Photograph: Moynat
Weekender, full leather
The bag in the photograph is Moynat’s Duo Tote Bag BB, and it makes the case for full leather at the light end of travel. Moynat describes it as the timeless Duo Tote sized down for travelling lightly, and the description is exact. At 32 centimetres it is a bag for a day that turns into a night away, carried by its two handles, with the essentials arranged neatly inside. What it offers in place of capacity is hide, inside and out. The exterior is Taurillon leather, the lining is Taurillon leather in a contrasted tone, and there is no canvas and no printed pattern anywhere on it. The cut alone carries the design, and it carries it well. Moynat presents the Duo as a modern archetype, and the BB keeps that plain, upright shape, softened only by the grain of the hide.
That choice suits the house. Moynat has been a trunk-maker since 1849, founded by Pauline Moynat, and the house describes its work as a dedication to the mastery of haute maroquinerie, carried by master artisans and finished with archival details such as metallic trunk locks, distinctive top handles and hand-painted motifs. Colour, too, is part of the inheritance: the house recalls colour-matching its trunks to clients’ automobiles, and still builds its leather palettes with that history in mind. A house that began by building trunks for long journeys brings a useful discipline to a small bag. Both faces have to be finished properly, because on a trunk both faces were worked.
The details reward that discipline. The two-toned leather does the decorative work quietly, one tone outside and a contrasted lining within, the join visible at the handles and the rim. The closure is a concealed magnet, listed by Moynat simply as closing with magnet, so there is no zip to catch and no hardware spread across the front. Moynat gives the contents plainly: a wallet, a smartphone and a water bottle. That honesty about scale is part of the appeal. It will not replace a holdall packed for a full weekend, and it does not pretend to. For the shorter journey, made well and in full hide, it is a generous answer.
| Model | Duo Tote Bag BB |
| Dimensions | 32 x 15 x 18 cm (length x width x height) |
| Exterior | Taurillon Blush leather, two-toned |
| Lining | Contrasted Taurillon Blush leather |
| Closure | Concealed magnet |
| Carries | A wallet, a smartphone and a water bottle, as Moynat describes it |
| Made in | France |
The grained Taurillon is a practical hide for a bag that will be set down often, and Moynat notes that its leathers are selected to age beautifully, acquiring a natural patina with wear. Its care guidance is simple and worth following: do not overload the bag, and when it is not in use, fill it lightly with tissue paper, close the fasteners and keep it in its dust bag in a cool, dark and dry place. Cared for that way, a small bag from a Paris trunk house founded in 1849 should give long and faithful service, growing better-looking as it goes.