The Gucci Softbit Is My Favorite New Bag, Hands Down

Here’s the truth: I want my bags to make me feel happy. You know that little joyous feeling when you pick up a bag you love and it simply gives you a smile? Not every bag brings me that, but when a bag does, I know it’s the one. And I am here to have many bags bring me happiness – after all, it’s how I got into this obsession in the first place.

Rewind nearly twenty years ago. I was just beginning my bag journey, and the thrill of the hunt in both identifying a bag (truly, you don’t know how hard it was ‘back then’) and then locating the bag in store (yep, almost always in store) was a significant part of the entire crazy process. I’d see what a celebrity was carrying in the weekly magazine at the grocery store checkout or on an early days celeb gossip site and then hunt down the bag.

Jessica Simpson was on top of the world, and she was spotted with a Gucci Horsebit Hobo (along with other celebs). There, my undying love for Gucci was born. My dad wanted to get my mom a nice bag, and he was in NYC for work. I sent him to the Gucci store, and he called me and put me on the phone with the Sales Associate, who I chatted with about the bag I knew my mom would love.

My dad was wowed by the entire world of bags, being very new to it, and my adoration was only just beginning. My mom carried her Horsebit Hobo with love; it is one of the very meaningful bags in my bag journey. In fact, I took it from my mom, and it sits in my closet to this day. The horse-bit detailing on the strap was a bit heavy, but the bag, well, it was monumentally important to me!

With the end of one era at Gucci, Sabato De Sarno’s, one of the last bags he released, felt like the perfect swan song for me. The Gucci Softbit ties back to archival designs, with the horse bit detailing deeply rooted in the brand, along with the hobo shape and luscious leather. I knew I loved this bag immediately because it reminded me of a bag that shaped my path, but once I got my hands on not only one but TWO!, of the bags, I was simply in love.

Falling for the Softbit

So why is this version speaking to me so much? Can’t you tell from looking at the photos – it is gloriously sumptuous. The maxi size in dark green (it’s an olive/army green, and it’s stunning) was my first obsession when I saw this bag launch. Size-wise, it is most reminiscent of the bag I spent the first paragraph going on and on about, and for my life right now, this size is usable and functional.

Furthermore, while the bag is spacious, some could even call it capacious, it is still light enough to carry for long periods of time. I took it to my friend’s house last weekend for a BBQ, and every one of my friends took turns trying it on and joking (or not so jokingly joking) that they wanted to steal it. It’s a bag that got every single one of my friends talking, even though we all have different personal styles.

There is also a medium size (granted, in my mind, I call this a small). The reason I call this a small is that Kaitlin and I discussed that a size between these two would suit her perfectly. The medium is a bit too small if you want to carry just a tad more and have it sit under your shoulder, and the maxi is too large if you don’t need all that space.

This is one of those bags that looks better in person than it does on site—the way the bag sits on your body hangs more beautifully than pictured. The double handles on the maxi fit easily over your shoulder, but I find them too snug to carry over the shoulder for the medium (hence, my asking for Gucci to release an in-between size).

The Horsebit hardware detail has a chain attached to it that easily secures with a magnetic closure. While this doesn’t fully secure the top of the bag as a zip would, it provides enough integration to add a bit of security.

This bag is one of those bags you want to smoosh, squish, and smell. It gave me that new bag smell the minute I took it out of its duster bag while giving me equal parts of that longing nostalgia and memories from nearly twenty years ago when my bag journey started.

These bags are my new go-tos, with the medium size in tan being ideal for spring and summer and the dark green giving me an instant longing for fall and winter. They are also great to pair with spring hues for a nice juxtaposition.

The Details

Sizes and Colors

• Maxi: Dark green, black, white, Rosso Ancora red, brown
• Medium: black, white, Rosso Ancora red, brown

Dimensions

• Maxi: 18.1″W x 10.2″H x 6. with 7.9″ shoulder strap drop
• Medium: 10.8″W x 8.3″H x 6.3″D with 5.9″ handle drop

Leather, Hardware, and Lining

• grainy leather
• gold-toned hardware
• brown microfiber lining
• Half Horsebit magnetic closure with open-top
• detachable pouch for the Maxi size

Price

• $3,500 for the Maxi
• $2,900 for the Medium