Donna Aléssia Two-Tone Navy Handbag

Which way will you carry this striped navy handbag?

Three carries are built into this Donna Aléssia handbag, and you can switch between them without unclipping anything. The two short handles are plaited in blue and white, soft enough to fold in the palm. The slim navy strap runs down the front and loops beneath the base, ready for the shoulder the moment you slide it free. The broad grained strap is removable at both swivel hooks.

Where the swivel hook tips over

Each end of the wide strap finishes in a silver swivel hook. Press the gate with a thumb, and the hook turns on its own post before it drops onto the ring at the side. That small rotation is what keeps the strap lying flat against your side instead of twisting between the shoulder and the bag.

An open knit that catches the light

Look closely and the stripes turn out to be knitted rather than printed. Every stitch stands slightly proud of the surface, so the white rows pick up the light while the navy rows hold on to it. Step back and the texture disappears, leaving only the broad vertical stripe that reads as a beach hut from across a room. The bands run unbroken from trim to base, with no join showing on the front.

A grained trim doing the quiet work

A band of grained navy synthetic wraps the whole top edge. It is darker than the stripes and altogether smoother, and it gives the knit an edge to hold on to. The same grain reappears on the removable strap and on the slim shoulder strap, which is what ties the soft body to its firmer fittings.

The photograph settles six details

Two keepers, one rivet each

On the front panel, two keepers in smooth petrol-blue synthetic hold the slim strap against the knit. Each one hangs from a rectangular metal ring at the trim and closes on a single round silver rivet, so every keeper is anchored twice: once at the top, once at its own rivet. The strap therefore sits square on the stripes instead of drifting sideways across them.

From raw denim to a plain pale dress

The navy-and-white pairing does the work for you against raw denim, a breton top or a plain pale dress. It holds up at a Saturday market and again on a terrace at six, and the open knit keeps the volume looking lighter than it is. Weigh up the shapes across the shelf this one sits on, then look through the other bags carrying the Donna Aléssia label.

Brush along the stripes, never across them

Dust settles between the stitches, and a soft brush worked along the stripes lifts it out. The grained trim and the wide strap take a barely damp cloth and then air drying. Store it standing rather than flat.