This is Why You Really Do Need a Bucket Bag

by Natalie Matthews


"Obsessed" is used more often than it actually applies, and yet I'm really, truly obsessed with this Mansur Gavriel bucket bag, above-in the fullest, non-hyperbolic sense of the word. I came late to the game, on the heels of two of my former bosses (who wrote about it here and here) and a crowd that snapped it up from every place that stocked it, unfortunately for me. Now the bag's sold out everywhere, and yet my typically flighty self can't let it go. Too many qualities haunt my bag hunt dreams: soft-yet-sturdy leather, elegantly minimal hardware, Goldilocks size.

Oh, and the shape. That's the real kicker. I hadn't thought about it until this particular purse sunk its teeth, but the bucket bag is sort of the dark horse of versatile-yet-polished handbags. Since it's not the structured satchel you want for work or the cool-casual crossbody you sling over your shoulder on weekends, it gets relegated to some category of fun, extra accessories. Like, "Ooh! A bucket bag, how whimsical!" And it's definitely unfair.

You see, a bucket bag is malleable, so it'll often fit the odd things you have trouble cramming in your narrower or more structured bags, like a boxy Tupperware container or an extra pair of shoes. It's sneaky-roomy without being luggage-looking oversized or canvas tote casual, and if you get one like these fourteen options above, it'll also be pretty. Which means the bucket bag hits the handbag Holy Grail of being polished and practical. Which leaves me with only one question: how has the shape gone so underused for so long? I need one now-the Mansur Gavriel version preferably, but really they're all pretty great-and you probably do too, even if you just didn't know it yet.

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