I’ve still not found my perfect back pack, despite Jane’s informative post, but the subject is clearly one close to your hearts, dear readers, as you got busy over twitter and the comments thread with some great suggestions. I’m listing some of them here along with a few more I’m considering (who knew it was such a big subject?) I am very taken with the Ally Capellino Nate version but it’s price -£358 -puts it firmly on the Christmas Present list.
Oddly just after our last post, I caught the back view of super-blogger Susie Bubble as she was flying speedily up Bond Street, and she was carrying a very colourful one by Meredith Wendell at around $500. Up until then I had assumed I’d go for a sleek, neutral colour way, but I might be changing my mind…Don’t you love those cheerful in-your-face-big tassels?
And then our favourite gardening journalist Alys Fowler tweeted us to say she had fallen in love and bought this beautiful Brooks England Piccadilly leather back pack in deep pine green, it has a lovely sleek line to it and although an investment at £250-ish, I bet it will get better with age as the leather looks like it will develop a gorgeous patina. It also comes in a mustard yellow, so again, we could get cheerful with our colour choices and I’ve just read that Brooks England has just opened its first store in Covent Garden
The Longchamp Le Pilage fold-away rucksack at £59, above left was a reader suggestion and is nothing short of quiet genius, I saw it at Terminal 5 this week (where it is £49, 20% cheaper due to no VAT) and it is light, quite spacious and origamis-up into a neat flat slip of nothing when you don’t need it, perfect for travelling. I also loved the colourful leather one from The Outnet, but I’m going to have to but the link in later as I’m away from home writing this and can’t find the details, bear with me….
Kurt Geiger does a couple of stylish back packs, one is a conker brown pony skin one (seen in the store windows but can’t find it online) and this mock-croc Dash 2 one at £180, which has a neat strap detail, you can zip or unzip the back strap according to how your back/shoulders are feeling. I also liked the Zara one with its dash of on-trend animal skin at £70.
Leather back backs are heavy, so if you are weight conscious or have a tendency to cram loads into your bag to create a small Stonehenge-equivalent boulder-weight you might prefer a lighter weight bag. The indigo denim Herschel Settlement version is available from Selfridges at £90 and the tangerine bright Marc Jacobs nylon version is on sale at Net A Porter for around £200
Or you could ask for a gift voucher for Christmas and wait for Whistles to bring in their next back pack, I saw a beautiful super-soft leather one (the last one in any store for autumn, I was told, they sell out fast) which would do nicely and next season there are more, so I might wait and see. Also our favourite shoe brand Grenson have this gorgeous one coming out next spring too, which is definitely worth waiting for.
I am still researching, so we may be back with more…any more tips?
HAve a look at Hester Van Eeghan in Amsterdam
Sorry – but I am going to be the voice of outrage again – 200 pounds (as you might have gathered I have no pound sign on my keyboard !) for an orange nylon backpack ? Seriously – what is the world coming to ?!!!!
oh but that brooks england back pack is the most satisfying perfect thing I have seen for a long time
Nope – still not feeling it….(and Becky, that £200 nylon rucksack is on ” sale” at that price!) x
Hello, its your sporty friend here at Sportsister! while i sort of agree £200+ is a lot for a rucksack/backpack -i am also at the age where i tend to buy just a handful of lovely things a year and wear/use them to death! So heres my lust item for sporty types! https://www.cyclechic.co.uk/shop/gifts/her/michaux-club-lightening-rucksack-claret
I have no problem with paying 200 pounds for a great quality, beautifully made leather item – in fact that is probably a bargain – but a bright orange nylon number ? I’d rather have a Kipling one for less than half the price !
A much better selection than in your first post and at better prices. I am in love with the Brooks England bags. Although they’re still a little pricey the quality looks great and worth the investment. Thanks for posting on this topic again xx
Kate Sheridan has lots, some reduced eg in the archive, the plain canvas ones are lovely
I do rather like the mad tasselley one at the top.Much prefer the nylon-y ones.I’d have thought the leather ones would be just too heavy,even empty, which would kind of defeat the bad back problem before you even started filling it up? I think the thing for me, is that if you have any bosom atall (very sadly, I have lots) then wearing a backpack just projects and showcases what I’m hoping to camoflage.Also, you have to remember, at all times,to stand properly rather than slouch.
Check out lovely backpacks from a designer in Pittsburgh – jennyndesigns.com
Lovely suggestions team (hello Danielle!) and I feel the search for me goes on, there are some great things out there, I just haven’t seen them all yet. Ax
The perfect backpack has eluded me for years, until .….. my niece found exactly what SHE was looking for – in a charity shop! It’s actually made by well known brand Picard, but of course is no longer on their website. So frustrating! What makes it so good is that it is a rectangle, it takes A4 sheets and magazines landscape (without curling at the corners) as well as everything else one has in one’s handbag, has a single easy clasp and sits easily on the back. My niece, who has a bad back and cannot carry bags on shoulder, uses it all the time, big enough to go away at the weekend, or as a hand bag. I can post photos (if it were possible) – if anyone has any ideas where we could find another or similar…. Px
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