Luxury bags: get some help from Vivienne Westwood’s latest collection

A luxury bag can become a portable architecture for your day, and a tell-tale of what you demand from yourself, your look and your fashion items. The right bag can alter and quicken the pace of a maybe too plain outfit, can rein in an ambitious one, and announces you without necessarily making a scene. It can be loud, without shouting at all.

A luxury bag is not just about appearance. It stores the non-negotiables of a life in motion, while the best part of it is invisible: tempo. A well-built bag makes you faster in queues, calmer at doors, neater at tables and overall feeling better with yourself and what you are wearing. 

That is why women care so fiercely and uncompromisingly about bags. Bags are the true memory keepers and pace setters, and not necessarily trophies of our purchasing power. Vivienne Westwood’s designs add something rarer and more precious than pricey materials and styles: they add personality, which is something you can rarely shop for. 

Westwood’s bags have always been unmistakably British, as they are split between royal ceremony and a pinch of punk couture. 

How to pick from the current collection of Vivienne’s luxury bags

Start with proportion. Match bag footprint (as in size and style) to your silhouette and typical hem lengths. If your wardrobe usually ships long coat and/or wide trousers, you can keep the verticals crisp with a structured shoulder or a top handle.

A compact crossbody bag can help you with cropped jackets and straight jeans. It will sit high on the ribcage and help you have a cleaner line.

What’s next? You have to decide about your daily carry. For phone, keys and cardholders, lipstick and some other small items you won’t need much space. If you take with you books, notebooks, charger and so on, you will need wider bags. 

What about colour? Pick one neutral workhorse that deals with most of your week, then add one character piece that handles the fun for your weekend. The neutral might be black patent, grain leather, or a deep green that goes into navy shades. 

The character slot can be tartan, lacquer shine, quilted texture, or a rich red that reads as confident rather than coquettish. If you are drawn to smaller formats, the collection’s phone-friendly shoulders and compact minis are designed exactly for that light-carry life, with enough structure to look considered, not cute. If your days are document heavy, the brand’s larger handbags and totes bring backbone without losing attitude. 

Categories and sizes are clearly surfaced in the women’s bags section, which helps you filter by colour and format before you fall for a specific style.

Styling, the clever way

Treat the bag as the metronome of your look. Extravagant dress with movement and print? Pair it with a clean, structured handbag so the outfit has something to lean against. Quiet monochrome tailoring? Introduce a character bag in tartan or glossy finish and let it set the tempo. For evening, try an elegant clutch when the silhouette is already dramatic; choose a petite shoulder when the clothing is minimal and the bag needs to carry the scene. On casual days, a refined crossbody is the upgrade that makes denim look deliberate.

Handle placement alters mood. Holding a top handle by the fingertips gives hauteur; crooking it in the elbow reads heritage; wearing on the shoulder feels modern; crossbody says you are here to move. Keep straps short enough to sit high, unless the outfit needs length to balance volume. And always check mirror angles: the best bags make a jacket hang better and a knit sit smarter. If it drags the eye or fights your proportions, pass. You are curating a routine, not just a purchase.