Elegant black Mandoline handbag

A black handbag that zips shut along the top

The first thing you meet on this bag is its zip along the whole top edge, opened with a brass-tone ring mounted on a small leather tab. Underneath, the body keeps a square outline on a flat base and only dips a little between the handles. The grain is marked and even enough to read as one surface, and the black runs right across it without a break.

The front flap, its buckle and the woven checks

A patch pocket sits in the middle of the front. Its flap closes onto an upright tab caught in a buckle, with a round rivet set just above it. The lower half of that pocket carries a band of woven checks in a basket pattern, the one piece of texture on a bag that is otherwise plain. Neat topstitching follows the flap and the outer edges.

Two handles you set to length

The handles do not stop at the top of the bag. Each one carries on as a strap down the front and passes through its own brass-tone buckle, so you can shorten it for the hand or let it out for the shoulder.

What the back holds

At the back, a horizontal zipped pocket opens without putting the bag down, and its pull carries a small engraved plate. Two matching fittings anchor the handles on that side. For other shapes and other fastenings, the structured styles on the handbag shelf line up next to this one.

Details at a glance

Carrying a 30x26cm bag

At 30x26cm this is a day bag rather than a work-and-weekend one. Plain black and brass-tone metal sit easily with denim as well as with tailoring, and the checks give the front enough interest that no print is needed. Nothing here goes across the body, so if that is how you prefer to carry a bag, the styles built around a long strap answer it better. This one is made to be picked up.