I doubt Tory Burch would be irritated to hear me say that hers is not a “heritage” brand by any stretch of the imagination. It hasn’t outfitted anyone for wars or saddled up any horses in its time, and that’s fine; not even billionaire Burch can go back in time and move back the birth of her brand by 100 years. Heritage is big business, though – high-end customers place tons of value on a brand’s history, and that’s probably why the brand new Tory Burch Saddalrina Large Saddle looks like it could be based on an archival bag from the brand’s imagined past.
Or, perhaps, from a brand like Coach’s actual past. The shape and finish of the leather remind me a lot of both the Coach bags my mom carried when I was a kid and the highly-prized classic Coach finds you can occasionally uncover in a vintage store. The long shoulder strap, the medium-tone gold hardware, the glossy-but-not-shiny finish of the leather – it’s all exactly right. Tory even did herself a favor and omitted her signature logo hardware, opting instead for a block T built into the bag’s turnlock closure. (Turnlock! Another classic Coach-esque thing.)
Coach doesn’t capitalize on interest in vintage-looking bags like this quite as ardently as it could, so, to be perfectly frank, I’m glad someone is. At Burch’s price point, this is what heritage looks like, and this bag does a great job pretending that it has a carefully cataloged predecessor from decades past sitting in an archive somewhere. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $495.
Also available in tan via Bloomingdale’s for $495.
