This Italian-leather Bag Is Scratchproof, Water-resistant, and Packed With Pockets

Monica Mendal

Updated Thu, August 2, 2018 at 9:30 AM UTC

Last season, I invested in a designer handbag that I planned to dub my travel bag for eternity. (The price tag warranted eternal use if we were going to measure the investment using dollar-per-wear logic.) At first, it seemed perfect. It was big enough to carry all of my necessary — and unnecessary — travel accessories and chic enough for me to tote around all the international airports of my jet-setting pipe dreams. But almost immediately, I learned this bag wasn’t conducive to travel at all.

It was so heavy on its own that I had to leave my laptop behind, and it still managed to leave my back in knots. It was too bulky to fit comfortably under the seat in front of me on the plane. There was only one internal pocket, which inevitably turned the main compartment into a black hole where everything I needed to retrieve required a two-minute search period. (TSA agents were unamused as I explained this while frantically searching for my boarding pass.) And though I only wore it once before again stowing it in its fancy duster bag in the back of my closet, the leather scratched, making it look like I had owned it for years. At the end of the day, this bag — save for its brand name — didn’t feel like an investment at all.

Enter: Senreve, the label behind “beautiful bags that know how to multitask.” Like myself, the company’s co-founders Coral Chung and Wendy Wen were in search of the perfect luxury handbag, one that was both chic and feminine but also versatile enough to keep up with the fast pace of our daily lives. When they had no luck finding one, they decided to design it themselves. Now, almost two years later, Senreve’s crafted-in-Italy, leather bags are beloved by popular style bloggers like Julia Engel of Gal Meets Glam and slung on the arms of celebrities like Priyanka Chopra and Jessica Alba.

Of Senreve’s line-up of satchels, belt bags, and clutches, the Maestra bags — recently released in a new medium size — are our favorite silhouette. Each has up to eight interior pockets, including one big enough (and padded) to fit up to a 15-inch laptop in the largest size. The bag itself weighs less than three pounds, which is, on average, two to three pounds lighter than comparably sized bags. Versatile, too, the convertible straps of the Maestra allow it to easily be worn as a satchel, tote, cross-body, or backpack. And the brand also makes an organizer insert, just in case you’re a 20-pocket kind of traveler.

Did we also mention they’re scratch-, stain- and water-resistant? So if you’re vacationing with kids — or if you’re a serial spiller yourself — fear not, because your bag will stay sleek, elegant, and as like-new as the day you got it.