NeverFirst

Hey, Dr T. Long time, no see!

Anyway, we all know you love Dupont (and I agree, it's nice) but I just want to chime in on that link to royztager.com.

I see they list Bonastre. I love the look of that bag (the D7) which I think I saw once in the flesh. It's expensive and I can't justify it to myself but I encourage anyone to buy it because it's so beautiful.

(But not so many of you that the price rises!)

kevinsac

i searched first, before posting. I did not see. Link, please? ^

tfar

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome back, NeverFirst!

Yep, my Cuir Diamant wallet still looks practically like new after two years of daily use (carry in front pocket). At the next best occasion I will shoot for a fitting briefcase.

I will look at the Bonastre D7. Is that brand and model?

Kevin, the thread was entitled luxury luggage not luxury holdalls but most of these companies have some REALLY nice ones.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...y-luggage.html

And it's Swaine Adeney Brigg, not Sweeney. Me bad.

If you go leather and you want the thing to look still presentable after 20+ years, I'd only choose a leather that has a particular surface treat such as Epi by Vuitton or Diamant by Dupont. The classic English Saddle leathers will get really evil stains over time.

Cheers,

Till

tcl

My mom who likes and collects anything blue currently loves her Goyard tote and folding suitcase. She also has a Smythson holdall in their Prusssian Blue. The zippers are a bit stiff on the Smythson.

If you like exotic leathers have you looked at Kwanpen?

RobCH

I like Tusting stuff. http://www.tusting.co.uk/for-travel/holdalls.html

PS. Till, it seems to be Swaine Adeney on their own these days for leather goods. As far as I can see Brigg is umbrellas and canes.

thelark

Hermes would be my first suggestion. Other choices are Swaine Adeney Brigg and Valextra.

NeverFirst

No, you've got that the wrong way round. Swaine Adeney (the leather people) merged with Thomas Brigg & Sons (the umbrella people) in 1943.

http://www.swaineadeney.co.uk/

Edited to add; I see where the confusion might have come from: Swaine Adeney Brigg have moved out of St James Street and are temporarily in the Piccadily Arcade, under the name of Brigg, until their new shop opens in South Audley Street.

tfar

Thanks. I never stop learning here. Love it!

BTW, the luxury carry-on that I actually carry is the Andiamo Valoroso Six Pocket tote VT-18 and the Duffel VD-25. Indestructible, very nicely made, super practical, personalized with my initials and I have never seen a single person with the same bag, whereas I see LV and Hermes in quite amazing quantities. The funny thing is also that a nice grey VD-25 or VT-18 will be quite hard to find these days.

I also have the holdall which is basically the same shape as the OP's LV keepall. But I don't find that shape to be very practical. Too round.

Till

Mellonc

I have a bag from Hype Luggage (bought from Roztayger.com). Hype's direct link is: http://www.hypeluggage.com/

Nice bag. Casual but oozes quality.

xray

That's the first time I've seen Hermes and the cost being "not bad" even mentioned in the same sentence ! Full disclosure is that I am a lover of Hermes (could have bought a cottage for the cost of the bags that I own)

h15t0r1an

Perhaps the "not bad" relates to the difference in cost above standard version, to have a customized version of a regular Hermes item. In which case I'd agree, the uplift for customized is not bad at all.

h15t0r1an

Perhaps the "not bad" relates to the cost of the uncustomized versions. In which case I'd agree, the uplift for customized is not bad. And I believe in many cases, a carefully customized bag might also hold its own better in terms of resale value.

kevinsac

Thanks to everyone for their input. While I have learned a lot from FT, this single thread has offered the most practical info for me.

I decided to go with this Frank Clegg bag in chestnut. I will have it lined.

Several reasons:

• I called several of the smaller companies directly. With Clegg, Frank himself answered the phone. I spent over 40 mins on the phone with me. Yes, I had several questions, but he wanted to chat about his passion for leatherwork.
• He gave me some more questions to ask myself about my travel patterns. All could have pointed me to other manufacturers...but pointed me to Clegg.
• He offered lining. He said that the raw unlined bags, even his, will lead to lint on clothes, if clothes are packed in the bad.
• The prices for this bag were below what I had set for my limit ... and I always go over my limit anyway.
• For the same price, he offered me a "something extra" he does not mention on his web site.
• I casually asked the young man who might inherit my bag (depending on how long I live and how well the bag holds up) which of my top 4 bags he thought looked best, and he quickly answered that he liked this bag!

Easy decision in the long run!

Thanks, everyone!

xolinlevh

I have a LV Damier Graphite backpack (the "Michael"). Use Tumi for my rollers and duffels. Cant quite justify the cost of LV luggage, as my tumi takes quite a beating as it is....

kevinsac

Wow....with the money I saved by buying the Clegg leather bag (over my previous "sorta budget," whatever that means), I bought another bag today, too.

Driving home from SF, I stopped by the Tumi Outlet in Vacaville. I only wanted to look at backpacks (I just noticed my Swiss pack is starting to tear).

I saw a bag in the window that really looked Euro-modern chic. It's the Tumi Arrive' Fluminino Boarding bag. It's been discontinued; but so what? Retailed for $695. Price reduced by 50% at the outlet store. And then they were having an in-store 25% off sale.

So, this can be my everyday travel bag, and the Clegg bag is my "special occasion/trip" bag!