Rimowa Suitcases So Expensive costs what it does because of materials, low production volume and the margin a name carries. Only the first two show up in the product. Cost per wear is the only figure that matters, and it favours the plain expensive thing over the interesting cheap one. Price splits into materials, labour, volume and brand margin, and only the first two are visible in the product. A strap drop under 22cm will not clear a winter coat. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is capacity, closure and strap drop. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: A.L.C.'s Sid Raffia Bag at $495, and Norma Kamali's SHAWL COLLAR SLEEPING BAG COAT at $425. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. Unlined canvas is lighter but shows every mark; treat it before first use. Leather darkens where your hand sits, which is not damage; it is the bag settling. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

One structured bag does more work than three soft ones. Match the bag to the day, not the outfit. From the second group, Carl Friedrik's Day-to-Day Backpack ($445) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller, and it is there for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 bags here from 12 brands, $358 to $4160, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. A.P.C.'s Virginie Small bag at $358 is the low-risk way in, and Stephanie Gottlieb's Julietta Baguette Ring at $4160 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. Read as a set, they get you close to Rimowa Suitcases So Expensive without any single purchase being compulsory. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: buy the one you can picture using this week, not the one you are saving for later.