Mélanie Paris: bags and wallets

The Mélanie Paris range: bags and wallets side by side

Two halves, one wardrobe. The bags go from a small satchel worn close to the body up to a roomier handbag, most of them on an adjustable strap that can often be unclipped. The wallets and coin purses stay slim. They slide into a bag instead of filling it, and because the prints and the metal trims repeat across the range, a wallet rarely looks out of place next to the bag it travels in.

Fastenings and how each piece is carried

The fastening usually settles it. A magnetic flap opens one-handed at the till; a zip keeps everything in when the bag itself stays open. On the bags, the strap does the work: shortened, it sits under the arm; let out, it drops to the hip. Several handbags add a rigid top handle as well, which changes how the bag looks when you set it down.

Patchwork, ethnic weaves and leopard

Patchwork is the first thing you notice: strips of fabric pieced together, sometimes with woven straw on the handbags. Ethnic weaves and chevrons follow, then leopard and a cut-out mandala on a couple of round models. Each product page lists the exact make-up, from synthetic and textile materials to linen and canvas.

Gold, silver and bronze finishes turn up across the range, with lurex thread on the linen pieces. Pair a bronze wallet with a bronze-trimmed bag and the two read as a set without matching exactly.

Shoulder bag or handbag

Go by size rather than by looks. A satchel of 24 x 18 x 7 cm holds a phone, a wallet and keys, and nothing more; a 35 x 26 cm handbag takes a folder and a water bottle. Before you settle on one, browse the full shoulder bag selection and see how these sit against the rest of the shop.

For the smaller pieces, count the card slots instead of the centimetres. A 12 x 7 cm coin purse takes change and two or three cards, while a multi-pocket wallet at 17 x 10 x 4 cm swallows notes and cards and still leaves a pocket free. That comparison is easier to make across every wallet in the catalogue.