Not so long ago, the era of “it” bags meant that women everywhere made a conscious decision to suffer for the sake of their designer handbags. The fashionable hardware, the oversized styling with thick, supple leather; all of these things, while undoubtedly hallmarks of high-end luxury handbags, also have a downside. Okay, let’s be brutally honest here; they can weigh an absolute ton.
While the fashion barometer may be telling us that the era of “it” bags is being ushered out, our penchant for oversized, potentially-overweight bags still weighs heavily (pun intended, sorry) on our most-wanted lists. For example, once of the most popular bags the design house of Chloe has put out, the Paddington bag, weighed about around 7.7 lbs (3.5 kg) before you even put anything inside. Equally heavy is the Louis Vuitton Speedy Multi-Colored bag with hardware. Add to that a wallet, cosmetic bag, smartphone, tablet, glasses, and a bottle of mineral water, and you can easily be slinging over 15 pounds of gear with you as you go about your daily routine.
Luckily, designers are starting to tune-in to this phenomenon, and are giving us our much-desired oversized handbags without all of the weight. Designers like Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade, and Dooney and Bourke all make both leather fabric bags that are lightweight, yet still have the substantial look that we love in a designer handbag. If you still think you need more space for your stuff, try the lightweight Longchamp Le Pliage tote, which folds-down to a very small size that will fit nicely inside a suitcase or smaller handbag.
