Valextra Iside Bag Honest Review (Updated 2024)

I have always loved the minimalism and clean lines of Valextra bags. I had been seeing them around in Le Bon Marché and Lafayette and online but only recently remembered to actually take photos! The top photo is from Galeries Lafayette Haussmann from my visit a few years ago (a lifetime ago, especially now that I’m thinking back to it whilst in quarantine), and the following photos of the black one is from Moressi, a local stockist in Manila.

Interestingly, this was originally the “Isis” bag, but for obvious reasons they needed to rebrand it, and thus it became the “Iside” bag. I remember when I was in Galeries Lafayette and asked to see the Iside bag, the saleslady didn’t know it had been changed, so she still thought it was Isis and kept insisting there was no such bag as the Iside, even as I was showing her on Instagram that it had already been renamed :)) Anyway.

I believe Valextra bags are priced in about the same range as Delvaux and Moynat, and it is considered to be the “Hermès” of Italy. Generally, their designs are sleek, minimalist (no logo, yay!), and almost give me a mid-century-modern vibe (i.e. you can picture someone from Mad Men carrying it), which is a pretty timeless ‘modern’ style.

Blurry pic, but just to show the branding on the hardware
I don’t know if this is the easiest to open, but I guess it’s something to get used to

Inside, I appreciate that the branding is subtle, and that the bags are serialized.

I also like that the interior lining is also in leather (a feature that is rarer and rarer these days), albeit white will be a b*tch to maintain, especially if you carry pens around :))

The bag is surprisingly light, which is a feature I always remember about their bags. Normally this would concern me, but upon inspection it does feel like a solid build, still. They also use leather that has a bit of a sheen and texture, which helps make it lower-maintenance. But given how light it is, and how thin the leather must be, only time will tell how it will weather the wear and tear. Brass hardware. Consistent edge finish and stitching.

All in all, if you are looking for a more modern option in this price range, then the Iside bag is a beautiful choice. But I must say that you have to try it in person, because the proportion can be a bit off. For example, the size that I thought would suit me online, turned out to be too big and square for me IRL. And the shoulder strap is a bonus, but I actually like how it looks better without it, carried on the crook of the arm or by hand.

Also, if you are not a fan of the “shiny” look, then this may not be the bag for you. I understand its practicality, but this finish always (IMHO) tends to look and feel plasticky, and takes away from the luxurious hand-feel of the leather. But as a daily bag that needs that extra layer of protection, then yes this definitely seems like it might be less fragile.

Something to note when it comes to leather like this and like Chanel’s caviar leather, that have that shiny laminated ish layer: while the coating provides the scratch-proofing and protection that people look for, it’s actually a double-edged sword. You don’t really get much leather (it has probably been shaved down to just the top part) or much of the qualities that you want out of leather, like the body, patina, strength, character, etc. You will have to remember that if you want leather that patinas, that has character, that is thick and feels sturdy–well, it probably won’t be scratch-proof, lightweight, or “uniform” like the Chanel flap or like many other bags, including Valextra. Just something to note!

Update as of November 2023-January 2024

Back in November, I was able to visit Valextra’s flagship store in Milan. Compared to the teeny tiny selection they have in department stores, I loved how much more complete and varied the products at the flagship store were. I was able to inspect a lot more bags, both men’s and women’s, and I must say that I was really impressed by the quality, much more so than just seeing 1 or 2 bags at a small display inside a department store. I’ll put together a separate post covering all the other styles I liked at the store, but here are some (ok a truckload of) updated photos of the Iside Bag (which I think I can say I’ve bumped up to just under the grail club of Moynat, Moreau, and Delvaux, since this is still not hand sewn) and a few of its variations:

So many cute variations of the Iside bag. I quite liked a lot of the graphic black and white ones, but as someone who is clumsy and hits stuff often–a mostly-white bag is not practical. If the colors had been reversed and there were more black parts than white, then yes I totally would have gotten this slash one:

This studded one was also a fave (I very very nearly caved and got it haha)

So cute

So tiny

Inside, leather lining still, which I love (if only it weren’t white/cream haha)

I also really liked this graphic, almost vintage-looking one, but it was fabric 😦 The cool graphic lines are like a kind of rubberized material (maybe 3D printed?), so I wasn’t sure if it would stay on the fabric with wear and tear. So graphic and pretty though

You can also customize the face of the lock–cute!

OK so after the whole thing I said with white bags–my sister ended up getting something white :))

She was looking for an evening-able style in a color she doesn’t have yet, and because the color selection wasn’t the most comprehensive at the time for this size (I think the other colors were just black or gray), she ended up getting white. I think we were sold with the alien ears that made it extra cute haha

Here it is under the hotel light. Fingers crossed that we’re able to keep this pristine haha

Valextra isn’t hand-sewn but the assembly is really clean and solid, and a lot of their bags have very difficult construction (for me, it’s extra value if it’s a style or technique I myself cannot yet do)

Serialized and subtle

This visit to the Valextra flagship store has certainly upped my opinion of the brand, and I loved being able to see so many more versions of the Iside as well as other styles (will post about it next time!), especially some that I found really difficult to make and therefore including them in my bag bucket list for next time! Valextra bags have actually gone on sale in some online department store sites, except that it doesn’t ship to us here 😦 But it would definitely make the bags even more worth trying (they are really good value given the level of quality, priced a little bit below Delvaux & Moynat or similar), if you were ever on the fence about them. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Iside in the coming years to see how the white survives, and if the bag performs well. Will add updates to this post when that time comes.

21 comments on “Valextra Iside Bag Honest Review (Updated 2024)”

    • Thank you so much! Puzzle bag is in the works, I was able to take photos a few weeks ago. Haven’t found a gate bag that I could examine up close yet, but the Puzzle bag review should give an idea as to the overall quality etc 🙂

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    • Hi! Valextra is designed to be more lightweight, I believe, and it is pretty light comparatively speaking (i.e. Valextra Iside vs Delvaux Brillant. Similar top-handle lady bag styles but Delvaux is heavier), and for practical purposes it does have a sort of protective sheen that’s somewhat shiny. Pros: it could mean easy wipe-to-clean-ability and the lightweight aspect would make for a good everyday bag. Cons: it does not have the smell and feel of leather (if that’s what you’re after), and can feel somewhat plasticky because of the sheen. But the wipe-ability could really come in handy especially during pandemic (though I don’t recommend using alcohol-based sanitizers to clean leather). Stitch quality and build seem solid to me, though I believe they are machine and not hand sewn.

      Based on the style and use cases, maybe the Valextra isn’t exactly a direct comparison to the other brands mentioned, but if you’re after the leather smell and feel, and that sense of heritage, then I would still go for Moynat, Delvaux, or Moreau. Bottega would also fall under a different category and I wouldn’t necessarily pay as much for BV as the other 3 heritage brands, although they do have outlets where you can chance upon key styles and colors at a better price. BV having an outlet I think is also indicative of it being a slightly lower tier than the other brands that don’t. Hope these help!

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    • There are some portions of the bags wherein the stitches are finished by hand (after being sewn on the machine, they leave a long piece of thread hanging and do some handsewing to go back over the last few stitches a few times), so maybe they are able to “market” it as being hand-sewn. I can’t say for sure but you can usually tell when you see the reverse side of the stitches. Machine-sewn stitches’ backside have a different look (somewhat flatter/shallower), whereas hand-sewn stiches will look the same on both sides. If you are able to go take a look in person, that would be best.

      I quite liked Moreau’s men’s line, although there are also styles that can be unisex. Moynat should have some too, but I can’t remember how wide a selection they had. I would also recommend Atelier Peter Nitz in Switzerland, a leather artisan who specializes in custom luxury pieces that look really well made.

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  7. Good god, she didn’t actually make you ladies wait while she took her own sweet time with the elevator?! 😱

    This level of service isn’t just poor, it’s in WTF category for a brand where prices inflate more quickly than a booming property market! 🤬

    To be honest, I don’t go into stores for luxury purchases anymore because they don’t give you the sort of treatment that is commensurate with their prices. There’s a very fine line to cross before “exclusivity” becomes snobbishness and poor customer service – and the SA you met exemplifies that.

    With the consignment market being what it is, there are now plenty of Chanel Medium Classic Flaps sitting on platforms like Carousell. I’m from Singapore, and the platform here has at least 15 Chanel Medium CFs in Beige Clair – the super hard-to-obtain colour – in brand new and unused, store-fresh condition. I imagine there will be even more in Black.

    It really makes you wonder how “exclusive” these bags are when they are being peddled by resellers in this fashion. By the way, their prices don’t necessarily increase with Chanel’s either – because past a certain point, there’s only so much people are willing to pay for a bag. I’ve witnessed for myself the prices of fhese bags staying constant and, in some cases, falling even as Chanel goes through ANOTHER round of price hikes.

    These days, I just buy from consigners, people with buyer’s remorse 😂, and my trusted personal shopper. I do go into the stores to have an actual look and feel of the item – but that’s about it.

    Thanks again for the updated review, Gen! It’s always nice to come back here for every now and then for a dose of your unfiltered honesty! ❤️

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    • Definitely definitely super turned off by that SA’s behavior. What the hell kind of customer service training did they get, that resulted in the many off behaviors displayed? I do wonder. If the bag were for me or if I were just browsing, I would have ditched it, 100%. But it was an errand for my mom (who couldn’t yet travel at the time), so my sister and I just had to put up with it. We recently have also gotten more into vintage, and have successfully found some great pieces which I have yet to photograph. No Chanel yet though, because it really depends on the selection at the time, and when we went, there were smooth quilted lambskin Chanel’s aplenty in various states of wear and tear (these were cheaper), but the caviar ones were still quite pricey, no matter the size or state of distress. But our recent excursions into vintage shopping has really been encouraging, and we plan to go check some more stores out later this year. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback as well!

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      • I completely get what you mean about running errands for your mom, because I would only be able to put up with that level of crap if I was doing the same!

        Knowing my mum though, she would totally tell me off for wasting my time with such sh*tty SAs – even if I was shopping for her.

        Double whammy! 😂

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  8. Hi Gen, I was just wondering if it’s possible for you to share your Valextra SA’s contact with me via DM?

    I am keen to pick up the Micro Iside in red but they have at least two different shades that look quite similar in the online photos that I have no idea which to go for.

    There’s only one official retailer and no Valextra stores in Singapore where I’m based – so I can’t check out the colours in real life either.

    I was really hoping an SA might be able to help in this respect – but only if it’s not too much trouble for you, please!

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    • Hi! We don’t have a dedicated SA. I got one bag in La Rinascente (department store) in Rome, and my sister got one at the flagship in Milan. For Rinascente, they do have a shopping assistant feature via WhatsApp so maybe you can try requesting through there? I was able to ask questions and stuff there before although it sometimes takes a while. I may have gotten the red in my photo but unfortunately no closeup and no 2 shades

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      • Thanks for getting back! So both your bags were bought at Rinascente, only one in Rome and the other in Milan?

        I’ve reached out to their customer service on WhatsApp to see what my options are. Much appreciate the advice!

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          • Thanks so much! I got confused because I thought you were referring to Rinascente’s flagship store in Milan – one of my favourite places to shop in Italy…

            The red mini belt bag you photographed is to-die-for, and I’m keeping fingers crossed they have that colour in the Valextra Iside Micro too. It will truly be a stunning pop of colour to liven up any outfit.

            Cheers!

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            • Oh no problem, I did forget that the Rinascente in Milan is also a flagship hahaha but worth visiting Valextra’s solo shop because the selection is so much more varied. Good luck in your search! I hope you find the red micro Iside!! 🙂

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