Camel plaid handbag

A flared tote that stands up on its own

Seen head on, the base is narrower than the opening, so the sides lean outwards and the bag takes the shape of a shallow trapeze. It is the kind of build that stays upright on a desk instead of folding over, and the twelve centimetres of depth are what make that possible. Underneath, the camel base runs on four metal studs that keep the bottom off the floor.

The pattern is a grid of rectangles in camel, chocolate, sand and white, ruled off by black bands, with printed inserts of small grey flowers set in diamonds. A metal Gallantry plate sits on the top insert, just below the handles. If closures are the part you are still weighing up, the category page sets out what changes between one closure and the next.

The zip pocket that runs across the back

Turn the bag around and the check carries on, interrupted by a wide plain camel band. That band holds a pocket closed by a horizontal zip with a dark pull, wide enough to swallow a travel card or a folded note without opening the main compartment. The back is where the flat things go, which is the whole point of putting the zip there rather than inside.

Handles for the hand, a strap for the shoulder

The two rounded handles rise sixteen centimetres above the bag, which is a hand or a forearm rather than a shoulder. For the shoulder there is a separate camel strap that clips on with two dark lobster clasps at the side tabs. There is no buckle or slider anywhere along it, which means one fixed length and nothing to set. Bags that are never meant to leave the shoulder at all sit further along, among the styles you never carry by hand.

The bow clipped to the handle tab

A camel bow hangs from a dark chain on the front, clipped to the left handle tab. It is the one soft thing on a very geometric front, and it can be pushed towards the side seam by anyone who would rather read the grid uninterrupted.

Camel check handbag: measurements and weight

The maker's spec sheet gives five figures. The weight is the one worth checking before the rest, because 0.7 kg is what sits on the arm before anything at all goes inside.

Wearing a camel check with a grey working wardrobe

Grey flannel and this bag get on well, because the black bands in the check pick up the trouser and the camel warms the whole thing up. Charcoal and navy work the same way. What does not work is a second check: a windowpane coat and a checked bag argue with each other across the room. On a plain day, though, this is the piece that carries the pattern.