Donna Alessia handbag in black faux leather with tartan pattern

Two clips, two ways to carry it

The handle and the strap are separate pieces, and both come off. The rolled faux leather handle fastens to the side rings with a snap hook at either end, and on that handle the bag stays in the hand. The flat strap runs through a slider so you can set where it sits, and unclips just as easily when you would rather go back to the handle. Nothing is stitched down, so one bag covers two habits. Other long-strap options sit on the shelf where the strap does the work.

A tartan handbag that keeps its top half plain

Above the zip line, everything is black grained faux leather, matt and unpatterned, flap included. Below it, woven check takes over: a black ground crossed by white and grey, with the diagonal of the weave plain to see. The two halves are not blended into one another, and that hard edge is what the design is built on.

Camel strands in a two-row braid

The braid is applied to the leather, just above the check. It is worked in two parallel rows and mixes three tones: camel, white, and a flecked black and white. Camel is the only warm colour on the bag, and it is what keeps the pairing from reading as flat monochrome.

Five lines of specifics

Wearing black and white check

Check reads best against plain cloth. A navy trench, a black polo neck, a white shirt: each lets the panel do the talking. The camel in the braid gives you a second route, picking up tan boots or a tobacco belt if you like an accessory to rhyme with another. Otherwise, treat it as a weekday size that holds what you actually carry without turning into a tote. To compare shapes before you decide, look through the rest of the handbag shelf.