Review: Céline trio bag

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Now I know a lot of you ladies are lusting after the Céline trio bag. But is it really worth the price? It’s one of my favourite bags so I thought it would be nice to write a review. It’s a gorgeous little bag that popped up all over the blogosphere in what seemed a matter of days. But I’m certainly not one to judge anyone that jumped on the trio bandwagon, because I instantly fell in love with it too. The trio is super versatile and I love the chic and understated design. It’s great for running errands or a night out. It does come with a few cons though, so if you’re considering this bag, please read on.

Current prices
I received an email from Department Feminin not too long ago with the current prices and at this very moment the small trio sells for €680 and the large trio for €780 (edit 30-12-16: current price for the small one is €730 and €780 for the large version). I got mine (the small version) for €600 three years ago so for such a small bag that’s pretty expensive to begin with, that’s quite the price increase. I expect it to become even more expensive over the next few years. So if you’re thinking about buying it, don’t wait too long!

Form and function
The trio, as it’s name suggests, consists out of three separate detachable compartments. When snapping the two outer pouches together, it can be used as a small clutch. I do have to be honest though, I never tried it myself as I’m not really a clutch person. I prefer my hands free, so I always carry it as a cross body bag. It comes with an adjustable strap which is stitched to the center compartment. The most common (and hard to find) colours are black and navy, but they sell different colours every season. They all come with gold hardware. At first I was after a black trio, but it wasn’t available at the time, so I settled for a navy one. Which probably sounds negative, but I’m still super happy with my decision. You can hardly tell if it’s black or blue, but it just looks a little bit softer (if that makes any sense). The lambskin is gorgeous and feels soft and luxurious. A major con however is it’s durability. The leather is not at all scratch-resistent and when I took it out in the rain, the raindrops actually stained the bag for a little while. So that really freaked me out. But fortunately they were gone after a few hours, pfieww! Since the leather is really soft, it doesn’t keep it’s shape very well, but because of that, it fits quite a lot. Usually I’ll take my CDG wallet, passport, lip balm and iPhone and there’s still room left. I love how easy it is to organise your stuff. I don’t have to search for my keys for 10 minutes. I’m sure that sounds familiar. Before I forget, I should probably mention that the zipper pulls look a little different now. The earlier pulls came with stitching all around (like mine), but nowadays they’re only stitched at the side that’s connected to the actual zipper. I have no idea why Céline changed it, but I like it either way.

Quality
I bought this bag almost three years ago and it’s holding up really well. I took these pictures this morning, so you can see for yourself. It does have one visible scratch on the back though, because I couldn’t help being a lazy idiot. I didn’t put it back in it’s dust bag before storing it. So it got scratched by another bag. What can I say, lesson learned. Other than that I can hardly spot any damage, except for some minor scuffing on one of the corners.

Pros:
  • it’s the cheapest Céline bag on the market
  • the versatility (two bags in one)
  • it looks and feels luxurious
  • the pouches make it very easy to organise your stuff
Cons:
  • the durability of the leather
  • the strap could be sturdier (I’ve read some stories about straps breaking, so I’m careful not to overstuff it)
  • the price

Well, I hope my review was helpful for those of you considering the Céline trio. Although it does come with a few cons, I love it and would definitely buy it again. You just need to be a bit more careful with it, and even though I’m usually a throw-my-bags-around kinda person that prefers the look of a used bag, I really don’t mind. Anything with a gorgeous design that’s still as functional as the trio is a worthwhile investment to me.