Love It or Leave It: Tom Ford Natalia Alligator Doctor Bag

For the highest tier of luxury brands, there’s nowhere to go but up. The world’s super rich just keep getting richer, and because the Internet has opened up access to the world’s finest clothing and accessories to a wider range of consumers, the stakes of one-upmanship among the yacht set are forever rising. That leads to incredible (and incredibly expensive) stunners like the ombre alligator Fendi 2Jours that we discovered recently, and now it’s brought us the Tom Ford Natalia Alligator Doctor Bag, which rings up at a staggering $24,930.

Tom Ford’s brand is easily among the select group that can expect its customers to have the budget for bags that are well into the five figures. (I once came across a $10,000 slime-green fur coat at a Tom Ford outlet, and it was the only one left because all of the other colors had sold out upon arrival). This bag’s material is stunning, of course – you can’t go wrong with fine alligator in glossy black – but I’m not sure that the design is up to snuff when you consider the price tag.

Ford’s oversized turnlock is one of his accessory signatures, so it’s unsurprising that it figures prominently on this bag, but I can’t get past the feeling that the bag would be improved by removing it. Because turnlocks are used almost exclusively as closures for flap bags, its appearance at the top of a frame satchel feels forced and counter-intuitive. When you look at the bag from behind, below, the unobstructed alligator skin against the bag’s classic structure makes for a subtler, much more expensive look.

Not that Tom Ford has ever been known for his subtlety, of course. You can pick up on of these bags for $24,930 via Bergdorf Goodman.