to shop / clare vivier la tropezienne brown leather tote review

Senor Elefante was a housewarming gift from a thoughtful friend. Find him here.

One of my first posts was about Clare Vivier. Fast forward four years and I’m still as big of a fan of Clare Vivier as the day I “met” her bags. My first and favorite piece is the La Tropezienne, or “La Trop”. It is still a signature piece in her collection. It is made of thick leather that is hand-dyed that has a beautiful patina with age. It originally came in brown with short handles but has since come out in black, navy, and white and in two handle lengths. I’m not a brown person but can’t resist the caramel, rich hue (which is also why I caved in a second to these Portugal-made loafers from Emerson Fry).

I have three La Trops – two brown ones (both handle lengths) and a black with short handles, with a white on the way. And am thinking about downsizing. I go through handbag phases and currently am using the long-handled brown tote. The design has changed slightly since its inception. The straps are now sewn down and also have another reinforcement stitch below the goldware. The interior is unlined and does not have any pockets, which I prefer as I usually load it up with smaller Clare Vivier pouches and/or Baggus. I do not put anything super heavy in it – perhaps my DSLR and lenses are the heaviest items I can recall. I do find the long handles to be much more convenient. It doesn’t stand up on its own unless you have substantial contents in it, which I have no problems with, but is often a criticism I see when I read reviews online.

Clare Vivier inception – wallet in a clutch in a La Trop!

I have an extensive Clare Vivier shopping directory here, but here are some sale highlights for the La Trop. It retails for $386/409 as of press time (short handle/long handle). (Hint: there are some pretty good non-La Trop CV deals out there, if you follow my directory.)

• $199.95 at Anthropologie in brown and white short handles. Sold out online but may pop up and you can try calling their 800 number to locate inventory. To be quite honest, the Anthropologie one I saw felt a little thinner than my own La Trop. (Rest of Anthropologie CV collection.)
• $290 at Steven Alan in brown short handle.
• $300 at Bodie and Fou (UK-based etailer) in white short handle
• $305.99 at Need Supply in navy long handle (similar)
• $350 at Nonchalant Mom in navy and black long handles
• 20% off all colors/handles ($309/328) with code fireworks2013 at ShopPrettyMommy

The best selection is available at Clare Vivier’s own website: short handle/long handle.