Donna Alessia Tricolor Convertible Bag

Carried by the handles, or clipped onto the webbing strap

Two short handles sit on riveted loops at the top of the bag, cut from the same khaki as the sides. They are the obvious choice for a short walk, held in the hand or hooked over the forearm. For anything longer there is a detachable khaki webbing strap that clips onto the side rings and drops the bag to the shoulder or across the chest. It comes off just as quickly, so the way you carry it follows the day rather than the other way round. If the strap is the part that matters most, there is an entire shelf where a shoulder strap is the whole point.

The zipped camel pocket you reach for first

The camel panel is not just a block of colour. A zip runs almost its full width, closed with a silver slider and a khaki pull tab. A travelcard, a set of keys or a phone lives there rather than at the bottom of the bag. The main opening keeps its own zip, set along the top edge between the two handles.

An off-white, camel and khaki handbag in three clean blocks

Read from the top down, the bag goes pale, then warm, then muted: off-white as far as the zip line, a broad camel panel across the middle, khaki on the sides, the base and the handles. The grain of the synthetic catches the light differently on each block, which stops the three colours flattening into a print. Silver-toned clips, rings and rivets punctuate the seams without crowding them. The same appetite for solid colour runs through the colour-blocked fronts on this shelf.

Sized for a day out rather than a weekend

At 28 × 30 × 12 cm the bag is fractionally taller than it is wide, with enough depth for a paperback, a folding umbrella and a lunch box before the front starts to bow. Firm khaki side panels keep it standing when it is only half full. As for upkeep, the grained synthetic surface asks for nothing more than a soft cloth.