I Make Leather Handbags

Loewe’s puzzle bag is one that I have always liked from afar. Partly because I love origami, but also because any bag that cleverly folds flat is always a plus. The bags are priced at around the same tier as Saint Laurent, Celine, Givenchy, etc., but I would dare say that the make is a bit better. Edge finishing is good, stitches are consistent and clean (looks to be machine sewn, but well), and the leather feels supple and not plasticky.

Up close, the edge finishes are good but not great. Not as bad as some others I’ve encountered haha.

The construction of the bag is also labor intensive. Having to cut, edge, and sew all those pieces together (even if sewn by machine) is a lot of work, and, for such a practical bag, that’s great added value given the price tag (ranging from $2,000-4,000 or so, depending on size, leather type, variation, etc.)

Nickel-plated brass hardware, including bag feet.

I also like that the puzzle pieces are made of the same material as the base bag, and not a thinner material. My only concern here is getting dust out of the gaps in the future :)) I would also avoid any iteration in suede, as that would be even harder to clean, especially in those tight spots.

SPECIAL NOTE:

The PUZZLE BAG is also NOT TO BE CONFUSED with the newer PUZZLE EDGE BAG, which looks similar, is more expensive, but not as well made. Indeed I didn’t really notice at first until I saw it in photos and noted that the way it looked when folded and carried was different. When I looked for more photos, I could immediately tell that this was inferior, even without inspecting it up close. Here’s why:

First of all, they’ve gone with a simplified version of the puzzle bag’s construction, which pretty much ruins the beauty and ingenuity of the original. See how instead of separate puzzle pieces, the bag is just sewn together to imitate the lines on the original? There aren’t separate pieces on top of a bag base. They’ve just cut and sewn it to mimic the effect but not the way the original worked.

I’ve also included some side-by-sides of the original puzzle bag and the newer puzzle edge bag, so you can clearly see the differences in the quality of their make.

What’s more, it seems the stitches are also sloppier and wider-not ideal for fine thread (the thinner the thread, the smaller the stitches should be; the thicker the thread, the wider the stitches can be) in terms of sturdiness.

You can also see the sloppy back parts (the reverse side when you sew on a sewing machine) here:

The stitches around the slats where the strap pass through are especially wonky and uneven, which baffles me.

Anyway, bottomline is:

ORIGINAL PUZZLE BAG-YES!

NEW PUZZLE EDGE BAG-NO!

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UPDATES 2025

I was worried for a while because the classic OG puzzle bag seemed to have been phased out or no longer in production. I had been looking and looking and it was almost always all puzzle edge bags only.

Happily, that no longer seems to be the case. They now clearly distinguish between the two kinds, with the Puzzle Edge being priced lower than the Classic Puzzle, and them also explaining the difference in the number of pieces used in assembly. The Classic Puzzle is still not in abundance though. Luckily, we found out that it’s actually the bag’s 10-year anniversary this year, and so they released a limited edition anniversary collection of Classic Puzzle bags in lambskin, available in black, burgundy, and I think maybe one other color, only in the small size. I was seriously debating between an anniversary one and another one in calfskin that had a beautiful woven handle, but ultimately for the squish-ability (you couldn’t fold the calfskin one down), I went with a black lambskin one. It’s a bit more scratch-prone than the calfskin, but it felt so nice and soft and I really wanted a puzzle bag that could actually fold. I also wanted to see how the lambskin performs.

Anyway, that’s the quick update. Will add photos of the bag here soon.