The Gucci Bags Worth Buying

If you want one Gucci bag that reads instantly as Gucci, buy the GG Marmont first. The chevron matelassé quilting and the aged double-G clasp are the signatures, and the line is the most consistent in the whole house. The Mini Shoulder Bag at around £975 to £1,070 is the workhorse, a small flap on a chain you can wear cross-body or doubled up short. Sizes climb through the Small Shoulder Bag near £1,270 to £1,460 to the roomier 2.0 at £1,890 and a structured Small at £2,820 in heavier leather. The patent version at £1,760 is the statement finish, glossier and less forgiving of scuffs, so it suits occasion use over daily. The Mini Vanity and the Matelassé chain wallet round out the small end. Buy the Small if you carry a phone, cardholder and lipstick; size up only if you genuinely need a tablet to fit.

The Horsebit 1955 is the buyer's pick for understatement. It leans on the original 1955 horsebit clasp rather than logo print, so it dates far less than the canvas styles. The Mini Shoulder Bag at £2,650 and Mini Handbag at £2,290 give you that gold bit on a clean leather body, while the Small Shoulder Bag at £1,230 and the slimmer Horsebit Slim at £1,320 are the gentlest way in. The Mini Bamboo at £1,410 brings the other heritage detail, the bent bamboo top handle that Gucci has used since the 1940s, and it holds its shape better than the soft shoulder styles. If your wardrobe is more print-free and tailored, start here rather than with the GG monogram. The 1955 wallet and chain wallet at £390 to £800 carry the same hardware in a smaller spend.

Dionysus and Diana are the two structured statement lines, and they behave very differently. Dionysus uses the textured tiger-head spur closure and a sliding chain, so it shifts from shoulder to cross-body without buckles. It runs from the Super Mini at £890 and Mini Chain Wallet at £1,340 up through the Small at £2,300 and the Large at £3,350, the most expensive bag in this edit. Diana is the cleaner choice, defined by the leather bamboo top handles and removable belts that cinch the sides. The Small Handbag sits at £1,750, the Medium Shoulder Bag at £2,110, and the standard Diana Handbag at £1,950. Buy Dionysus if you want one decorative evening-into-day bag; buy Diana if you want a hold-it-by-the-handle bag that still photographs as Gucci.

This is the practical end of the brand, and where the GG Supreme canvas earns its keep. The Ophidia line carries the green-red-green Web stripe and a softer body, and it is the easiest route in: the GG Supreme Shoulder Bag at £795 and the Small Shoulder Bag at £1,070 are the entry bags most people actually use daily. For carrying more, the Ophidia GG Medium Tote and Petite GG Tote at £1,670 to £2,730 take a laptop, and the Totissima totes at £1,670 to £1,950 give a cleaner all-leather alternative if you dislike logo canvas. The newer Aphrodite and Blondie shoulder bags add softer, slouchier shapes from £865 upward, with the Blondie round logo plaque and Aphrodite gathered leather. Canvas wears harder than leather here, so the Ophidia is the sensible knockabout bag and the Totissima the grown-up one.