This summer I experienced a new first: my first designer bag. I mentioned it briefly last week, but I still haven’t even taken it out yet. It’s almost as if the monument of the event makes me feel like it needs to be preserved, and suddenly I understand why women will keep their new heels in their box for months before taking them out. 

So, in celebration of my baby (should I name her?) and in a public push to get myself to finally carry it outside, I’m excited to walk you through my journey and decision process to this core memory of mine.

After offhandedly mentioning it to an old friend over brunch, we went down a rabbit hole of potential bags to buy. By the way, the brunch was fantastic; if you ever find yourself in New York, head over to Barbuto and order the kale salad — life-changing. 

I knew I had specific qualities I was looking for in a bag: First, it had to be large enough to hold my laptop, phone, portable charger and other knickknacks (lip gloss, concealer, Sonny Angel). Second, the color had to be neutral and versatile but not boring. It also had to have silver hardware and something unique about the design that made it stand out from the other popular bags, but not enough to look cheap or as if I bought it from a TikTok shop. Lastly, it must be reasonably priced (considering the brand, sustainability, reputation and expected life span).

After endless scrolling, 13,000 steps in SoHo and multiple FaceTimes to my mother, I decided on my final four: The Row’s “Margaux” bag, the Givenchy “Voyou” bag in cashmere, Balenciaga’s “Rodeo” bag and Ferragamo’s “Hug” bag. 

I didn’t find anything I loved at the more popular name stores nor was I particularly interested in knowing it most likely would have violated condition number four and five. Even though I was drooling over Prada’s satin kitten heels, I feel that lately Prada and Miu Miu have blended a little too close together and have become a little young compared to the direction I want my timeless bag to go in.

Although I enjoyed browsing through Khaite, Alaïa, Loewe, Alexander McQueen and Maison Margiela, I found a lot of “likes” but not “loves” there. 

Before I dive into what bag I chose and why in a dramatic, reality-TV-elimination-last-to-first-place way, I want to pause to acknowledge how fortunate I am to be able to write this article. 

To be able to casually brunch and window shop for a luxury bag knowing one of them was coming home with me was a very fortunate place to be in, especially at my age. 

I don’t spend recklessly throughout the year, and I had been saving up for this for a while — since knowing I would be spending my summer in Manhattan. And, at the same time, I’ve worked insanely hard the past year — 20 hours of class on top of traveling with a sports team and TA-ing three courses at a time is not a light load and neither is an averaged 68-hour per week timesheet as an intern. I believe I’ve earned this bag, and it is the greatest (material) gift to myself as of yet. 

Now, to reveal which one sits in its protective dust bag on my bedroom floor: last place is Ferragamo. Unfortunately, most of the silverware was gold for the colors of the leather I was considering, and the bag’s shape felt awkward on my shoulder. It also wasn’t large enough for my laptop, so that was the end of that.

Third place goes to the Margaux. Don’t get me wrong, it is an insanely beautiful bag and is predicted to be the next Birkin. 

But I had two main issues with it: First, it was a little too big for me. I wanted a bag I could carry in my hand and on my shoulder, but it was also too wide and felt unsuitable for everyday wear. Secondly, the style is already replicated across fast fashion and luxury competitors. The concepts of the buckle and suede were even combined in Prada’s latest bags, and I felt it was not distinct enough overall.

The first runner-up, and a very close contender, was Balenciaga. I liked the double pocket that opened and closed like an accordion, and the black-on-silver combination was killer. However, I felt it looked a little too basic and too similar to a bag I already had. The leather was already soft, meaning that breaking in the bag would happen almost too quickly for my liking. 

And my ultimate winner, as you can deduce by now, is the Givenchy Voyou in medium. However, much to my dismay, the cashmere material and dark blended gray only was manufactured in the large size, which I could have crawled into: aka, way too big. 

While I almost bought the black leather in mixed metal (gold and silver), I really didn’t want another black bag. While I almost compromised on the black tumbled leather, my wonderful sales associate, Trevor, told me that they already had it returned on account of the leather peeling. I was about to give up on the bag until Trevor pulled out a gray suede in silver hardware. And that is the one I took home.

Looking back, maybe suede wasn’t the best material to pick, but I loved the way it softened in the warm sunlight but held its presence in the dark. The silver only added to its beauty, and the subtle “Givenchy” stamped into the front took the potentially obnoxious flash of the name out of the bag. So, I tried it on probably four times within a week and asked for what seemed like 2,327,094 opinions before finally taking her home with me.

Now home-home in Los Angeles, I can’t wait to take her for a spin. 

Hadyn Phillips is a senior writing about fashion in the 21st century, spotlighting new trends and popular controversy in her column, “That’s Fashion, Sweetie.” Her column runs every Wednesday.