I know we are solidly into Summer 2019 but honestly in the Bay Area with our indian summers it will be summer weather through October so for me the heat is just getting started.

So you maybe asking what makes a summer bag? Is it something you don’t want to get rained on? Is it a white bag? Is it Damier Azure for LV? What is it???? Well for me it is the bag material- like canvas, raffia, straw and wood. (Plus if I followed the bags I don’t want to get rained on rule every bag would be a summer bag!)

At the beginning of the summer (so say around end of May/ beginning of June) I was eyeing two summer bags- the Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and the Loewe Basket Bag. I was luckily enough to find both on sale for cheaper than retail. Here are my impressions of both bags:

The Saint Laurent Rive Gauche

Dimensions- W: 18.7 Inches, H: 14.0 Inches; D: 6.2 Inches

Price- $1,070

The Saint Laurent Rive Gauche tote bag only comes in one size and is actual unisex so you will see it listed in both the men’s bag section and the women’s bag section. It comes in a natural canvas as well as an all black canvas. My personal preference is for the natural canvas as I think that makes it look more like a summer bag. It is made of a coated canvas but not a coated canvas like Louis Vuitton’s which is heavily coated but more of a cloth feeling canvas. The handles are black leather which is a nice plus to a canvas bag. The writing on the bag is printed on the canvas.

Even straight out of the box the bag did not hold its shape well which was a bit of a disappointment as I was expecting the bag to have more structure after the pictures and reviews I had seen online. Also I wanted to use this bag as a work bag/ travel bag and the straps were too short to make that comfortable when the bag even had a reasonable amount of stuff in it. Short handle straps are definitely a pet peeve of mine and at that point I knew the bag wasn’t for me even at the sale price.

Overall– If I had gotten the Rive Gauche at the $450 price point I initially saw I likely would have kept it. But for the $770 price point I ended up paying it just didn’t feel worth it to me. The canvas was coated but not like Louis Vuitton canvas and after looking at pictures of the bag used I noticed it didn’t hold it structure well. I will only repurchase this bag if I find it for a steal and I would not pay the retail price of $1,050 plus tax. But you know if someone gifted it to me…. (eh one can dream!)

The Loewe Basket Bag

Dimensions- Height 9.5″ x Max. width 18″ x Depth 6.5″

Price- $490

When I initially bought this bag on found it on Farfetch for a steal in the large size– $367!. But when I got the bag the large size was about the same size as a Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM. I love a big bag but with this bag being woven straw it solidly put the bag in beach bag only territory. Also the bag was very green in appearance and I knew that I wanted a basket bag that was more of a tan color. Once I returned it I made up my mind to buy a smaller size and to buy it in store. I was lucky enough that I could buy it in Europe with my fabulous Loewe SA. Not only did I save money but i got to compare 5 different bags!

I ended up settling on the medium size because it was the perfect size for me. The small looked too small on me and as I already knew the large was too big. I choose the most evenly shaped and tan of the five I looked at because that was what was most important to me.

Thinks to look for in a Loewe Basket Bag

• The Color– is the bag more green or is it more of a tan? The bags can really vary and you just have to find what you like.
• The Size– Do you want a much smaller handbag size (the small size) or more of a tote/handbag size (the medium size) or a beach bag size (the large)?
• The Shape– Since these bags are handmade each bag is very different. All the bags have a different shape and will be tied off in different places so if you can look at more than one at once that will help during the decision making process.
• The Details– The leather on these bags varies in color and some of the bags even have more detailing such as studs.

Overall– I love this bag and even my fiance likes it! Its a really beautiful handmade bag but it is just raffia so you are definitely paying for the name here- which I am okay with. My advice for purchasing this bag is to go to a store that carries the bag (be it a Loewe boutique or a department store) and try on all three sizes. Once you pick a size compare a couple of the bags as they all vary in size and color due to be hand made. If you cannot go to a store I recommend looking at pictures online to try to gauge the sizes and ordering more than one bag to see what you get.