Sweety Candy Handbag - Vintage Romance Collection

Storybook print on a taupe handbag

Most of this bag is quiet: a plain taupe body, two short handles in a deeper brown, bronze clips holding them in place. All the noise happens on one panel at the front, where a red-haired girl in a white dress faces an oval gilt mirror, surrounded by tiny frames and trinkets. Above it runs an embossed floral band; beside it, a strip of pastel hexagons like old tiles.

The illustrated panel, up close

The panel is stitched on rather than printed across the whole face, and a visible seam traces its edge. Nothing shouts: the pinks, creams and faded turquoise stay in the same soft register as the body of the bag. Anyone after something quieter can browse the rest of the aisle, plain shapes and printed ones alike.

Patchwork on the back, bronze on the hardware

Turn it round and the mood shifts. The lower half of the back is a grid of printed squares in pink, blue, yellow and coral, each with its own small motif, divided by pale borders. A stamped rectangular badge sits in the middle. Every piece of metal matches: rivets, handle clips, and the charm hanging from the zip pull all share the same aged bronze finish.

Unzip it and the lining takes over

The top opens along a gold-toned metal zip that runs the length of the bag. Inside, a zipped divider splits the space in two, and a pocket sits flat against one side. The lining is anything but plain, printed with florals and paisley in purple, orange and green.

How big is it, exactly?

Carrying it day to day

At twenty-seven centimetres across and eleven deep, this sits somewhere between a day bag and a small tote: room for a purse, a pouch and a paperback, without things vanishing into it. Because the sides are unstructured, it slumps a little when it is half empty, which is where the rounded shape comes from. If the drawn-panel idea appeals, the label's other bags and wallets work the same way.