When I was a little girl, my mother’s best friend was a French immigrant named Piper with impeccable taste and the designer handbags and shoes to prove it. She let me prance around her living room in borrowed Dior stilettos and shoulder bags, and from that moment on, I pined for the soft leather and skinny heels. Now, in my late thirties, I can’t imagine the fashion world without these ten Dior handbags.
Price: $2,100 at saksfifthavenue.com
Available in two colors, glossy black and latte-with-cream “pigeon,” this sweet tote is all stylish, bang-on details. Note the soft lambskin on the outside, the cotton lining, and double shoulder straps with an eight-inch drop. I love the convenience of the snap closure, and the two open inner pockets and single, smaller zippered pocket. Add metal feet and a pair of chain-link straps and voila! The perfect shoulder bag!
Price: $1,950 at saksfifthavenue.com
Though my grandmother always said you should never wear or carry white between Labor Day and Memorial Day, Piper disagreed. This handbag is proof of that! Butter-soft white leather with a gently gathered shape, and a drawstring top with a fold-over cuff. Shiny silver-tone hardware, signature CD charm, and double-chain handles. Stash your goodies in a small inside zippered pocket or in the roomy general space within.
Price: $6,550 at saksfifthavenue.com
A bag for the chicest city girls, crafted in exquisite python in a double-frame style. Cunning detachable matching coin purse and a single six-inch top handle. Still craving more luxury? This bag is lined In soft suede, and features a convenient magnetic flap closure (to keep your treasures safe inside). Wear this with your tallest gold peep-toe sandals, and a sleek New York ponytail.
Price: $2,950 at saksfifthavenue.com
This bag is the exact polar opposite of a sensible, modest clutch. The unique fan shape, pebble and croc textured leather, rows of steel grommets and an oversized buckle detail add ultra-bold flair, but the nylon lining, adjustable buckle strap, and flap-and-snap closure flaunt its good sense. I’d pair this with my chunkiest biker boots and my tightest, darkest skinny jeans.
Price: $2,150 at saksfifthavenue.com
Did Grace Kelly carry this bag? Ingrid Bergman? Or another elegant, modish beauty? Choose black or white patent leather, and note that both have jacquard lining and silver-tone hardware, including four dangling D-I-O-R charms. Is it a shoulder bag, or a handle bag? Both, bien sur! A lady likes choices — there’s a detachable 17” drop shoulder strap and two top handles with a four-inch drop.
Price: $1,550 at saksfifthavenue.com
The sweetest strawberries attract chubby velvet bumble bees, right? Evidence is here in this bag, made of rich deerskin in a summer strawberry hue, with a sparkly bee charm. There’s also patterned stitching at the sides, shiny silver grommets and metal feet, and a top zip closure. Convenience too, with an inside zipper pouch and a special cell phone pocket. Sensible nylon lining. Wear with a bold floral-print dress and feminine silver jewelry.
Price: $2,875 at saksfifthavenue.com
I have a feeling Piper would have loved this little clutch. It’s a double-frame beauty in gold metallic goatskin with a clever interior mirror, suede lining, and an interior zip pocket. Carry through the swanky bracelet ring, fasten closed with the flap-and-push-sides closure. Wear with a slinky evening gown and your hair worn in loose, tousled waves.
Price: $2,100 at saksfifthavenue.com
What’s red or white and stylish all over? This woven lambskin shopping bag! The red features gold-tone hardware, the white has silver. Both feature smooth leather trim, double shoulder straps, plush leather lining, and not one but two interior pockets for your cell phone or iPod. Add the signature D-I-O-R charms and shopping has never looked so good.
Price: $1,900 at saksfifthavenue.com
Carry by the double handles, set down on its protective metal feet, and prepare for a day of shopping with the girls. Choose dark pink or rich brandy. Both are made of the same soft calf-skin and are accented with the same chunky silver-tone Dior charms. Room for all kinds of small purchases in one large interior pocket, but stash your tiny things in the zipper interior pocket.
Price: $2,350 at saksfifthavenue.com
This would have been Piper’s favorite bag — it’s as elegant and no-frills as she was. She always had an eye for one simple, bold detail, and on this bag, it’s the chunky rounded handles. It’s fully lined with a center zip compartment and a removable shoulder strap. So many compartments, made of soft calfskin in matte black.
With so many gorgeous, smart bags, there’s something here to pair with anything in your closet. Add your favorite shoes, and some subtle jewelry, and your style upgrade is complete. Which of these bags do you like best? Or is there another Dior bag you adore? What would you wear it with, and where? Please let me know!