s head.
There are so many great totes out there for summer. In our voting curation you will find several totes you might feel tempted to overstuff - but our rule is don't - as prolonged stuffing is terrible for the bag's shape. Here's a structured raffia tote from Chloe that can handle you most important items - -and can dress up and down.
2. Bijoux - Quiet luxury still had a place in the spring/summer 2024 collections, but many designers also embraced loud and in your face wealth, via crystals, sparkle and lots of gold. At Schiaparelli, an extravagant white tote bag was adorned with a gold wrist watch, gold chains and a charm bracelet. There were a few striking party bags in the mix, too – 16Arlington’s sequin clutch bags look like catnip for It-girls.
We chose the Alaïa Le Coeur Gold-Tone Bag - perfect to dress up a day or evening look.
3. Chains - Building on this return to ostentation, some designers treated handbags as an extension of the jewellery category, showing gold and silver handles that resemble necklaces. Loewe’s Squeeze bag was back for another season, with a beautiful gold chain dangling from the handle, while Tom Ford, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton all embraced metallic hardware. Michael Kors took the look into disco territory, with gold decorative chains that echoed the belts seen on the dancefloor at Studio 54 back in the ’70s. We fell in love with this Givenchy Vouyou Chain Bag featured in the article.
4. Envelope - If Miu Miu’s “my life is a mess” totes aren’t for you, then consider the discreet envelope clutch. It’s big enough to house a strict edit of essentials, but has a neat and streamlined shape that will make any outfit look instantly refined. Tom Ford is one of the key instigators of this trend, with Peter Hawkings proving that, when it comes to evening dressing, nothing is chicer than a slimline clutch. We chose Alaïa Large Canvas Tote because we thought it's slim enough to be a large envelope clutch and could go day to evening.
5. Woven - The concept of basket bags for spring is not groundbreaking, but woven accessories were more prevalent than ever in the spring/summer 2024 collections. The theme encompassed everything from structured basket bags to totes with a rope-like construction to touchable loose knit textures.Where do we begin, we love so many of this years woven bags. Here's one of our summer favourites from Goyard. While it's not red, like the next trend - peach appears to be a big summer favourite.
6. Red - Red has emerged as the shade of 2023, and it’s going nowhere next year, as dozens of noteworthy handbags were realised in fiery chilli and tomato shades. Celebrities have been championing the “pop of red” styling trick recently, using it to inject a hit of colour into an otherwise muted ensemble. They’ll have plenty of options to choose from next season, thanks to Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Valentino. We have two red bags in the curation for summer. Why not a mini one from Hermès!
7. Micro bags - Size-wise, this was a season of extremes, and the likes of Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci and Versace all had bags smaller than the average iPhone. At Chanel, a top-handle purse was so minuscule it would struggle to house a single pound coin. While we love a good micro bag, we didn't select one for this summer. But if you like the trends Bijoux + micro, you'll will find on in our shop for only £184 per share.
8. Day Clutch - Chiropractors, look away now. Carrying your laptop and make-up bag under one arm isn’t going to do much for your posture, but it’s now a desirable look thanks to the spring/summer 2024 runways. At Ferragamo, The Row and Tod’s (among others), roomy everyday bags were hooked into the elbow, showing it’s sometimes not so much about the bag, as how you hold it. We loved this bag from Jimmy Choo, which can be worn with the shoulder strap for better posture or clutched!
9. Round Bags - Spherical bags were big for autumn/winter 2023, and the same was true in the spring/summer 2024 collections, with scooped shoulder bags appearing at Isabel Marant and Hermès, and more compact circles at Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton. We paired this trend with the red trend from Valentino.
Once again the genius of More is you can have 5 designer bags for the price of one. So a summer collection of 5 of these beauties is within reach. Vote today for your favs.