Bag Review : Longchamp Le Pliage Tote in Gunmetal + Links On How To Spot The Fakes
5:43:00 PMYes, I've been converted into a #crazybaglady - and it all started about 2 years ago. My love for clothes would always be number one, but now the bags and luxury accessories have taken the number 2 place on my heart. I was once asked which bag that I used the most out of my whole bag collection. Well, the answer is obvious : my Longchamp Le Pliage Tote Bag.
Longchamp is a French luxury leather goods company and is primarily known for its leather and canvas handbags, its travel items, and numerous fashion accessories. The brand has been around since 1948 and founded in paris by Jean
Cassegrain. Longchamp's most popular item is their iconic Le Pliage tote bags.
The Longchamp Le Pliage Tote Bag comes in different sizes and types, including many array of colors that you can choose from. It basically comes in three sizes (small, medium, large) - and it also comes in two different handle strap (short and long).
I hope this explanation would help those who are still confuse and seeking for information about the different sizes of the Le Pliage. In short explanation, the sizes available would be like this :
- Small size with short handle
- Small size with long handle
- Medium size with short handle
- Medium size with long handle
- Large size with short handle
- Large size with long handle
The small/medium/large Size determines the size of the bag. Mine is the Large one, and the small size is very small like a mini handbag, while the medium size falls in-between.
The short/long Handle describe how long the handle strap is. The short handle is just like a handheld bag where you can only hold it with your hands. The long handle is like a shoulder bag.
For example, mine is an LLH - Large with Long Handle in the shade: Gunmetal (a cross between dark navy and asphalt-grey shade).
I got this bag from Reebonz - I was blessed and really lucky because this purchase was sponsored by one of my blog sponsor. The size that were available on Reebonz at that time was the large one. And there were only two colors left available, so I chose this gunmetal shade which is actually a dark bluish gray color to my eyes.
If you follow my instagram you might notice that I do wear this tote bag
A LOT in my photos. I think this is the most used bag in my collection
that I wear almost daily. The reason for that is because this bag is
really easy to wear, it goes with almost everything in my wardrobe
(except my formal attires), and it holds a TON of things - yet still
maintain to be really light on the shoulder!
It's my favorite bag if I have to bring my laptop with me because it wouldn't feel as heavy as my other large bag. I have a Ninewest bag in similar size that I used to bring my laptop with (before I have the Le Pliage). That Nine West bag -just like commonly large bags- was already heavy on its own, so if I carry my laptop it would hurt my shoulder because of the extra weight I had to pull.
But this LC Le Pliage is such a miracle worker, the bag itself is very very light (almost like holding a clothing item) so when you put heavy items inside it (such as my laptop) it wouldn't be as heavy as you think it would. The leather shoulder strap also feels comfortable on my shoulder and does not hurt my shoulder area.
It's my favorite bag if I have to bring my laptop with me because it wouldn't feel as heavy as my other large bag. I have a Ninewest bag in similar size that I used to bring my laptop with (before I have the Le Pliage). That Nine West bag -just like commonly large bags- was already heavy on its own, so if I carry my laptop it would hurt my shoulder because of the extra weight I had to pull.
But this LC Le Pliage is such a miracle worker, the bag itself is very very light (almost like holding a clothing item) so when you put heavy items inside it (such as my laptop) it wouldn't be as heavy as you think it would. The leather shoulder strap also feels comfortable on my shoulder and does not hurt my shoulder area.
Notes on Fake Le Pliage :
The original handle and flap are made of leather and please beware of the fake ones. You can easily tell from the leather details if your bag is fake or not. I also noticed that many online sellers would tell people that their Le Pliage bags comes from factory overrun (sisa pabrik) - don't buy those! *Meragukan*. For more info on how to authenticate it you can click here and here to educate yourself before buying this bag online.
Also, when I bought this bag from Reebonz it comes with a tissue paper beneath the flap and it didn't come with a cheap-looking plastic wrap on the handle (see photo below). I've read in purseforum that sometimes Le Pliage do comes with plastic wrap on the handle but it is made of perforated plastic (see this post). So if you see other packaging than this please beware and make sure if it's authentic first before buying it.
Anyway, on to the review... As you probably already know, this all-terrain bag can be fold
into a very small size (see above pic) so it's very useful for traveling (incase you
needed more bags to carry your extra shopping items ;p). The small compact folded size also makes it easier for storage.
Another thing I love about Le Pliage is how roomy the bag is. The inside is just one big roomy area (with one small pocket near the top) so you can basically fill it with anything you want. The roomy bag makes it perfect for traveling or as a weekender bag.
The photo below is an example of what I put inside my bag when I'm using this LC Le Pliage. I can carry my long big wallet (not shown on the pic), my 3-zippered pouch (for my phone and charger), my makeup pouch, my ipad + case, my key pouch, my sunglasses case (not shown), and another big pouch filled with daily essentials such as tissue, mints, medicine, etc. Sometimes I also carry my big HappyPlanner with me or my shopping bag if I'm buying something from the store and don't want to carry it on my hand.
Another thing I love about Le Pliage is how roomy the bag is. The inside is just one big roomy area (with one small pocket near the top) so you can basically fill it with anything you want. The roomy bag makes it perfect for traveling or as a weekender bag.
The photo below is an example of what I put inside my bag when I'm using this LC Le Pliage. I can carry my long big wallet (not shown on the pic), my 3-zippered pouch (for my phone and charger), my makeup pouch, my ipad + case, my key pouch, my sunglasses case (not shown), and another big pouch filled with daily essentials such as tissue, mints, medicine, etc. Sometimes I also carry my big HappyPlanner with me or my shopping bag if I'm buying something from the store and don't want to carry it on my hand.
List:
Cath Kidston phone + charger pouch // Marc by Marc Jacobs iPad pouch + the actual iPad // Michael Kors long wallet (not shown) // Guess essential pouch // Marc by Marc Jacobs gold makeup pouch // Coach key pouch // Sunglasses case (not shown)
Overall, If you've been wondering whether you should buy this classic iconic bag or not, I'd say go for it! (^_^). Because there is nothing that I don't like about this bag. I've been wearing it nonstop since the day I got it. And even if it
holds tons of stuffs it still feels lightweight! I even want to purchase more of these, (Lol). ->> If I have the money of course ;p
Now, what do you think of the Le Pliage ?
XoXo,
Posts
4 thoughts & comments
hi i just got a longchamp le pliage bag large in gunmetal shade given by my husband a birthday present. i have a small one in choco too i am actually really curious that there are a lot of imitations coming out. i hope you can also feature or help other to spot the fake ones to authentic ones.
ReplyDelete-my large bag was bought in store at greenbelt 5 and does not come with dust bag like other stores are actually claiming to be original.
thanks for reading
Hi Cathy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I cannot put up a post about the certain way to know how to spot a fake LC because I'm not really an expert of LC bags, so I'm afraid I'd make mistakes myself.
But there are a couple of websites and blogs that listed about those differences ( I put some links on the post above) that you might wanna check out :)
As for the dustbag, as far as I know Longchamp boutiques doesn't give dustbags to LC Le Pliage. They only give dustbags for LC Cuir and bags that are more expensive than that. But from what I've read, if you did a big purchase (bought many Le Pliage) in European factory outlet store apparently you could ask for 1-2 dustbag from the sales assistant. At least that's an information that I've read somewhere, I'm not sure if it's true because I never bought an LC from their factory outlet before.
Hope it helps :)
And thank you for stopping by!
Hi, I purchased the same bag on Ebay from a seller that sold a wide range of things that were gently used. Everything about my bag looks and feels authentic and I've looked through numerous sites about looking for anything that looked out of the ordinary. I am only questioning it because there doesn't seem to be a stamped logo underneath the flap? Did yours have one? Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by my blog. There's no actual stamp underneath the flap but there is an indentation mark from the actual stamped logo outside. So the logo from the outer side indented deep into the leather flap so it creates an indented mark underneath the flap that looks exactly like the logo. You can see here for pictures : http://i2.wp.com/snobaffair.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/REAL_Longchamp_backside_leather_flap.jpg
Hope this info helps :)
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