Brunello Cucinelli: The Overnight Bag

The Cucinelli Dust-Bag: Could it be cashmere?

I had a few hours to kill one afternoon last week so I decided to head over to the Brunello Cucinelli sample sale. The sale was located in what appeared to be BC's corporate showroom at 58th Street between Third and Lexington Avenue. There was clothing and accessories for both men and women, but I wasn't planning on purchasing anything - famous last words.

I've been on the look out for a travel bag for some time, but I could never really find anything that caught my eye. Swaine Adeney Brigg makes wonderful leather goods, but I was looking for something not-so-classically British in style. I'm certainly an Anglophile, but I wanted something with just a bit more spice to it. 

In the back corner of the showroom, I spied a table of leather goods that appeared to have gone largely unmolested by the gathering hordes of female shoppers (I point the finger at the fairer sex here because men at sample sales just never seem to exude the same level of maniacal intensity). I have a weak spot for lighter shades of brown, so this particular overnight bag's combination of leather and canvas really jumped out at me at first glance.

All things being equal, once you begin comparing bags in the $2500-3000 range,you'll probably be hard-pressed to justify any bag over the quality goods produced by SAB or Globetrotter. While Brunello Cucinelli has certainly amassed quite a following in the last few years due to luxurious fabrics, particularly his cashmere goods, I think its fair to say that his reputation as a maker of leather goods trails behind that of SAB. On the other hand, BC on the whole would probably be considered more stylish or fashionable than SAB, but I suppose reasonable minds can differ.

Now with all of that being said, if you're lucky enough to find an item that you've been looking for in a style that appeals to you at 85% off the retail price of $2565, it's pretty much a no-brainer.

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to put the bag to good use this summer. I've been hoping to break out a pair of Edward Green saddle shoes that I picked up at Ralph Lauren, and while the picture above doesn't do the color justice, the leather color of the bag is quite similar to the burnished portions of the saddle shoes' edwardian antique patina. 

Now I just need to work on an outfit . . .

[P.S. I also picked up a sweater that I'm selling here. If anyone's interested, shoot me an email.]