Celine Cabas Tote Review

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I’m no stranger to a black Celine bag. They make up the majority of my handbag collection. And after almost six years of use, I figured it was about time I shared my thoughts on my Celine Cabas Tote. It is a bag I’ve used countless times for both work and play over the years.

I purchased the bag on a whim over six years ago while browsing through David Jones after work – it was love at first sight and it had to come home with me. (Ahhh – the days of ‘accidental’ purchasing pre-kids…) It was my very first Celine bag and the start of my love affair with Celine (or Céline as it was then known… when the É was still around).

I have the small cabas in black grained calfskin. The bag comes with an adjustable (and removable) leather strap and can be worn cross body or just using the top handles. The bag has also been known as the Vertical Cabas Tote as Celine previously released a horizontal version of the bag. Today, Celine’s range of totes come in three sizes, and I elaborate further on those later on in this post.

In this post, I take you through my thoughts on wear & tear, the different sizes it comes in and my verdict on the bag.

So let’s get into it.

Wear and tear

The bags are all made of grained calfskin which I personally find to be very durable. The leather isn’t too thick with the tote maintaining a relaxed structure when it hasn’t been filled to capacity. The bag isn’t lined but the leather is strong enough for the bag to sit up on its own.

As I said earlier in this post, I’ve had the bag for almost six years and it is in fantastic condition. There are some minor imperfections on the leather, mainly minor scratches which is to be expected with general wear, but you really need to be looking for them to notice them.

The same can be said about the interior of the bag – it’s in great shape with surprisingly little scuff marks given I’m pretty carefree in the way that I throw things in the bag and go. I’ve never used a bag-liner for this bag (after some trial I’ve come to realise I’m not a bag-liner type of person) so all my daily essentials, including my wallet, keys and diary, are just kept in the main compartment.

When not in use, the bag sits on my shelf with the stuffing inside to help it retain its shape. While Celine recommend to keep their bags in the dust bag provided, call me a rebel but I don’t typically do this as I like to have them on display.

Sizing

Unsurprisingly, the prices have increased over the years and current dimensions and prices are below:

Small

22cm x 29cm x 10cm | 9” x 11” x 4”

Handle with 5” (12cm) drop
Inner zipped pocket
Removable and adjustable strap with 19” (48cm) drop

$1,650 AUD | $1,300 USD | £820 GBP

Small Phantom

27cm x 31cm x 17cm | 11” x 12” x 7”

Handle with 9” (22cm) drop
Inner zipped pocket and double flat pocket
Functional leather belt to tighten around bag

$2,300 AUD | $1,850 USD | £1,300 GBP

Medium Phantom

28cm x 36cm x 21cm | 11” x 14” x 8”

Handle with 9” (22cm) drop
Inner zipped pocket and double flat pocket
Functional leather belt to tighten around bag

$2,500 AUD | $1,950 USD | £1,400 GBP

Prices current as at July 2020. 

What fits inside

The bag is compact (perfect for my petite frame) but the interior is spacious, with more than enough space to hold my essentials. Its functionality and simplistic design means the bag works for both work and weekends – and for the first 3 or so years, it was on high rotation for me on weekends. Though now that kids are in the picture, the bag now forms part of my rotation of work bags on days when I’m not carrying a laptop.

I love this bag and would love to add another Celine tote to my collection. If money was no object I would look to adding a medium phantom cabas in either taupe or tan so that it could fit a laptop.

The verdict

I selected this bag over others because of the minimal and classic style. I like to keep things simple in the accessories department and for day-to-day use, the less logos the better – so I truly consider this bag to be timeless and I have no plans of selling it in the future.

At the time, I found the price point to be incredibly reasonable for a Celine handbag – it was $1,399 AUD at the time I purchased it and it has since increased to $1,650 AUD. Even with today’s price, I still consider it to be a well priced bag for what I consider to be a classic piece.

Shop the bag

You can shop the bag here. And if you’re looking to go down the pre-loved route, the bag pops up every so often on Vestiaire Collective so you should keep your peeled. (Meanwhile, here are some great pre-loved options currently available here and here)

If you prefer to physically store shop, I like visiting the Celine concession at David Jones, Parlour X and the Celine boutique in Westfield Sydney. I believe all three are currently open and would need to have appropriate social distancing measures in place.

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you found my Celine Cabas Tote review to be helpful.

P.S. Like my Celine Cabas Tote review? See my other comprehensive bag reviews here. I’ve reviewed the Celine Mini Belt Bag, Celine Trio and Prada Saffiano Double Tote.