David Jones gray fabric shoulder bag

What fits in a 20x17 cm crossbody bag

Start with the size, because it decides everything else. At 20x17 cm it takes a phone, a slim wallet, keys and a lip balm, and that is roughly the end of the list. The pay-off is that the bag stays flat against you instead of swelling through the day, so it never gets in the way when you sit down or move through a crowd. If you need something that swallows a book and a water bottle, the bigger shapes on the same shelf will serve you better.

A woven strap you can shorten or take off

The strap is a flat grey band flecked with small ivory dashes, cut from the same family of weaves as the bag itself. A metal slider sets the length, from shoulder height down to a proper crossbody drop, and a snap hook at each end clips onto a ring at the top corners, so the strap both adjusts and unclips completely. Taken off, what is left is a neat little textile rectangle you can carry in one hand.

Grey, ivory and a fringe along the top edge

The weave is grey throughout, crossed by thin ivory lines that form wide squares, upright and across. You can see the thread standing slightly proud of the surface, which is what stops the bag reading as flat fabric. Above that, a grey fringe runs along the whole top edge and falls forward over the front panel, with a few ivory strands caught in it and a longer tassel at each corner. The strap stays plain, and the trim keeps to the top.

The small David Jones Paris tab

Low on the right of the front panel, a little grey plate framed in caramel carries the David Jones Paris name. It lies flat in the weave, at the point where your hand naturally takes hold of the bag. Nothing else is branded: the rest is fabric, fringe and tassels.

Wearing grey and ivory through the week

Neither colour asks for attention, which is the point. Grey sits easily against denim, black, undyed linen or camel, and the ivory check is just enough to keep the bag from looking plain. It works for a day in town and for the kind of journey where you would rather keep both hands free. For something smaller again, the shapes worn on a belt take over.