Good quality, simple but stylish leather bag

[Trompea]

Can anyone recommend brands for good quality, pared-back leather shoulder bags?

I'm looking for medium size, brown or tan colour, a simple but current design and crossbody. As an indication of my taste, I tend to wear Scandi brands, eg Cos, Arket, Ganni, plus some stuff from Mango, Toast and Sezane, but can't seem to find one I like from these shops. Closest is the Kate Sheridan from Toast one in pic but I don't want it to be so red-toned. Also like the APC demi lune bag (second pic) but worry it's a bit overdone and maybe not good value? Looking to spend up to around £200, more if need be.

Grateful for any suggestions - the bag I'm using at the moment is falling apart!

I like Pure Luxuries. There's nothing fancy about them, but nice quality for a decent price

Look at other Kate Sheridan ones or other brands that Toast sell.The Toast Audrey bag is sold by Weald. Pure Luxuries is a good one.

honeyandtoast.co.uk/products/etter-saddlebag-caramel?_pos=1&_sid=31c87a899&_ss=r

Damn I was going to suggest cos before I’d finished reading. & other stories have lovely leather bags, sometimes Zara do too. My favourite bags are actually from those places.

Looked at Zara there and they’re making a fool of me. &OS do have some beautiful bags but nothing in the right colour.

This is quite lovely actually, maybe off brief.

Scaramanga

This looks like an absolute bargain from John Lewis.

Worth hitting the John Lewis website even if you don’t fancy that one because it’s so easy to search a wide range of brands by colour, size, style budget, and whether it’s in stock. Their Kiin own brand is a bit Cos-ish

How about going for one of the more expensive brands, Mulberry etc,but going secondhand?

You can pick up some beautiful barely used bags which would have been high hundreds new.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions! Some look really promising. I'll have a thorough look tomorrow and respond properly.

@Backhills thanks, that's a good tip. There's a couple of styles I like on the Pure Luxuries site and they look good quality. Really not keen on the squirrel logo though! I'm a bit fussy about branding on bags so not sure I can get over it.

@ILoveShula unfortunately there aren't any Toast ones that are quite right. Weald look good, thanks, but none of the current colours are right.

@Mollymarvelous this is a lovely bag but a bit preppy in style for me I think. Plus I need a bit more room than you get with saddle bag styles.

@Miseryisabutterfly I've got some good bags from &OS in the past but they have surprisingly few in brown at the moment. Quite like this geometric woven one: www.stories.com/en_gbp/bags/shoulderbags/product.geometric-braided-leather-bag-beige.0959605001.html
Possibly a bit small though and wonder if the leather might look a bit cheap.

@SpringCrocus

Scaramanga

Thanks. These aren't quite the right style for me for a handbag (not keen on the scuffed look of the leather) but I like it for luggage. Have bookmarked!

@YouthfulIndiscretion I've ordered that JL bag - thanks! Somehow missed it when I'd trawled their site before. Possibly it's a bit bigger/more sensible than I'd imagined but I think I've realised that part of the problem is that I actually need more than one new bag to tick all boxes. Hopefully that bag will be right when it arrives and I'm going to continue hunting for a smaller, bit more summery one too.

@Hereforthedramaz

How about going for one of the more expensive brands, Mulberry etc,but going secondhand?

You can pick up some beautiful barely used bags which would have been high hundreds new.

I like the idea of getting a higher quality one secondhand, but bit intimidated about where to start. Is eBay good for this or are more specialist sites better? I don't know anything about fancy bags and don't want to get a fake or pay over the odds etc.

What about Spikes & Sparrow? I bought one at TK Maxx a few years ago and I absolutely love it. Mine's similar to this one, but with a flap rather than a top zip.

https://spikesandsparrow.com/product/cross-over-brandy-10/

Totally understand the nervousness of spending proper money on a secondhand bag, I've bought a couple and it felt a bit risky!

I'm far from an expert but IMO receipts of purchase are best, a branded dust bag or box is a good sign. Lots and lots of photos I think is also a good sign.

I found them on eBay ( and I suspect I'd never find out if they were fake! If they are though they are amazingly well made fakes!).

At the moment I'm in the market for a classic, simple Aspinal bag or something in oxblood leather.

I haven't used it but I often have a look at this website (I suspect there are a few similar) who pre-check authenticity in advance.

www.vestiairecollective.com

Esin Akan are lovely, the designer used to work at mulberry, I’ve got two and always get compliments! www.esinakan.com/

Thanks for further recommendations! Neither is quite right for what I'm after now but both lovely. Really good to discover lesser-known brands rather than trawling the same few massive websites all the time.

@Hereforthedramaz thanks for the tips. I've been meaning to get into vestiaire collection for years but keep putting it off! Agree re fakes btw - I'd be clueless if it was a fake, but still don't like the idea of getting ripped off. I need to start researching designer bags so I know what to search for.