Longchamp Le Pliage Shoulder Tote | Review

*Note: This post was originally written on Jan 22, 2012 on my old blog (loveformakeup.com). I am transferring the content here. 

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The Longchamp Le Pliage bags have been quite popular (at least on the East Coast here in the US) for a few years now. It seemed like every other woman owned one — which was the exact reason why I resisted buying one for years. However, after doing much research and searching endlessly for a versatile yet practical everyday bag… all arrows pointed to the Le Pliage shoulder tote.

** note: it seems they now refer the previously 'medium le pliage' as a "small le pliage" now.

Money saving tip: Ebates cashback program is currently celebrating their 15th year anniversary (wow!) and offering 15%+ cash back for a lot of sites, including Nordstrom.com (15% cash back for a limited time). This is a great opportunity to snag a Longchamp bag at a discount!  If you don't already have an Ebates account, you can sign up free here -- they have so many different retailers and I have used them for years to save a lot of $$$ via cash back.

Positive Aspects:

• light-weight
• water-resistant (I love that it keeps all bag contents dry during rain/snow)
• shoulder strap is super comfortable 
• comfy over the shoulder even when the bag is full and heavy 
• the strap is a perfect drop length for my height: 5’4” – (medium has 8” drop, large 10” drop)
• Holds so much!
• medium=great for everyday use
• large=perfect as a carry-on bag for travel
• folds up into a flat, compact size
• effortlessly folds up and fits in your suitcase for an extra purse to choose from when on vacation!
• low-maintenence care (easy to clean)
• simple, logo-less design
• high-quality leather straps/embossed detailing add sophistication to an otherwise plain tote
• versatile: looks great with a casual outfit, yet still appropriate for a more polished look
• available in many different styles/sizes/strap lengths
  (see all Le Pliage styles here at Longchamp.com)
  You can even customize your own on the Longchamp site, pretty neat.

Negative Aspects:

• only one large compartment and a small (virtually useless) compartment
• this issue is easily resolved using a purse organizer (see my Purseket review here)
• lacks structure/may appear flat if you don’t have a lot of stuff inside
• pricey if bought at retail price 
• I recommend waiting for a sale or use promo codes for sites that carry these bags. I got my Le Pliage shoulder totes from Bloomingdales for over 20% off.
• sign up for Bloomingdales e-mail updates to get 10% off code e-mailed to you in a few days
• very popular bag; expect to see someone else on the street with the same bag as you

Photos:

Shoulder Tote Comparison:

Medium (black) versus Large (bilberry)

Shoulder tote when folded up into compact size:

 

Detailing of the bag:

See my video review for size comparisons:

Which Longchamp bag do you own? Are there any you’ve had your eye on?

Update - February 2016:
Over 3 years later I am still using my Longchamp Le Pliage totes quite frequently. I always use my large Le Pliage as a personal item when I fly and I have used my black "medium" (which is now referred to as a 'small le pliage' on most sites) on the daily for work for well over 2 years.

I most recently replaced my black Le Pliage Medium with my Everlane Petra Market Tote (my review here) since I started carrying more stuff for the brutal cold winter season -- scarves, ear muffs, gloves, hats, etc.

Anyhow, both of my Le Pliage totes have held up extremely well. The corners of my black Le Pliage medium are a little worn, but not frayed and there are no holes. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well both totes have held up.

I do also want to address the fact that Longchamp now started calling their once "Medium Le Pliage" the "Small Le Pliage". From the time I initially posted this blog post until now, Longchamp did get rid of calling any of their le pliage shoulder totes "medium" size -- as there is only the small le pliage (used to be called medium), and the large le pliage shoulder tote now.  Back a few years ago they did make a small le plaige that was very small and, in my opinion, not very functional as it didn't have the capability to hold much. I'm glad they got rid of that super small size, but now it's super confusing that the current "small le pliage shoulder tote" is the same dimension as what was once called the "medium".  Do also note that to add to the confusion... Bloomingdales and some other sites still sell the "medium" size. Just always remember to check the actual dimensions before you make a purchase!

I've gotten a lot of questions on my YouTube video about which size is best for school. My answer: definitely the large Le Pliage.

If you're looking to fit notebooks, laptops, textbooks, binders: go with the large size.
If you're looking to only hold a few things like wallet, keys, phone, a tablet: the small size will work.

Please note the small (old "medium") will not comfortably fit a Macbook Pro 13" unless you put it in longways -- and it will stick out (see my photo below). I do have a case on my laptop, but even if I take it off it will be very hard to fit it completely in the smaller size Le Pliage.

Hope this update has helped answer a lot of your questions :)!