There is this moment on almost every trip, usually in the early evening. The day is done, I’ve seen enough and I want to go somewhere nice for dinner – nothing spectacular, but preferably somewhere with tablecloths and a glass of wine. Freshly showered, I stand in my hotel room and look at the only bag I have with me: my backpack.
And the backpack, as faithful as it has been all day, simply isn’t right for the evening.
I travel with an Osprey Sojourn. A brilliant thing: a backpack with wheels that makes backpacking in style possible.
At home, I own plenty of handbags, usually chosen to go with my outfits, and I love them. They just don’t travel particularly well. Too heavy, too precious, too small, too vulnerable to rain, airport floors and life in general. Travelling with a beautiful leather bag creates a quiet, constant level of stress – and stress is about the last thing I want to unpack from my suitcase.
What I want from a travel bag
Like many women, I seem to be permanently looking for the perfect travel handbag. It should be simple and somehow do everything: lightweight. Small enough to fold away inside my backpack until I need it. A secure inner pocket so my passport doesn’t go wandering. Something I can carry as a handbag or crossbody.
And – this is where most practical bags fail – it should actually look good.
My new UNIQLO travel bag from the UNIQLO : C collection does all of that.
There is a drawstring at the top that can be closed or left open, an adjustable strap long enough to wear crossbody and a protected zipped pocket inside. But what I particularly like is its soft, slightly gathered shape. It sits against the body rather than stiffly beside it.
It reminds me of the early Prada nylon bags – the moment when nylon suddenly became allowed to look more expensive than leather precisely because it so confidently rejected heaviness. It doesn’t look cheap at all. Quite the opposite.
A little bit of designer thinking
That isn’t entirely accidental. The bag comes from UNIQLO : C, the line created by Clare Waight Keller, former creative director of Chloé and Givenchy and the designer behind the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding dress.
And here she is applying her eye for proportion, drape and quiet elegance to a polyester bag for the mass market.
You can see her handwriting in it. The proportions work, the gathering falls in the right place, nothing feels accidental. It is the difference between cheap and simple – something you can only really achieve if you know how to think expensive and then choose not to.
That is what I like about UNIQLO : C: essentials that look as though they belong in another price bracket but behave as though they were designed for real life. Because they were.
The real luxury? Not having to worry about it
In a way, the bag is the little sister of my Longchamp backpack in recycled nylon, which I love for exactly the same reasons: chic, practical and, above all, light. Three qualities that surprisingly rarely appear together.
I’ve added my own touch with a Maison Héroïne charm; the little gold detail gives all that simplicity just enough bling.
And then there is the best bit: I put mine in the washing machine – even though UNIQLO’s care instructions specifically say not to wash it. Mine comes out as if nothing has happened, hangs over the door to dry and is ready to travel again the next morning.
No waterproofing spray. No dust bag. No guilty conscience.
That freedom from worrying about things is the real luxury – and with age, I’ve come to value it more than almost any luxury label.
Found your perfect travel handbag but still looking for the right luggage? Read why the Osprey Sojourn is my favourite way to travel: Backpacking in Style: Why I’ll Always Travel with the Osprey Sojourn
