I’ve been looking for a new work tote for ages. I have a few different ones that I love (like my Louis Vuitton Brea MM), but I’ve wanted a classic, black one to go with my many (many, many) black outfits. A few months ago, I spotted the Saint Laurent Tribeca Tote at Nordstrom and fell in love.

Here’s the story of how I discovered both a new bag and a new website all in one fun little adventure (honestly, you have to be a special snowflake to appreciate handbags as adventures, but still). I’ll walk you through my thoughts on MatchesFashion, the Saint Laurent Tribeca Tote, and then my ultimate conclusions on both.

My Experience with MatchesFashion.com

During my research for the Saint Laurent Tribeca Tote, I came across a listing for the bag at MatchesFashion.com, which had the bag for nearly $1,000 bucks cheaper than it was listed at Nordstrom, not to mention the taxes were substantially less than if I bought directly from Nordstrom. MatchesFashion was even offering 15 percent off for first-time shoppers. It seemed too good to be true, so I pivoted to doing research on MatchesFashion.

Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but it turns out that MatchesFashion is legit and pretty sweet. Based in London, the company has been around since 1987. They have a few brick and mortar shops, but they redesigned their website in 2015 and made a big marketing push in 2017. After I read articles in Vogue and the Business of Fashion discussing the company, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed.

Here are the highlights.

• I ordered the bag on Tuesday morning, and it arrived to my office in Denver by Thursday afternoon.

• The shipping was free.

• It came boxed in a beautiful, marble box.

• It was perfectly wrapped and stuffed.

That’s all to say, I was impressed. I’ll also note that the company offers free returns, which I didn’t end up using here because I decided to keep the bag. My test of MatchesFashion paid off. I’m definitely going to add it to my regular search routine for luxury goods.

Initial Thoughts on the Saint Laurent Tribeca Tote

Here’s Nordstrom’s picture of the Saint Laurent Tribeca Tote in medium (which is the one I first fell in love with):

It checked all the boxes: it was compact, black, simple, and had a substantial strap drop. Unfortunately, the medium was too small to fit my 12-inch iPad Pro. I even brought the iPad into the store to try. It didn’t even kind of fit. I thought all hope was lost.

*insert picture of me crying rivers of tears at Nordstrom*

Luckily for me, I stumbled upon the Saint Laurent Tribeca Tote in large a few weeks later while I was scrolling through the Nordstrom app before bed (I live such a glamorous life). Based on the dimensions, I thought the large might be perfect. It looks basically the same as the medium:

So I started doing my standard internet research. As it turns out, there is very little information on this bag. It seems to have only appeared recently (I tend to keep a pretty close eye on Nordstrom’s designer bag selection, but I could have missed it). I even posted something on Chase Amie’s Facebook group called Bag Chat, but no one there had any information either. I was stumped.

Since MatchesFashion had the bag for such a great deal, I decided to take a leap of faith. I mean, I love my other Saint Laurent bag, so the risk was pretty minimal (especially since MatchesFashion has free returns). My faith in Saint Laurent was rewarded.

Here’s a quick pic I snapped after work this afternoon:

I’ll do a more in-depth initial review once I’ve had the tote for a bit longer, but here are my initial impressions:

• The bag is huge. For me, this was a plus because I was looking for a bag that could fit my iPad Pro, keyboard, Bose headphones, paper files, and my regular purse contents. This fits all that and more.

• Even though the bag is huge, it has a slim profile. It doesn’t stick out off your body very far at all when you’re wearing it. This makes it great for weaving through crowds in the city.

• It is fairly sturdy. While it can stand up on its own, it can also topple over and doesn’t have any feet. I kind of hate it when designer bags don’t have feet. Why not just add them?!

• It is very secure. It has two zippered compartments with additional pockets inside.

• The strap drop is amazing. I can sling it on my shoulder in one swoop, and it rests perfectly behind my shoulder on my back.

• The leather seems durable. I’ll let you know if this ends up proving true, but it seems like a very high-quality pebbled leather.

• The logo is minimal. Because I intend to take this bag to court, I needed something that wasn’t too logo heavy. The Saint Laurent logo is very small and discrete, which was perfect for me.

So far, I’m very pleased with the tote. It is a great option if you’re looking for a large work bag that can fit everything and the kitchen sink.

Concluding Thoughts

Because I rely so heavily on online reviews, I figured I’d help out fellow shoppers who may be looking for guidance on the Saint Laurent Tribeca Tote or MatchesFashion.com. Simply put, I whole-heartedly give both my stamp of approval.

Happy shopping!

Bag review Fashion First Impressions Saint Laurent