Celine Seau Sangle Bag Review

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If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have a hard time missing my Celine Seau Sangle Bag in my recent outfit posts.  Since picking up the bag over a month ago, it has been on frequent rotation and has fast made its way to the top of my favourites list. I’ve had numerous requests to share my thoughts, so I thought I’d share a review of how I’ve been getting on with the bag so far.  

The Celine Seau Sangle Bag has been on my wish list for the best part of the year and after seeing Emma Hill nab her Sangle bag preloved – the hunt was on!  Thankfully, I didn’t need to look for very long – a quick broadcast on my Instagram stories and a few of you came back with some pre-loved candidates! It was a complete whirlwind – in less than 24 hours, I was the proud new owner of the bag that I picked up from a local consignment store thanks to a tip-off from one of you!  

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Celine Seau Sangle Bag (new, preloved here, affordable dupe here) styled with Arket t-shirt, Nobody Denim jeans, Sarah Lloyd blazer* (similar here), Gucci belt (review here), Dior slingbacks (preloved here, affordable dupe here), Ray Ban sunglasses

While the bag retails new for $3,500 AUD (~$2,400 USD/£1,700 GBP),  I bought the bag secondhand for $2,350 AUD (~$1,600 USD/£1,300 GBP) from Trading In Style.  The bag was made in 2018 so it’s Old Céline (only just!) and still features the accent (yay!).  I inspected the bag thoroughly, ensuring it passed all my pre-loved designer bag checks (including authentication via Entrupy), and was over the moon with the fact that it was in fantastic condition.  

In this post, I’ll take you through my thoughts on sizing, general wear & tear and my verdict on the bag. 

In short, is the Celine Seau Sangle Bag worth the splurge?

Outfit details: Left & Right

Design

As with all Philo designs, it’s simple and classic.  It’s a bucket bag style (‘seau’ means bucket in French) with one main compartment, a flap pocket inside and a zipped pocket.  There are four external flat pockets on each side of the bag and it comes with a removable thick wool shoulder strap with an 11” (28cm) drop.  

The bag is made of calfskin with a calfskin lining and gold metal hardware.  The leather is notably softer and more textured than the leather used on the Belt Bag, Cabas Tote and Luggage.  While the leather is soft, it still feels thick and durable.

The bag has an inner hook closure made of the same gold hardware, though I’ve never really used it since getting the bag, but more on that later.  

Sizing

The Sangle comes in two sizes – the standard larger ‘Seau’ size and the ‘small’. Personally, I find the overall look of the bag between the two sizes to be significantly different.  The larger Seau Sangle features four flat external pockets whereas the smaller version doesn’t have any external pockets and the shoulder strap is longer. 

Current dimensions and prices are as follows:

Seau

23cm x 33cm x 17cm | 9” x 13” x 7”

Bucket bag with large interior pocket and four external flat pockets
Removable wool strap with 28cm (11”) drop

$3,500 AUD | $2,400 USD | £1,700 GBP

Small

18cm x 25cm x 12 cm | 7” x 10” x 5”

Bucket bag with large interior pocket
Removable wool strap with 42cm (17”) drop

$2,850 AUD | $2,000 USD | £1,400 GBP

Prices current as at October 2020.

Outfit details: Left & Right

Wear & tear

The soft grained calfskin is unlike the leather used in other Celine bags in my collection.  It’s supple and less structured but despite this, it still feels durable, particularly with the prominent pebbled texture on the leather. I’m not one to baby my bags and thankfully, the textured leather is low maintenance and doesn’t easily show any marks or scuffs. Though I should point out that the bag doesn’t have any protective base studs so I do think twice before placing my bag on the ground.

The bag packs a lot of punch when it comes to capacity, but its laissez faire approach to structure took some getting used to. While I’m not a bag liner type of person, I can definitely see the benefits of using one in this bag to avoid the ‘bottomless pit’ situation. I’ve recently placed an order for this one which I found on Etsy that is currently in transit.

As for the strap, it’s made of a thick wool webbing. While I initially would have preferred a leather strap (for the sake of longevity), I do find the wool strap to be incredibly comfortable and it doesn’t dig into my shoulder the way leather straps do, particularly when my bag is packed with a fair few things.

Another feature to note is the bag closure, which is a simple inner hook closure. However, given the size of the bag, the closure isn’t the most functional feature – so if security is one of your considerations, this might be a red flag. Personally, this isn’t one of my top priorities and while there’s no “proper” closure on the bag, the bag sits neatly under my arm, so my belongings are always close.

What fits inside

While the bag looks quite compact, the interior is incredibly spacious, with more than enough space to hold my essentials, and then some! With its seemingly infinite space, it gives Mary Poppins’ bag a run for her money, and I do have to be careful not to overpack it with too many things just because they neatly fit inside!

As you can see, it easily fits a 13” laptop and makes a great work bag. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve ordered myself a bag liner which is currently on its way – just to keep things neat and tidy inside.

The verdict

I like to keep things minimal in the accessories department and for day-to-day use, the less logos the better. This bag checks all the boxes for me. Minimal design? Check. Functional? Check. Comfortable strap? Check. The fact that it also fits a laptop is a huge winner for me as none of my other Celine bags do, making it a great bag for work on the days I do need to take a laptop with me.

Since I bought the bag over a month ago, I can’t remember a time when I haven’t worn this bag when I’ve gone out! Its simple and relaxed design means it works in both elevated and casual looks.

So is it worth the money? Absolutely.

And the million dollar question – if I were unable to buy the bag pre-loved, would I have bought it new? Definitely. (Though, it would have taken me a bit longer to do so.)

Where to buy

You can shop the bag new here or from the Celine boutique and their various concessions.

If you’re looking to go down the pre-loved route, the bag pops up every so often on Vestiaire Collective so you should create an alert if you’re keen. It might also assist to put in a word to your local consignment store so they keep you in mind just in case one happens to walk through their door.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you found my Celine Seau Sangle Bag Review to be helpful.

P.S. Like this review? See my other comprehensive bag reviews here. I’ve reviewed all the other Celine bags in my collection: Celine Mini Belt Bag, Celine Trio & Celine Cabas Tote.