The Céline Trio bag has been something of a revelation. Endlessly functional and beautifully pared-down - it's the epitome of minimal luxury. As a fan of the Phoebe Philo's Céline minimalist aesthetic, I'd been eyeing the Trio for a while, but never pulled the trigger. There were so many lookalikes on the high street, and I'd succumbed to this & Other Stories one, which had me satiated. It made me realise that the slim rectangular design was nice, yes, but it bulged unflatteringly when I stuffed too many things in the two compartments (to be fair, I brought it travelling which meant I had more 'essentials' than usual) and the leather was... eh.
Then I walked past the Céline store at Selfriges, where they had three Trios hanging from a rack. I was drawn to the gorgeous muted grey-blue that reminded me of the sky before rain at first, and then when I went to touch it... you guys. It was the softest leather, so lush - I couldn't stop touching it. When I went home to sleep on it, though, it was the sunny yet slightly mustardy yellow colourway that I couldn't get out of my mind.
I bought it a couple of weeks later in France. I've been using it non-stop since I bought it in October, and I'm only giving it a break now so I can make use of the rest of my bag collection. I've been using it long enough that I think I have a pretty good indication of its merits, its faults, how it will hold up, all that jazz.
DESIGN
This small Céline Trio is composed of three separate pouches connected by press studs at the top corner of each pouch. The bag's dimensions are 8.5' x 6' x 2'. The press studs turned me off a little at first because I was worried the bag might be too easy to take apart, but they turned out to be very tight. It's difficult enough to remove the pouches from one another that you don't have to be concerned about one of the pouches spontaneously falling off from the rest of the bag.
The strap is sewn into the edges of the middle pouch and honestly, it seemed a little fragile at first but ended up being surprisingly sturdy. The strap is long enough that you can wear it crossbody, although I personally feel that it looks best worn over-the-shoulder. Still, the versatility is good, especially if you're walking through a busy area or one known for having bag-snatchers.
This might be a bit of a weird quibble, but I also prefer bags that lie flat, like this one - I often put my handbag behind me on a chair or on my lap when I'm eating out, and I hate it when bags jut out, whether at the bottom or due to the hardware, and take up unnecessary space. It's why I haven't gotten much use out of the Céline Trapeze, which I bought about a year before this. Conversely, it's also probably why I carry the Trio around so much.
Because this bag is so minimal in design, I think it's good for both day and night. It's simple enough that it looks good with your daytime clothes, but the clean design means it works with fancier outfits too. Because the pouches are removable, you also have the options of just carrying one pouch around, or removing the front and the back pouches and snapping them together, and then carrying it like that.
FUNCTIONALITY
For most of last year, I had very little to carry around and was living a climate that generally required a light jacket, so the Chanel WOC was my go-to bag as whatever I couldn't fit in the bag could just go into my jacket pockets. However, the Trio came into my life at a time when I started carrying more around and it was the perfect upgrade in size. This bag is like Hermione's handbag - you can fit so much more into this bag than you would ever think. The bag itself is also very light to start off with, so you're never weighted down no matter what you fill it with.
The downside to that, though, lies in the design of the bag. The things you put in there obviously end up at the bottom of the bag, and because of the design, this means the bag will often bulge out at the bottom. It's not quite so noticeable when only the middle pouch is filled out, but when all three are, the seamless, unfussy shape of the bag is somewhat undermined. If this is something that bothers you, you can negate this simply by putting lessening the amount of things in the bag, and limiting the bulkiness of the items you carry around.
This might not be relevant to many, but I also use quite a lot of public transport and something that just makes my life that little bit easier are bags that are accessible. To me, this means bags that have a pouch on the back, like a Chanel WOC, where I can put my travel card in or bags like this Trio that simply has a zipper on the top, making it so much quicker to find my card or ticket. The fact that I don't have to fuss around with annoying buckles during those rush-hour moments and can simply reach into a pocket for my card without having to look is something small that truly makes a difference for me. It's gotten to the point where I do plan what bag I will use around this, and is part of why the Trio has become such a go-to for me.
QUALITY
The Trio is very well-made, as should be expected for the price. The construction is perfect, the stitching is very well-done. The smooth lambskin leather is so, so very soft. This is both a positive and a negative, in my opinion. It was the superior quality of the leather compared to all alternatives, plus the beautiful colour, that made me buy this bag. Nevertheless, this is one of the biggest downsides of the Trio.
I tend to baby my bags when I first get them, but even so, this one got quite a deep scratch in the middle from the zipper of my coat in the first couple of weeks. I intentionally tried to keep it away from the zipper for fear of this very thing happening, but it somehow did anyway. The softness also means that the front pouch tends to show the silhouette of whatever you're carrying inside. It's quite easy for the leather mould to the shape of the item inside if it's sticking out. For this reason, I wouldn't say it's the most durable of bags, and with the creasing and wrinkles that accompany standard usage of this bag, it will look worn-in very quickly.
I also have to say that the back of the bag has been experienced staining from the dye of my pants. This is something I should have expected, but it's quite disappointing nonetheless and has made the back pouch look extremely worn. If I were to buy this again, I can't say I would necessarily choose a darker colour, since it was this yellow that I fell in love with. I will, however, say that if you don't already have your heart set on a colour, definitely go for one of the darker ones.
OVERALL
This is one of my favourite bags, and definitely my current favourite. I might also be a little biased because I have great memories attached to this bag - I bought it on a really great trip, and used it for the first time on a first date with someone I'm still seeing. But it's honestly very useable, which is the primary function of bags. I never have to spend too much effort rearranging things so that it will all fit - they simply do. The design is very versatile and I can carry it in so many ways. It doesn't get in the way, like bigger bags that have to be hand-carried can sometimes can. The colour never fails to brighten up my day. All in all, a lovely, lovely bag.
This colour is no longer available but you can browse the other colours and sizes here.