5 Great Grab-and-Go Bags from Hermès

Now that we are all back to our crazy post-COVID schedules, our bags are returning to heavy rotation. Of course, the Birkin (or Kelly or Roulis) isn’t always your best option when you’re on the run. Many of us need a few alternate options; bags that, relatively speaking, you don’t have to worry about and which are easy enough to just throw in a few necessities and run out the door.

We all need at least one of what I call a grab-and-go bag: it’s nice, it’s small, it’s very functional, and you don’t have to worry about it quite so much when you’re stuffing it into a boot camp locker or hiding it under the veggies in your shopping cart.

What Makes a Good Grab-and-Go Bag?

The attributes of what makes a good little bag when you’re running around vary to some extent from person to person, but for the purposes of this article, I think some important features are:

• It fits an average cell phone, with at least two cards and a few folded bills, lipstick, and/or small hand sanitizer, and there is someplace to put a key.
• There is some amount of interior organization. While ideally, there should be several slots and/or sections for keeping your items easy to find, there should be, at the very least, a credit card slot so that it stays somewhere securely.
• It has a strap or handle. Despite any official Hermès classification (Handbags or Small Leather Goods), it’s not really a bag without a specific part by which to hold it. Since the main key here is ease, it should be easy to carry, whether as a wristlet or completely hands-free as a crossbody bag.
• Additional beneficial features include: a formal closure, a removable and/or adjustable strap or handle, and more than one section.
• Although not every good grab-and-go bag has these additional features, they can be helpful.

Five Great Hermès Grab-and-Go Options

1.Understated Crossbody: Nouveau To Go $3,050 (Epsom and Swift) 20cm L x 11cm H x 3cm D

The Nouveau to Go is a new item for this season, and, like most of the bags in this article, Hermès considers it an SLG, not a bag. However, it’s a very understated, well-thought-out option if you need to bring a bunch of your necessities with you for a day of errands.

The Nouveau to Go is what we used to call a “twofer”: you get two for the price of one. That’s true here – literally. The bag looks like Hermès fused a Azap or Silk’In wallet with a pouch, creating a versatile option that includes aspects of both without becoming too heavy or bulky.

It’s crafted of two different leathers: Epsom for the larger (rear) compartment and Swift for the smaller (front) one. The Hermès website states that technical silk is also utilized. The long compartment features four card slots, a slip pocket, and a central storage area; the compact compartment contains a change pocket, one card slot, and a smaller storage area. Each compartment closes with a zipper. The back of the Nouveau has 2 loops for the strap, which are both adjustable and removable.

The Nouveau To Go makes a great little bag that will fit an iPhone 13 (easily without the case), some cards, bills, change, receipts, and small keys. The strap is long enough for crossbody wear. Hermès is producing them in some fun color options.

2. Day To Night Versatility: Kelly Dépêches 25 Pouch $8,450 (Togo); $8,750 (Evergrain) 25.2cm L x 19.5cm H x 4cm D

I have written about the Kelly Dépêches 25 Pouch previously when it was first released in 2021, and since that time I have been a big fan of this bag.

Possibly the most underrated and understated bag of the Kelly line, the Dépêches 25 Pouch is found in the men’s department, but due to its size and design, it’s a good option for anyone. Resembling the Kelly Dépêches Briefcase in proportion, it has a reasonably-sized interior – definitely sufficient for a wallet, cell phone, and all of the essentials – a slide pocket immediately behind the turn-lock closure running the width of the front side of the bag, and a strap. While this is on the larger end of a grab-and-go bag, the Dépêches 25 has a very elegant design and is truly a bag, whereas some other recommendations on this list are either strictly casual, very small, or both.

3. For the Minimalist: Cadenas Clutch $6,500 (Tadelakt) 17cm L x 3cm H x 2cm D

This is essentially a glorified pouch in the shape of an Hermès Cadena (Lock), yet this new bag is very useable due to the design. The exterior is visually appealing, turning the bag into a conversation piece; the handle is tall enough for wrist/arm carry if needed; the length is sufficient for your phone, cards, cash, and keys; there is a slide pocket along the rear interior of the bag; and the narrow height-vs-width plus full-side zipper means that nothing is getting “lost” in there.

4.Totally Handsfree: Hermèsway Phone Case Approximately $2,300 (Epsom) 8.7cm L x 16.5cm H x 2.2cm D

The Hermèsway Phone Case is as easy as it gets: a neck (or crossbody) pouch for your phone, with storage details along the side and front for your most basic necessities. The card slot, flat against the side, could probably expand enough to let you slide in your driver’s license and a bill or three as well; the AirPods case could be appropriated for a small bottle of hand sanitizer or some other small items; the lipstick holder, which mimics the multicolored banding of a Rouge Hermès lipstick tube, is of course meant for that (if you prefer a different brand, Hermès lipsticks are about 2.8”/7.2cm tall x .9”/2.2cm wide). A key ring could easily be attached to the loops where the adjustable strap connects or clipped onto the strap’s clasp.

5.Classic Hermès Style: Kelly To Go/Constance To Go

Hermès’ beloved Wallet-On-A-Chain style versions are exemplified in the Kelly To Go (KTG) and the Constance To Go (CTG). Both were initially released a few seasons ago, taking the Kelly Long and Constance Wallet styles, enlarging them just a touch, removing some of the card slots, and adding interior connectors and a removable strap. As with the original versions of these wallets, the KTG and CTG are essentially the same, with minor design differences and distinctive closures.

Kelly To Go: $5,500 (Epsom); $5,550 (Chevre); $7,600 (Box) 19.7cm L x 11.5cm H x 1.5cm D

The Kelly To Go (KTG) is similar to the Kelly Wallet (long version) in appearance. It is slightly larger than the Kelly Wallet and features 2 compartments separated by a zip section (with a mini Cadena on the zipper) in the middle. Each compartment has 2 card slots. The removable strap is long enough to wear the KTG crossbody. PurseForum owners of the KTG report that it will fit an iPhone 14 ProMax with the case, key fobs, a passport – most of the necessities – and does elegant day-to-night duty worn as a bag or carried as a clutch.

More photos of the Kelly To Go:

Constance To Go: $5,600 (Evercolor); $5,850+ (Epsom) Length 20.5cm x Height 13 cm x Depth 2 cm

The CTG is slightly larger than the KTG, and many people say it holds a good amount of items for an elegant, grab-and-go bag. The CTG features a long pocket against both the front (under the flap) and the back side of the wallet and two sections separated by a long zip section in the middle. The front section is an open compartment; the back section features another long pocket perfect for bills and 6 card slots. There is also a slip pocket on the rear of the bag. PurseForum fans of the CTG state that the compartments will hold everything from an iPhone 13 Pro Max with the case, to a pair of glasses and a lipstick, to a card holder, a Bastia, and a phone (but not all of these things at once!). A key will also fit, or you could loop the key ring onto the strap.

More photos of the Constance To Go: