Smart Girl Chic: The Beautiful Leather Backpack

By Chelsea Fagan Thursday, January 08, 2015

Welcome to Smart Girl Chic, the new series on TFD wherein Smart Girls (aka girls who are interested in spending less and living better) find chic & financially healthy alternatives to trendy items. Today we will be discussing the beautiful, supple leather backpack, an item that (from what I can tell) has been #trending lately, and which — on a personal level — has been haunting my dreams.

I’ve been informed by people more fashionable and current than I that the Holy Grail of ~fashion backpacks~ right now is the Mansur Gavriel version, which is both beautiful:

And 950 fucking dollars — which, unless you are a fabulous Instagram celebrity who is being paid to wear it, is a ridiculous price for anything, much less a wearable container that still needs to be filled with things. I love me a good purse as much as anyone, but there is only so much delusion I can engage in as to how much they should cost, and mine stops well short of 950 dollars.

But, you know, fashion. I just don’t get it, I’m sure.

In any case, beautiful, minimalist leather backpacks like this one are something I greatly desire. I’ve imagined the many outfits that would be immediately enhanced by the addition of one, in place of the traditional handbag. It’s both “don’t give a fuck” casual and “give the right amount of fucks” put-together. I want one. So, to that end, I found a few great options for a fraction of the price that would fit beautifully into a wide range of wardrobes.