It was only a matter of time. At first, the Celine Trio Bag flew under the radar – with its small proportion and ultra-minimal look, the bag wasn’t the kind of blockbuster that the Luggage Tote and Trapeze were, but it also wasn’t meant to be. Instead, the Trio is a little bag for in-the-know fashion hounds to signal to each other that they are, in fact, in-the-know. (It also has its functional purposes, but let’s be real: that’s not why anyone buys a Celine bag.) Several seasons after its debut, celebs have started to embrace the bag, which meant that “inspired” designs couldn’t be far away. That day has come.
The Annabel Ingall Jojo Bag and the Liebeskind Celia Crossbody Bag arrived simultaneously at ShopBop yesterday, and they both feature the simple, three-pouch construction that makes the trio so distinctive. The bags are virtually identical in size to each other (and to one of the Trio sizes), but it seems as though only the Annabel Ingall version performs one of the Trio’s neatest tricks: unsnapping to form three separate pouches that can be used independently of each other. Alternately, both of these less-expensive options feature something that the original Trio, pictured above, doesn’t: a detachable shoulder strap. (The Trio can either be purchased as a clutch or a shoulder bag, but the original Trio bag is not convertible between the two.)
For the money, it’s hard to argue with these alternatives. The Celine Trio will run you over a thousand dollars, depending on size and material, but both of these bags are below $300.