Clutches

Foley + Corinna Linen City Clutch

foley Corinna Linen City Clutch
Foley + Corinna Linen City Clutch

Despite my unending obsession with smooshy, soft, touchable leather of all varieties, sometimes a leather bag in the heat of summer can feel a bit…heavy. I live in Georgia, and right about now, the heat and humidity outside start to edge towards unbearable, steadily making their way to the sweaty, exhausting August peak (just in time to stand outside for 8 hours every Saturday, tailgating and watching college football).

Unfortunately, the desire for a non-leather bag creates somewhat of a conundrum for high-end bag lovers. You don’t want to buy crap, because having a beautiful bag is something that you enjoy and buying something that’s not well-made feels like a waste of money. Then again, many designers charge nearly as much for a non-leather bag as they would for a leather one, which feels like a rip-off (and like the designer thinks you’re dumb enough to pay a premium for their name alone when the components of the bag don’t nearly warrant the price). So, most summers, my desire for a cute, summery, non-leather bag goes unfulfilled.


That might change this summer, though. Perusing ShopBop.com tonight while watching a marathon of ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’ (and seriously contemplating never having any kids, ever. That show continues to horrify me), I happened upon the linen version of the Foley + Corinna City Clutch, a bag that I was contemplating purchasing in leather anyway, ever since I saw Little J carrying it in pink on ‘Gossip Girl’. I stalk this bag all over the Internet, so I was surprised I hadn’t seen the linen version already. As it turns out though, the bag is exclusive to ShopBop and a new arrival, so I’m not as behind as I thought I was.

Calling this bag a clutch, in my opinion, is kind of misleading. I think it looks best carried by the top handles instead of the shoulder strap, and in that form, it’s about the size of a Balenciaga City bag, which is a perfect medium size. You can fold it over and wear it as a shoulder bag, but it looks so perfect carried in the crook of the arm that the extra strap seems unnecessary. Also, this shape avoids the pitfall that kept me away from this brand for so long – in most of their totes, the bag is longer than it is wide, which can be awkward to carry by the top handles. The width exceeds the length in the City Clutch, and this new model has me finally ready to adopt one of their bags.

It comes in a trifecta of summer colors – turquoise, coral, and royal blue – that will look great against the whites and brights of warm-weather clothing, and Foley + Corinna don’t insult their customers’ intelligence by pricing their non-leather bag at almost as much as their leather version, which normally retails for $444. At $175 via Shop Bop, the linen version is extremely reasonable, particularly since all Foley + Corinna bags are made in New York City and the bag has leather trim.

I’m torn over what color I’d want, though – which one would you get?

guest

7 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments