Q: Dear Bagaholicboy, have been reading your blog with interest for a while now and must say you are a godsend! I am convinced that you have singlehandedly saved many relationships (wives, girlfriends, mothers, sibilings) with the sage advice that you have been providing on your blog. Please keep going, we all need a guardian angel to point us in the right direction.

I am writing as I noticed in Urban (Straits Times) recently, a series of articles on what they consider to be icons of design in various areas. I was quite disappointed by the feature they did on bags and was wondering if you could share your list with us. I am very keen to know what would make it to your list of must-haves and I am sure my missus will benefit greatly from it as well (she is a huge fan as well by the way).

Hope to hear from you soon and thanks in advance!
Andrew Dorai

A: Dear Andrew, thank you so much for writing in. To be honest, everyone will have differing opinions on what they would consider ‘iconic’ and frankly, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. And to answer your question, I recently did 2 short pieces for inSing.com where I picked my 10 favourite icons which includes the Alma (Louis Vuitton), the Amazona (Loewe), the Bayswater (Mulberry), the Classic Flap (Chanel), the City (Balenciaga), the Coffer (Miu Miu), the Knot (Bottega Veneta), the Muse (YSL), the Peekaboo (Fendi) and last but not least, the PS1 (Proenza Schouler).

Click here and here to read the full write-ups in 2 parts. And while many may wonder why the Birkin (Hermès) is missing, it was intentional. There is no doubt that it’s an icon in its own right, but I did want a list of bags that were also generally more affordable as well.

And don’t forget to let me know what your wife thinks of the list.
Love, Bagaholicboy

And other bits:
1. Tracy, I always apply the ‘country of origin’ rule when trying to figure out which brand will be cheapest in which country. And given your list of brands and the countries you will be visiting soon, I would say that Chanel and Louis Vuitton will be cheapest in Paris, while Gucci, Miu Miu and Prada will be cheapest in Milan. And don’t forget to check out the outlet stores too for even better deals.

2. Coreen, the main difference between ‘a covered’ and ‘a non-covered’ are the studs. If you look closely, ‘covered’ means the studs are covered with leather as well, while ‘non-covered’ simply means the hardware is exposed. In Singapore, Balenciaga is located at Hilton Shopping Gallery (#01-09/10).

3. Piggy, given your options and requirements I would say that the Balenciaga Work will be your best bet. It’s a classic, it’s lightweight (when empty, of course) and it’s definitely roomy. In Singapore it retails for SGD2330 for the regular and SGD2890 for the GH.

4. Sarah, Balenciaga is cheaper in Paris and London, as compared to Singapore. Another good place to get them online would be HGBags, which sells authentic bags at very attractive prices. Given your height I would say go for the Balenciaga Part-Time most definitely.

5. Cindy, prices for Goyard are almost the same between Paris and London, though some still say it is slightly cheaper in Paris after the currency conversion and tax rebate. If you’re looking for something more structured do check out the Goyard Croisière (similar in shape to a Speedy).

6. Chloe, the Tod’s Pashmy in Cotton I featured in November last year is actually laminated jersey. Lightweight and affordable (just SGD1500 each), it is also durable and easy to maintain due to the material used.

Image: Chanel