Current Good Quality Fair Price but Little Known Recommendation Thread

[papertiger]

I discovered a French minimalist brand Ateliers Auguste a few months ago via Instagram and got really intrigued by their timeless designs and a fairly affordable price point. Fortunately, my best friend went to Paris on vacation, so I convinced him to bring me their Monceau bag to avoid paying shipping . Finally got the bag after waiting awhile and am very happy! It is very minimalist, but leather feels superb and sturdy, beautiful black color. Stitching is perfect and the bag, while fairly compact, actually fits a decent amount of things (like a 10 inch iPad and a 12 Oz Zojirushi tumbler!). They only have about 3 styles for women, but I think quality/price ratio is very good. The bags are designed in France and manufactured in Italy.

I know several friends who would ill for this

Congratulations!!!

 

[anitalilac]

I discovered a French minimalist brand Ateliers Auguste a few months ago via Instagram and got really intrigued by their timeless designs and a fairly affordable price point. Fortunately, my best friend went to Paris on vacation, so I convinced him to bring me their Monceau bag to avoid paying shipping . Finally got the bag after waiting awhile and am very happy! It is very minimalist, but leather feels superb and sturdy, beautiful black color. Stitching is perfect and the bag, while fairly compact, actually fits a decent amount of things (like a 10 inch iPad and a 12 Oz Zojirushi tumbler!). They only have about 3 styles for women, but I think quality/price ratio is very good. The bags are designed in France and manufactured in Italy.

Gorgeous!

 

[papertiger]

We've talked about Ming Ray before but I see they are getting some good publicity (editorial, Harpers Bazaar UK).

Whilst not altogether my style, their 'normal' leather bags are exquisite, playful and priced very well (under £800 / $1050 - just a bit 'Kawaii' for me)) and the bags I would go for in exotics translate to similar or higher than most premier designers.

https://www.mingray.com/product/joyblacksilverstripescalf

https://www.mingray.com/product/claudiablackgoldlizard

 

[papertiger]

Has anyone mentioned Khaore?
Was on instagram browsing this weekend(typical i know), and came across their bags and was intrigued. Some of the bags are a bit too sculptural and out there for me but beautiful none the less. Fell in love with the kutchra in white, and contemplating on getting them.

I like they have a bag called Garbage but the bag I like best is the Cone. What I don't like is there's very little about who or what is Khaore, where they're based etc. Bit of a gamble I'd say.

 

[papertiger]

I like they have a bag called Garbage but the bag I like best is the Cone. What I don't like is there's very little about who or what is Khaore, where they're based etc. Bit of a gamble I'd say.

More info here:

https://www.pentagram.com/work/khaore/story

Ridiculous they don't put more info on their own site. Guess it's a rookie mistake but please *sigh*

 

[bellebellebelle19]

We've talked about Ming Ray before but I see they are getting some good publicity (editorial, Harpers Bazaar UK).

Whilst not altogether my style, their 'normal' leather bags are exquisite, playful and priced very well (under £800 / $1050 - just a bit 'Kawaii' for me)) and the bags I would go for in exotics translate to similar or higher than most premier designers.

https://www.mingray.com/product/joyblacksilverstripescalf

https://www.mingray.com/product/claudiablackgoldlizard

I quite like Ming Ray's bags as I like quirk I my outfits, but I have yet to see a design that's a MUST-HAVE for me.

More info here:

https://www.pentagram.com/work/khaore/story

Ridiculous they don't put more info on their own site. Guess it's a Rookie mistake but please *sigh*

I thought the same thing when I was on their website! I really like designs and shapes, but the lack of information about the materials and construction (and experiences with customer service) don't give me the confidence to buy. Thank you for sharing the article though! That helps a bit.

 

[bellebellebelle19]

I wanted to share my experience with DeMellier on this thread. I bought two bags from them as gifts. I've seen one, and the other was on pre-order and will be shipped directly to the recipient, so I won't be able to see it in person.

The first was a midi Venice. The quality was alright for the price. I'd say it was better than the quality of Coach New York, but not quite as good as Coach 1941. The leather was nice enough for the price point, but the bag was grained and I prefer smooth leathers. I think Coach 1941 has a nicer feeling pebbled leather. I do hope to get a smooth leather bag from them one day, but I'm waiting for their next season releases. The stitching and construction were alright, and the hardware definitely in the mid-range, not particularly heavy but not cheap. Overall, I'd say it's contemporary quality at a contemporary price range, which is very fair.

The quality control was lacking in the bag I saw. Part of the strap was glued and the glue came undone (better construction would've been to sew it). The suede on the bag was also uneven (parts of it looked worn out). I contacted DeMellier and they were very kind and willing to take it back including shipping, even though the bag had been hotstamped and therefore non-refundable.

Overall, I'd just be aware that the price is reasonable because the bag isn't TOP quality, but still good and a great alternative for all the run-of-the-mill mid-range designers that you see. I would definitely recommend buying from them with confidence because their service is really top notch, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything like that in this price range.

 

[MamaSleepy]

More info here:

https://www.pentagram.com/work/khaore/story

Ridiculous they don't put more info on their own site. Guess it's a rookie mistake but please *sigh*

A MAJOR peeve of mine is a website w/o info!
Wish I could say CH Carolina Herrera made a rookie mistake on her bag web pages but she's been selling longer than some PTFer's have been alive! She offers no dimensions, names, colors, materials, prices - nothing but numbered photos. Argh@!#

 

[papertiger]

A MAJOR peeve of mine is a website w/o info!
Wish I could say CH Carolina Herrera made a rookie mistake on her bag web pages but she's been selling longer than some PTFer's have been alive! She offers no dimensions, names, colors, materials, prices - nothing but numbered photos. Argh@!#

Sounds awful, how ca anyone determine if the bag's for them. I must say I love her evening dresses but don't know her bags well, do you have any experience, what are they like?

 

[papertiger]

I wanted to share my experience with DeMellier on this thread. I bought two bags from them as gifts. I've seen one, and the other was on pre-order and will be shipped directly to the recipient, so I won't be able to see it in person.

The first was a midi Venice. The quality was alright for the price. I'd say it was better than the quality of Coach New York, but not quite as good as Coach 1941. The leather was nice enough for the price point, but the bag was grained and I prefer smooth leathers. I think Coach 1941 has a nicer feeling pebbled leather. I do hope to get a smooth leather bag from them one day, but I'm waiting for their next season releases. The stitching and construction were alright, and the hardware definitely in the mid-range, not particularly heavy but not cheap. Overall, I'd say it's contemporary quality at a contemporary price range, which is very fair.

The quality control was lacking in the bag I saw. Part of the strap was glued and the glue came undone (better construction would've been to sew it). The suede on the bag was also uneven (parts of it looked worn out). I contacted DeMellier and they were very kind and willing to take it back including shipping, even though the bag had been hotstamped and therefore non-refundable.

Overall, I'd just be aware that the price is reasonable because the bag isn't TOP quality, but still good and a great alternative for all the run-of-the-mill mid-range designers that you see. I would definitely recommend buying from them with confidence because their service is really top notch, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything like that in this price range.

Great to hear a review.

OT a little but FYI, I think Coach's 1941 has been discontinued as a separate entity. Coachies correct me if I've got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

 

[bellebellebelle19]

Sounds awful, how ca anyone determine if the bag's for them. I must say I love her evening dresses but don't know her bags well, do you have any experience, what are they like?

I've only seen them at the outlets, and I thought the quality was a bit hit-or-miss. The Matroska tote leather was very thin, but perhaps they did that on purpose to make the totes light. I remember seeing a shearling bag that felt luscious, but in general I thought that the quality wasn't quite up to the retail prices she asks ($1000-$1500 full price). I can't remember the details though, and perhaps they have different stock for outlets though! Maybe the retail pieces are better quality

Great to hear a review.

OT a little but FYI, I think Coach's 1941 has been discontinued as a separate entity. Coachies correct me if I've got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

Yes, sadly I think they're giving up the 1941 quality pieces. I don't think they were selling well enough, as many of them have since ended up at the outlet. I've also read from the Coach subforum that the newer 1941 doesn't feel the same as old 1941

 

[MooMooVT]

Great to hear a review.

OT a little but FYI, I think Coach's 1941 has been discontinued as a separate entity. Coachies correct me if I've got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

Here's a link to the state of Coach 1941. https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/is-1941-gone.997352/

TL/DR - Coach is phasing out the 1941 line in that it's not going to specifically distinguish between 1941 and other Coach bags. If you know what was/is a 1941 bag - there shouldn't be a difference. At least for now. We'll see what Coach has in store - but it doesn't look promising if it was the 1941 bags that brought you back to Coach in the first place.

 

[LÁNXN]

I was skeptical at first as well. But, I do think its official website does present its actual color tone quite well. At least it was not a surprise when i got their long wallet.

Hi Jessica,

as a young brand, we just want to say thank you for the support and sharing. We will keep up our work to design and craft bags one step at a time.

Best,
Lánxn Team

 

[cilucia]

I'm loving this thread. I finally decided to go through the 29 pages so far and compile (hopefully most of) the brands mentioned onto a Pinterest board.

I'll add a couple brands myself:

• VereVerto
• Cuyana

I recently purchased a bag from each above, but haven't gotten around to taking photos yet! I'll post back here when I get a chance.

Also thanks to the thread, I am pretty sure I am going to purchase the Lotuff Leather Mini Luna in Indigo (primarily for travel, as I like to keep my passport, wallet, and phone on me in, and be able to stuff the purse into a larger personal item carry-on bag). I've requested leather swatches, so am excited to see those!

I'm super into the idea of leather interiors as well. Lotuff also has this bag that I really like (gives me a Celine Belt bag crossed with a Mulberry Classic Bayswater kind of vibe?), but certainly will not purchase as I have no use for it at all (also doesn't seem like it has a crossbody option):

Another brand I came across randomly from the IHDA (? never heard of it) -- has anyone heard of Ellia Wang? These two designs are super interesting to me.

 

[bellebellebelle19]

Stumbled across this etsy seller and I'm intrigued. I'm wary on etsy and ebay; there are too many people trying to pass off mass-produced, cheap fast fashion as their own product or as vintage and make a profit with a 200% markup. But these are quite pretty and delicate, and the seller is claiming they're handmade of lovely materials like mulberry silk. They cost less than $100, so though the relatively low price is suspicious, I'm tempted to try one out!
https://etsy.me/2IVzwvQ