Bags Without Logos, The Ones That Cost More.

Once we place our feet squarely in the camp of delayed gratification, and decide to spend some more money, it's much easier to get a no-logo bag with High WASP style. As in, if you can and want to afford several hundred dollars, it's kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. Not that I have ever done or would do that. But I like idioms. Anyway.

Bags Without Logos - Midrange by High WASP featuring kate spade bags

In this world it's all about shape, color, texture, materials, and details. (Seen much better if you click through to the Polyvore site, BTW.) The green bag is made of haircalf, which if you don't have an issue with baby cows, is a beautiful material. The blue bag is a sophisticated gray blue, and contrasts a smooth outer leather with texture in the pockets. The black Kate Spade is perforated. And I know her logo is visible. But it's little. So I'm counting it. We are all in denial one way or another about something. The J. Crew bag, as recommended by Slynnro in her comment, has suede pockets, little brass studs that are perfect like candy, and a killer shape. The M0851, as recommended by materfamilias, is perhaps the most classic bag of all shown. Nothing but beautiful, soft, black leather and those knots.

Finally, if you have all the money in the world, and no qualms with how you spend it (or maybe have already set up your foundation to save the world), there are these.

Bottega Veneta is the emperor of the logoless realm. And it is about the real cost and luxury of the material. That woven leather. (As Deja Pseu points out today, they have spawned their own set of affordable friends.) Ah. My mother, my sister, and I all had Bottega Veneta bags in the 1980's. But, as I said, the family fortune is on its last legs and those legs don't include Bottega Veneta any more. I just like to say the words. Bottega Veneta.

Another super-luxury brand is Nancy Gonzalez. Again, materials. In her case, crocodile.

I am happy to say that, although they are beautiful, I do not crave $3000 purses. This was by no means guaranteed. I always feel good when I find a level of luxury that I do not miss in its absence. As close as I'm going to get to Buddha, I imagine.

Images:
Bottega Veneta via Saks
Nancy Gonzalez via Neiman Marcus
And a tip of the hat to The Preppy Princess for her logophobia inspiration, even when that logo is Harvard's...

Bags Without Logos, The Budget Version

So let's say you want a bag without a manufacturer's monogram. Otherwise known as a logo. Logos and other branding tchotchkes (Yiddish word of the day) are ubiquitous these days. Hard to avoid. When I bought my new purse, it was displayed with charms attached to the handles. I refrained.

But I digress. Let's assume you want a bag without branding, and that you also want to send High WASP social signals. (It is possible that's not something you want. I do understand.) Here are some options.

Bags Without Logos - Budget Version by High WASP featuring Coach bags

First of all, let us take a moment of silence for a brand with history. Consider the bag in the center. Coach, and few say otherwise, is floundering at the moment. They think their logo can stand in for the quality of design, materials, and construction that built the value of their brand. We can only hope they return to their senses. I still have a drawstring Coach bag that I might take off its hook and unretire.

Now where was I? Oh yes. There are some general principles at play here. When manufacturers put logos and copycat brand elements on bargain items, they are hoping for reflected glory via mimicry. I will not make a blanket statement on the rightness or wrongness of that choice. It’s just not mine. So if you don't want logos, but do want some style, some cachet, what then? You have to substitute design for logos. It’s easiest to do this with limitless funds. What commercial enterprise isn’t easier with limitless funds? But it’s possible on a budget.

Start in the upper right on the circle above with how not to do this. (Clinton? Stacy?) Knockoffs, time-honored though they may be, are rarely up to the task at hand. They ape key design strokes of genius of brands that have won luxury status. But the strokes of genius often turn out to be nothing without faithful execution. Chanel's quilting, for example. To which Marc Jacobs pays lovely homage. However, this kind of quilting does not translate well to bargain brands. The beauty of Chanel and Jacobs’ quilting is in the feather-soft leather, the perfect stitching. So unless knockoffs are done with irony, clearly imitation, this strategy is a non-starter.

Moving on. The green bag looks great in pictures. The design is classic. However, it's made of plastic. So quite risky, in that the material might negate the design, leaving the bag only shabby. How about nautical? Pacman? The anchor and the hungry ghosts substitute for logos. They are well-loved symbols that say something about the person carrying the bag. Something you brought home from a souk in Morocco, or the San Blas islands off the coast of Panama would serve as well. These aren't bags for a corporate job, perhaps, unless you work for a yachting company, or as a software designer, but they are bags that say who you are with a clean design sensibility at a low price.

Finally, in my opinion the blue and orange envelope, and the straw from J. Crew are the closest to what I would advise for anyone looking to get High WASP, no logo style with an inexpensive bag. The blue bag has great colors and a classic, simple shape. The straw is made of seagrass, great color and texture, again in a classic, simple shape. In the end, something about the bag you choose, in the High WASP paradigm, and possibly others, ought to make you feel, “Oh, good job you. Good job.” As others have said, ideally it’s not about the money. Ideally.

The Unbearable Import of Shoes and Bags

Shoes and bags are terribly important to High WASPs. You can wear anything as long as you have good shoes and a good bag. Which until recently we called a purse. Sad but true. Not sad about nomenclature, sad about own shallowness. We wish it weren't so, that we were more enlightened. However I am not here to tell the story of who I wish I were. Here are some shoes and bags I would purchase,and carry/wear in full confidence, if the family fortune had not gone the way of the horse and carriage.


Bags: Marc Jacobs, Bottega Veneta, Nancy Gonzalez via Barney's and Saks
Shoes: Ferragamo, Stuart Weitzman, Donald Pliner all via Beren


There are a few salient characteristics. (This is not a test). First, no, or very small logos. Logos are for show-offs. (But we might fall off the wagon and buy Chanel sunglasses for fun). And yes, we are prone to use old-fashioned terms like show-offs. Second, however, and again I regret the shallowness this reveals, all these bags and some of the shoes have discernible brand details for those in the know. We don't want to be showy but we are still prey to the need for social signalling. Third, the shoes are comfortable. I have had more conversations than I like to admit about how the Ferragamo last really is the best thing for narrow feet. Fourth, the bags are large and relatively functional. No fringe to catch in subway doors, no danging charms to snag our cashmere tops, and no oversized chain straps to leave welts on our shoulders.

There are other shoes and bags we would like to purchase, but would avoid.


Tano, Donald Pliner, Nancy Gonzalez, via Neiman Marcus and Beren

Why avoid these things we think are very good-looking? (Good-looking means cool but appropriate in WASP-speak). A yellow purse probably ought to be saved for the beach. Or someplace where you can wear bathing suits to eat food. The lovely purse with coral leaves? Well, we just won't buy enough purses to get around to buying one with coral leaves. We will buy a black one, of course, Then we will have to have brown. Then we might get really wild and get a dark green one. Or navy. But by the time we might have enough required bags that we could justify one with coral leaves we would be too embarassed at the excess to buy it.

The black shoes with the peace sign? I take it back. That we would buy. Especially in the People's Republic of Berkeley.