When you live in a part of the world filled with emerging economies, everything is all about the flash.  The cars, the bling, it’s all name name name.  The louder the better.  Let’s show off how powerful I am .  All of this makes me want to run and hide under my bed and wait until the glaring brightness of it all dies down a a notch or several.  Or find a bucket to wretch into.  Of course, I inherited all of these feelings from my mother.  Her mantra was understated elegance.  Small and simple things.  No names.  Great build.  That’s what mattered.  So when I revisited Garance’s article on the new cool, I came across these great words:

“the need for a bag without logo, without adornment, but with the determination to be both chic and reliable,”

I thought to myself, yes – that’s exactly how I should be buying this year.

I’m coming to the end of my three-ish months of not buying anything.   I’m so proud of myself.  But I’ve also been thinking of how I should be buying this year.  I’ve got this new job that’s paying for all the new equipment. But lenses aside, I’d like to pick up some nice things.  And that’s when I realized what I needed: a bag without a name.  Great build.  No adornment. The kind of thing I’d hand over to the next generation.  So I thought I’d share the four bags that I’d add to my collection.  I’d never have to buy another bag again if I had these guys.  Overstatement, probably.  But it’s worth a shot.

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A no-name Mansur Gavriel bucket bag is at the top of my swoon list.  It’s pricey, for sure.  But just look at how freaking gorgeous and simple they are.  I’d be happy with their bucket bag, but that backpack and Lady Bag are pretty darn cute too.

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My pal Sarah has this bag and every time she takes it out, I will tell her a) I love the bag and b) where did you get it.  So I’ve entered it into memory: Matt and Nat, proudly Canadian, vegan leather.  And I can’t wait to get those words into your brain.

Cuyana somehow entered the market through the early days of style blogging and social media.  So I’ve come to associate it with everyone who’s found success.  I dig the custom gold overlay personalisation they offer.  It just screams “PERSONAL BRAND ME!” does it?  Besides style blogging aspirations, I just dig how simple these bags are.  I’d probably still be using their classic leather tote or this cinch bag to carry my life at age 50 and I’d completely be happy to.

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I’m such a huge fan of this family run biz.  I’ve been using their OG bag as my default carryon for years.  And then they came out with a camera bag.  Not just any camera bag.   One that you could take your honker of a full frame DSLR out in and not scream “I’m carrying $1500 in camera equipment around, ROB ME.” The Claremont is probably the prettiest camera bag ever made.  I’d be happy to carry other things in it too.  Like my life and a smaller camera.