The august members of France’s L’Académie française are aghast. Any form of corruption of the French language is frowned upon especially the intrusive introduction of Anglo Saxon compound words or phrases. Yet the expression “Le Weekend” has entered the French lexicon despite the best efforts of the language’s guardians.
For others the word weekend signifies the beginning of a brief holiday period to be spent in luxurious surroundings and possibly a romantic location.
Packing for such a brief trip presents a dilemma as space will surely be at a premium. Certainly, a stylish bag is an absolute necessity for the true dandy and his companion.
With this in mind I set out on a quest to find the perfect weekend bag. An essential requirement is that the core material needs to be a high quality yet relatively lightweight and supple leather. Taurillon is a type of baby bull leather with a lightly grained appearance and is extremely luxurious to the touch. It’s strong, hard wearing and ages beautifully. It’s used principally by ultra premium brands such as Hermès and Louis Vuitton for their top of the range models.
A particular bug bear of mine is the quality of metal fittings used for closures, buckles and locks. A great looking bag can be let down badly if these are of an inferior type. Solid brass coated with a heavy plating of palladium is the gold standard (if that’s not an oxymoron).
Size is important, so I’m told, and the perfect bag needs to fit the highly restrictive regime employed by airlines these days. So 45cm width is the maximum permitted unless of course you’re one of the lucky one’s who are flying privately.
Design-wise my preference is for maximum use of space rather than lots of fiddly pockets and hidden storage spaces.
Whilst carrying out my research I heard that Bianca Mosca were on the verge of introducing a new range of luxury bags for men. When I contacted Tim de Rosen, their CEO, he confirmed that one of the bags being developed was a weekend bag.
Well here is the very first preview of that bag which ticks all my boxes. It’s made from Taurillon leather, has palladium plated brass fittings, a width of 45cm and is certainly a handsome and capacious piece that fits my bill perfectly. The only problem is that it won’t be available to buy for a few months yet or should I say several weekends to come.
The Bespoke Dandy 