Weekender bags

What decides it

Cabin size: most airlines allow about 55 × 40 × 20 cm; a 50 cm duffle usually fits, a 55 cm one may not when full. Weight: leather holdalls can weigh 2 kg before you pack; canvas and nylon weigh about half. Shoulder strap: a padded detachable strap matters once the bag is full.

The pieces we would buy

Start with the Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandoulière 50: monogram canvas holdall that fits overhead bins. The Louis Vuitton Keepall 55 Bandoulière is the better buy if you want more room. Usual prices run from $500 to $22,000. See the full buy-or-skip list or the head-to-head Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandoulière 50 vs Goyard Boeing 45.

Buying in the US and Europe

A canvas or nylon weekender with leather trim is the best mix of weight, durability and value; full-leather holdalls are beautiful but heavy. Buying in Europe: European prices include VAT (around 20%), while US prices exclude sales tax, so a bag can look cheaper in Paris or Milan than it really is. Visitors from outside the EU and UK can often claim a VAT refund on purchases made in the EU, which is why many Americans buy Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermès while travelling.

Quick answers

What size weekender do I need? A 45 to 50 cm bag fits two or three nights and most airline cabins. Choose 55 cm only if you drive or check it in. Leather or canvas? Canvas or nylon with leather trim is lighter and tougher for travel. Full leather is for those who will baby it.

Luxury prices move in a different rhythm from everyday shopping. The great houses (Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Rolex) raise prices once or twice a year, often in January and in spring, and almost never discount their icons. Seasonal pieces, colors and many shoes, coats and knitwear drop 30–50% in the end-of-season sales in January and from late June. Watches from brands such as Omega, TAG Heuer, Longines and Breitling, and most fragrance, see the best prices around Prime Day and Black Friday. Judge any deal against the usual price we show.

Buy from the fashion house, an authorized retailer or a reseller that authenticates and guarantees every piece, and keep the receipt, the dust bag, the box and any warranty card: they matter for repairs and for resale. Swiss watches carry a 2- to 5-year international warranty when bought from an authorized dealer, and buyers in the EU and UK also have a legal guarantee of at least two years on new goods.

How we make the call: we read the house’s own product details and care guides, compare materials and construction, follow owners’ long-term experience and track the usual retail and resale prices. A piece gets “Buy” only if we would tell a friend to spend that money on it. No fashion house can pay for a verdict.