Longchamp Le Pliage Large Tote - Big, Stylish Bag for a Small Price

This review may be perceived as a bit a 'love letter' to a product that I've purchased for myself, having bought several of these for my daughters at their request over the years. While the Longchamp Le Pliage large-sized tote may not fit the bill for everyone - and I'll address its shortcomings as well - for me, it's the best value in its price range for a stylish, well-made and versatile shoulder bag tote.

Longchamp bags are imported, and the company has been around for decades. Their products are as readily known as those of Coach, Kooba, Juicy Couture, Tory Burch, B. Makowsky, Hobo and more. Their handbags are totes are available in a variety of sizes, styles and composition, including all leather bags. The Le Pliage style, in both its regular and large size, is most likely its best-selling and best-known style of bag. The line comes not only with a difference in sizes, but with a difference in straps as well: short handled bags, used strictly as totes, and the longer-handled bags, which are the Le Pliage Large size, and are actually shoulder bags that could be used as tote bags as well.

The retail price on this model is $145. You can purchase them online at the company's web site, or from larger, national department stores such as Nordstroms and Saks. My daughter and I visited their SoHo flagship store in New York a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven: two and a half entire floors of every kind of product that Longchamp carries, in patterns and a variety of solid colors. If you're shopping in SoHo, make a point to stop by the store to see in person some of their really beautiful pieces that may not be carried except on their web site.

You could, of course, also purchase them on Ebay, but a word of caution: know the seller from whom you're buying. There are fake Longchamp bags as frequently as you'll find knock-off Coach, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc. I've been tracking the sales of this particular Longchamp style for several months on Ebay, and frankly, they sell for pretty much what you would paid for them retail. You may save $15 or $20, or shipping costs, but it's very rare to see an authentic Longchamp large Le Pliage sell at a deep discount on the site.

The key to identifying an AUTHENTIC Longchamp bag: Its style number is INSCRIBED ON THE LEATHER FLAP ON THE BACK. If the back of the leather flap is blank, it's not an authentic Longchamp bag.

The Le Pliage large tote measures 13" x 13", and is 7 1/2" deep. Its strap drop is a comfortable 10 1/2" long. You could carry it as a long-handled tote, but it's really designed as a shoulder bag/tote. The bags are manufactured from water-resistant PVC-coated nylon and caramel-colored straps and closure flap. There's a single zipper that runs the length of the bag, with a very pretty gold-toned Longchamp icon zipper pull at the end. There are also gold-toned faux buttons on the single leather flap closure as well. You can use the bag fully zipped closed and snapped shut, or unzipped with the leather closure panel snapped in place. The bag folds flat for storage: You can fold the bag into thirds and snap it shut into a square of its original size, should you want to pack or store it.

This model comes in an astonishing thirteen different shades of nylon, ranging from black to ocean blue to red to pink and so on. The colors are gem-like, bright, perky and vivid. I have a black one that I use for more 'formal' occasions, and a bright, cheerful red one (I believe the color is called 'Gavance') which I use every day, just because it's such a darned cute color.

I personally love this Le Pliage large tote because I carry around a LOT of things in my purse, including quite a few prescription drugs, two wallets, cosmetics, a bottle or two of water from time to time, a book, magazine, etc. It can hold a TON of stuff, and yet it's lightweight, dignified and so pretty. I am so spoiled by the roominess of this bag that I doubt I'll ever go back to a smaller, less colorful bag.

But it's that very roominess that may turn off some prospective buyers. Many women don't like overly large bags/totes, and this certainly fits that description. Also, the interior of the bag - nylon - is plain, and there's only one quite small pocket at the very top, by the leather flap closure, on the inside. If you like to have a separate pocket for your keys, your cell phone, your Blackberry, etc., you're out of luck with the Le Pliage large. it is so roomy that I often find myself digging through it at the most inopportune times trying to find my ringing cell phone or my car keys. You also may have a hard time adjusting to the gold-toned snap on the bag, the one that's used if you choose to fold the bag up into thirds. It's permanent, can't be removed, is an open snap which at first glance appears to serve no purpose, and could very well take away from the bag's overall appearance. The bag's large size, lack of pocket space, permanent snap, and plain white interior are the drawbacks to this product.

If any of these factors are unappealing to you, you might want to check out Longchamp's Le Pliage bag in the medium size, with the shorter handles and smaller body size.

I love the Le Pliage large tote, and plan on purchasing at least one more in a bright color. At $145 for a designer bag, it's worth every penny to me!