Delvaux Bags: The 1958 Buckle That Became a Logo

For the 1958 Brussels World Fair, Delvaux introduced Le Brillant, designed by Paule Goethals. It was the first time the brand put its own logo on a product, and the logo was a buckle shaped like the letter D. I think that is a lovely way to start a brand's signature: not a monogram stamped everywhere, just one piece of hardware you have to touch to open the bag. Delvaux bags still work this way.

The Brussels house is older than Belgium's independence. Charles Delvaux opened a travel goods workshop in Brussels in 1829, a year before the country declared itself independent, and in 1883 it became official purveyor to the Royal Court of Belgium. Since 1933 every design has gone into a Golden Book, with a drawing, a name, a date and the designer. Brillant is in there (1958), and so is Tempête (1967).

A quick test: pick up any bag and find the closure first. On this house's bags you should be able to name the model from the hardware alone.

This is the model from the 1958 story, and the four here show how much it varies. Brillant PM in blue leather is the smallest, with a mirrored buckle closure. Brillant Medium, also blue, has a mirror-polished flap buckle and a little more room. The Brillant Tempo Small in purple pairs the Brillant flap with Tempête-style hardware, and the Brillant Tempo Large in brown is a structured flap shoulder bag. A tip: if you carry a phone, wallet and keys and nothing else, the PM is plenty. Go to the Medium only if you carry a book.

Pin is the easy one to live with. The Pin Twist Small crossbody comes in green, black and purple, and each has the sculpted D-pin closure that you turn to open. I would start with the black, because it goes with everything, then add green if you want the bag to be the loudest thing in the outfit. The Pin Daily Medium tote in green leather carries the same pin hardware in an everyday tote shape. What I would skip: wearing the green tote with a green coat. Let it stand out against neutrals.

Tempête is the 1967 design in the Golden Book, and it is the most architectural of the family. The Tempête PM comes in burgundy and in green, both top-handle bags with a flap and twist hardware that looks like it was drawn with a ruler. The Tempête To Go Small in blue is a shoulder bag, and the Tempête City Small in brown is a crossbody, so those two are better for days when you are walking a lot. A tip: try the burgundy next to a camel coat. It looks richer there than any black bag would.

Small bags show off the hardware best. The Brillant Mini in white leather is the house buckle at pocket size, and the Pin Surpiqué Mini in beige has stitched leather and a shoulder strap. The other two are pre-owned: a white leather mini Cool Box satchel and a black perforated leather mini Cool Box bag with gold hardware, a strap and a poignet (the small hand strap). The Cool Box has a boxy shape that is nothing like Brillant. A tip: carry the black perforated one with a white shirt and nothing else shiny.

The house has made leather goods since 1829, so buying pre-owned feels natural here. The pre-owned L'Airess tote MM is perforated leather in a neutral shade with silver hardware. A pre-owned Brillant MM in purple comes with silver hardware, a mirror and charms, and a pre-owned Tempête MM in white has the same silver hardware, a strap, a mirror and charms. The pre-owned Pin Twist crossbody is red leather with the pin closure. A tip: check that the strap and charms are included before you choose, because they change how the bag hangs.

With Delvaux bags, I choose the closure before the color. The D buckle on Brillant, the pin on the Pin Twist, the twist hardware on Tempête: each one changes how you use the bag every single day. Open and close it ten times in your head before you commit. If the motion feels like yours, the color is the easy part, and I would pick whichever one you are least likely to find on anyone else.