The designer fashion world is not often a place that adheres to the old adage about less being more, but when it comes to leather goods, sometimes it’s true. Bags designed to be sleek are generally made of beautiful materials and are more likely to have careful, considered finishes–after all, they’re the only things you see when you look at a bag that’s free of extraneous design elements.
Minimal bags also tend to be pretty classic for exactly the same reason: there’s not a lot of extra stuff to date the design to a specific season or make it look old before its time. That makes simple bags a smart buy for those of us who tend to look for one or two workhorse pieces per year instead of stocking up on seasonal trends. If that’s you, check out over a dozen of our picks below at a ton of different price points.