I’m writing this review about 13 years too late considering this Celine Trio bag came out in 2011 😂. But I did get some interest from people who are still toying with the idea of getting a Trio bag, so this one is for them!

Thank you to all those who’ve been patiently waiting for this review of the Loewe Mini Hammock bag. As you can see from these photos, I purchased this bag in late Fall and have been using it off and on for about four months now. I used to have the original Loewe Hammock bag (review of it here), but ended up selling it because I didn’t really use it. I think I stopped using it because of the way it aged and the fact that the bag is so open. So how would I compare that to the new Mini Hammock bag?

I was lucky to try on some new bags over at Loewe and Bottega Veneta a couple weeks ago and I put a little poll up on Insta asking if you guys would prefer my opinions on Insta stories or on the blog. And I’m pleasantly surprised that you guys said on the blog (I guess you long format people are my people 😂).

I accidentally bought a fake The Row Park Tote from my go-to eBay seller (who didn’t do me wrong for five straight bag purchases). I actually bought this one for a friend so I was quite bummed when I got it. I knew as soon as I felt it that this was a fake. The leather was rubbery and the handle was too stiff. But since that’s not much to go on, here’s the various ways I knew this was a fake (and it was a really good fake at that too).

I received this Toteme T-Lock Clutch bag as a Christmas present from the family (but of course I picked it lol). When deciding between the clutch size and the regular size, I decided to go with the clutch since the regular one looked so much larger. But I did want a top handle to hold it with since that’s my favorite way to hold a bag so I added a chain I found on Etsy and it’s the perfect combo.

For those who’ve been following me on Insta, you know that I’m completely obsessed by The Row’s N/S Park Tote. I first encountered it secondhand in a shop in Ginza, and even though it was quite worn I couldn’t pass it up (I went back the next day for it). Ever since then I’ve been on a hunt for secondhand Park Totes (I got them all from Japan) and have gotten two mediums (one in the pebbled leather and one in smooth), one small, and one large, along with a brand new pebbled medium one from Saks in cognac.

I am very grateful to be able to purchase high ticket items, and most of the time I think they’re 100% worth it (though not always). This year I didn’t have any luxury purchases I regretted so I just wanted to recap my top 5 favorite and/or most used luxury purchases of 2023. And without further ado…

In late July I ordered two Loewe Puzzle bags from Fashionphile, one in the mini size and one in the small. after watching some Youtube videos from Maggy, a fellow handbag enthusiast, rave about it. Plus the Puzzle has been around for so long it’s starting to become a classic. And the news of the classic Puzzle being phased out, motivated me to give them one more chance. And I’m glad I did!

Back in August I had a bit of a bag-buying spree that was kicked off by this navy Longchamp Le Pliage XS crossbody bag. While there I also checked out the leather version of the XS bag, called the Le Pliage XS Cuir, but didn’t really want to spend the extra $300+ for the leather upgrade. However when I saw this cuir version secondhand at the RealReal for just $20 more than what I paid for for the nylon one I couldn’t resist. And now I have two Le Pliage XS bags, but I plan to keep both!

I’ve been eyeing this Celine small vertical cabas bag for years (like around 5+), but never pulled the trigger because I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend $1300 on a fairly simple bag.

I’ve always admired Loewe’s Flamenco bag, with its soft structure and two knots on the sides, ever since I saw it on another woman. However, I never thought to purchase it myself until I saw it in the Loewe store at Ala Moana (Hawaii) when I was home for the holidays. As soon as I tried on the mini Flamenco, I knew it was the bag for me because it was everything I had wanted the MG Protea bag to be (and if you remember my Mansur Gavriel Protea review, I was horribly disappointed at how flimsy it was). The Loewe Flamenco has none of the flimsiness, and that’s probably due to the thick and luscious leather.

Back in December when I didn’t buy the Celine Triomphe bag at the Celine store in Hawaii (because it was $4000!!) I decided to instead go with a secondhand Celine bag purchase from my favorite luxury reseller Fashionphile. I originally got both the Celine Teen Box and this Celine Tabou Bag (the price of them together was still several hundred less than the new Triomphe), but returned the Box because it was too small and already showing some creased and cracking leather. And even though I was a bit unsure of keeping a purple bag, I’m so glad that I did because it has fast become a favorite!

Every once in awhile I’ll do something crazy like buy two Hermes wallets at the same time. Well it all started when I was browsing Instagram (isn’t that how many impulsive consumer tendencies begin? Well at least that’s true for me 🤦🏻‍♀️), and I got the notion to have a wallet that’s large enough to fit my usual card case items + my phone. I think it’s something a lot of people do, but I hadn’t really the need until I started working (and switching bags). I like my minimal card case (an oldie but goodie from Everlane), but I wanted something that could fit my phone. And like I’m wont to do, I went straight to Fashionphile to see what they had in stock.

I wrote a similar top ten post for 2021 and it was quite popular (in fact it fell in the top 15 posts of 2022 lol) so I thought I’d do it again for 2022. I also like to see how the list changes year over year because it makes me see what people are interested in reading on the blog. So thank you to all of you guys who take the time to read the blog and without further ado, here are my top ten posts as of 2022:

I had been reflecting on my expensive purchases of last year and I thought I would do a brief recap of what I thought were the best and worst purchases. The last time I did this was about one and a half years ago (My Best and Worst Luxury Purchases of 2021—and I still stand behind those choices except maybe for the Apple Watch which I don’t use as much anymore 🤦🏻‍♀️). Anyway without further ado, here are my best and worst luxury purchases as of 2022.

I had been eyeing the medium Wyn bag from Ree Projects since the beginning of summer when I saw Sherri, the owner of the boutique McMullen, carrying it around during her travels in Paris (see below). But for $750, the price was quite a bit steeper than I was prepared to pay. So I was thrilled to see it on sale on FarFetch (I paid about 40% off), and I nabbed the last one they had in stock. And I’m so glad that I did because I absolutely love this bag.

As I did in the Quince fine jewelry review and Quince linen review, I thought I would round up all the Quince bags I’ve purchased in one review. As a bag lady, I’m quite particular about my bags (see my whole bag review section here). And having tried everything from Hermes and Valextra (brand with bags handcrafted by one artisan) to Longchamp and Moop (canvas bags sold on Etsy), I feel like I know what quality bags look and feel like. And I have to say Quince makes great quality, practical leather bags at a really good price point. Most of their bags are made of Italian leathers and some in Florence, a location that is known to produce high quality leather goods. Without further ado, here are the Quince bags I’ve tried thus far.

I was 100% influenced to look at this bag by the Korean drama Hometown Cha Cha Cha (pictured below). In it, the main character, who loves bags and clothes moves from the city to a seaside town to open a dental clinic. I loved this romantic comedy with a charming look at rural life in Korea. Plus who doesn’t love a good city girl falling in love with the country boy trope. So when I found this bag at Fashionphile for a good price (quite a bit less than the $8550 retail), I decided to just try it out to see if I liked it. NGL I was fully intending to just check it out and then return it, but unfortunately (fortunately?) I fell in love with it and didn’t want to send it back.

So back in 2019 I ranked my purse collection from my least favorite to most favorite. Well sometime late last year someone asked what my purse collection ranking looks like now (so thanks for that post idea). Since I’ve purchased quite a few new bags (and sold quite a few too), my list now looks different enough to warrant an update. So without further ado here are my bags ranked from least to most favorite:

As I mentioned in my February Recap post, I bought this Ree Projects Ann Tote Mini bag from Saks on sale and as an early birthday present to myself. This is my second bag from Ree Projects, a black woman-founded bag brand out of Amsterdam that makes all their bags in Italy with gorgeous Italian leathers.

Can you believe I bought this Hermes Evelyne III PM (also known as the Evelyne III 29) bag last May when I was in Hawaii. It’s been almost a year and I’ve worn it maybe five times so far. So I guess you can tell from that how much I love this bag (sadly not very much). Ah well let me get into it here:

So I actually ordered both the Classic Shoulder Bag and Classic Teddy Jacket from The Curated in 2020 when I was still in Hawaii. Both were sent to Hawaii while we were there, but I obviously couldn’t wear the Teddy Jacket. And tbh I wasn’t a fan of the Classic Shoulder Bag (more on this below), so I left them in Hawaii when I couldn’t fit them into our already seam-busting suitcases. Well I finally had my mom ship both to me in California, and now I remember why I left them in Hawaii (and forgot about them 🙈) lol.

I’ve been carrying this Celine Blade bag almost everyday since I got it back in September so I decided it’s about time to write up the review. Before this bag I had been carrying the Mansur Gavriel mini travel bag and though I loved how much it could fit, I found it to be a tad bulky. So when I came across the Blade bag on Fashionphile, I was intrigued. After doing some research I ended up buying one from the RealReal (though I wouldn’t recommend that route unless you do some research).

If you’ve been a long time reader of this blog, you already know that I’m not afraid to let go of bags. I’m quick to buy but also to sell once I’ve realised I’m not using the bag much. I rarely hold on to bags for sentimental reasons because tbh all those bags would just take up so much space. If I’m done with a bag, I’ll thank it for its service and then try to rehome it to someone who would get more use out of the it than me.

Anyway I’ve touched upon purchasing secondhand luxury bags before. But here is where I usually sell my bags once I’m ready to let them go.

As I mentioned in June, this bag purchase was the one that broke the camel’s back so to speak and led me to do a No Buy July challenge. But I have to say I’m glad I bought the Polene Numero Onze bag and that no buy challenge was worth it. Surprisingly this little number has quickly become a favorite when I need an easy hands-free bag.

Back in 2018 I wrote a blog post detailing my best and worst luxury bag purchases. Well it’s been several years so I decided to update that post with what I consider my best and worst luxury purchases as of 2021. I’ve decided to include items other than bags this time and I’m expanding my definition of “luxury” to mean anything that’s expensive for what it is and not a necessity.

So like I mentioned a couple times before (here and here), I bought this Valextra Bucket Bag for myself as a birthday present. I didn’t think I was the big bucket bag kind of person but seeing the resurgence in popularity of the Celine Sangle bag and the fact that I have a toddler now made me want try out a big bucket bag again. Since I had the Sangle before (Celine Sangle review here) and ended up selling it, I knew the Sangle wasn’t for me. I thought about getting it in the smaller size but I didn’t love it. But when I saw this Valextra Bucket bag I knew it was exactly what I’ve been looking for.