For casual fans of Hermès and bag lovers in general, the image of the brand has a sense of formality to it. Hermès’s most famous bags—the Birkin and Kelly—can definitely be dressed down, but their tailored shapes and signature arrangements of gleaming hardware mean that both styles (and many of Hermès’s other widely beloved designs, like the trim, compact Constance) lend themselves most readily to situations that are a bit dressed-up. Their prices, too, also lend themselves to people who have busy social calendars for which they spend notable care getting dressed. When you dig into Hermès though, you find a lot of pieces with more of a casual ease than you might now realize, and one of the brand’s newest bags fits that description: the Hermès Licol Bucket Bag.
The Licol debuted in the brand’s Spring 2018 collection but has just now made it onto e-commerce for the first time, which is typical of Hermès debuts—the brand offers first availability to in-store loyalists, and once those customers have been satisfied, a new bag will quietly find its way to online shoppers. In this case, the Licol available is a very specific one: the 17 size (which, as I understand is, is the smaller of the sizes the bag is made in), in a lovely red-orange shade called capucine.
The bag and its interior are matching shades of Evercolor calfskin, and although at first glance you might assume the contrasting bicolor shoulder strap is webbing because of its sporty look, it’s also calfskin, which is an elevated detail typical of Hermès. Another ingenious detail is that the bucket bag’s drawstring structure is almost entirely hidden inside the bag, which keeps the exterior clean and minimalist. The only indicator of what’s going on inside is the tab you’d pull to adjust the drawstring, which is situated neatly at one of the strap attachments and covered with a tonal leather disc.’
Inside, the bag has something else that’s somewhat rare for a bucket bag: a patch pocket, perfect for keeping your phone out of the milieu of the rest of your bag’s contents. Although this bag is small—it’s 6.5″ wide and deep and 9.5″ high—its details provide it with a deceptive simplicity—it was clearly designed in a careful, methodical way, which is a feature of the brand’s bags that makes Hermès’s prices more bearable for many shoppers. Right now, this bag is available for $5,250, which is a common price point for the brand’s more casual handbags.
