By Best designer bags {2003}: Jump Menu
The best Mulberry bags are classified as an investment. This heritage British brand is known for its crafted, luxury goods and the leather designs are built both to last and not to date. While the label does of course, produce fashion-forward iterations, it is the timeless building blocks of the Mulberry bag family that offer the most longevity.
One of the best designer bags to invest in, Mulberry is a British designer brand that holds expertise in crafting leather goods. Its bags largely lean towards a timeless aesthetic, which only increases their worth, as these designs won’t go out of fashion. The high quality manufacture means that they keep in good shape and the practical silhouettes make them ideal partners for everything from everyday to evening wear.
Responsible for some of the best instantly recognisable bags, Mulberry has kept some of its production in its Somerset workspace, although now also uses factories abroad to keep up with demand. The classic brand has however remained true to its heritage aesthetic, with lots of neutral colours and sleek satchel and crossbody style bags on offer that deliver both practicality and style. Like many of its counterparts, the best Mulberry bags do and will continue to creep upwards in price year on year, so the sooner you invest the sooner you can lock in your cost. The most iconic Mulberry’s if looked after should still maintain their value in years to come.
The quick list
With so many bags to choose from, finding the best Mulberry bag can feel like a daunting task, so we’ve compiled a list of the best designs from this heritage British brand that you can guarantee will still look chic in years to come.
Mulberry Bayswater Satchel
RRP: £995 | When it comes to British designer brands, few are as iconic as fashion label Mulberry. The Bayswater Satchel is one of the signature designs of the fashion house and has continued to be a key player in terms of the best investment styles.
RRP: £1,450 | The Alexa is another classic design aesthetic from Mulberry and instantly recognisable as belonging to the brand’s stable. Now available in numerous sizes and colourways, we can guarantee that there is an Alexa to suit your needs and style.
Mulberry Amberley Satchel
RRP: £795 | Loved by the Princess of Wales, the Amberley features the stunning Riders lock that makes quite a statement when it comes to bag hardware. Carried with a top handle – in the style of Kate Middleton, the small version of the bag is instantly elevated for evening wear.
RRP: £995 | A versatile crossbody bag design from the fashion house, this design can easily take you from day to evening. An enduring style, this Mulberry bag features a discreet logo on the front of the bag, meaning it’s a case of, if you know, you know.
RRP: £825 | Ideal for everyday, the Bayswater tote is part of a larger Bayswater family of bags but we love this design for sophisticated, practical dressing. A super roomy design, the bag features a removable internal envelope pouch, giving you an evening bag on the go.
RRP: £1,350 | New for 2023, we’re certain the Pimlico is going to be a hit. A move on from Amberley, the satchel features a similar curved shape but with a cool, structural, new updated locking mechanism that provides the most statement part of the design.
Best Mulberry bags according to a fashion editor
But don’t just take our word for it, Charlotte Staerck, Co-Founder & CEO, The Handbag Clinic explains that, “Mulberry is one of our consistently bestselling brands at The Handbag Clinic. It embodies the very best of British craftsmanship and is a timeless accessory of choice for a long list of celebrity fans including Princess Katherine, Kate Moss and Alexa Chung. Because Mulberry’s archive styles heavily influence their newer releases, the classics are always in high demand on the preloved market and hold their value incredibly well. They are made to last for generations to come.”
Most iconic Mulberry bag
(Image credit: Mulberry)
One of the best Mulberry bags, the Bayswater Satchel is considered one of the brand’s most iconic styles. One of the best designer bags for work, the satchel silhouette is a generous size, fitting key daily essentials, including a laptop. Originally developed to show the brand’s craftsmanship and quality, this is still true to modern day iterations. Now with a vast colour palette, offering 15 neutral and trend led colourways, as always we recommend securing your basics if this is your first designer bag purchase. However, you should also take into account the colours that will work with the majority of your capsule wardrobe so that you can get maximum wear out of your Mulberry.
“This bags needs no introduction.” says Charlotte, “and was a cult favourite with the noughties It-crowd. Its launch dates back to 2003 and is still just as popular today, oozing timeless elegance. We tend to see black, oxblood and chalk and oak as the most south after – particularly in its signature heavy grain leather. It retails full price (full size) for £1,395 and we resell preloved versions for anything between £525 and £895. So, this will pay you back in spades if you’re selling on an archive style – whilst making a robust investment if you’re buying preowned.”
Best Mulberry bag for everyday
(Image credit: Mulberry)
“Arguably one of Mulberry’s most iconic, this design classic was first introduced in 2010 and designed for its namesake, Alexa Chung,” Charlotte explains. “It was re-released in 2020, which generated huge demand for the style on the preowned market; it stills feels so unique and relevant. These retail for £1,250 and, provided it’s in great condition, we resell for around £525-£895. The most sought after colours are the classics, oak, black and oxblood.” Ensuring this bag is still a great investment according to Charlotte.
Rebooted for Mulberry’s 50th anniversary, the Alexa now has a stream of iterations. We’ve plumped for the oversized design here, as in a world of tiny bags, sometimes you just need a bag that can carry everything, but the Alexa is also available in several other sizes and colourways. The Micro Alexa one of the best affordable designer bags under £500 comes in 6 colourways and is a very small crossbody bag ideal only for essentials. The Alexa Mini however, is a good sized everyday bag, and can be carried via the top handle or worn with the crossbody strap. While it is unlikely to fit a laptop, it will hold key essentials for the day with spare space for a make up bag or Kindle and comes in 15 colourways.
Best Mulberry bag for royal style
(Image credit: Mulberry)
Popular with the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton has been spotted not one but two Amberley’s in different colours on royal engagements. The Small Amberley features the Rider lock, a statement reinterpretation of Mulberry’s iconic Postman’s Lock. In a satchel style, something that is quite unique to the aesthetic of the brand, while this is one of the best designer crossbody bags, Kate opted to carry the bag via a top handle for a more formal finish.
Priced under £1000, the Amberley is a good sized satchel, at for the designer bag market is seen as a more affordable, price point, as many designs now cost in excess of £1000. A smart, classic grain leather bag with front flap closing, the gold hardware is the thing that makes this curved bag stand out from the crowd. Available in eight colours, we love the grey and oxblood for a delightful change from black or tan. Both hues are just as wearable all year, and won’t date but do offer a freshness to everyday looks.
Best small Mulberry bag
(Image credit: Mulberry)
A Quiet Luxury bag, the Darley on a chain is an ideal AM to PM design. The small and smart structure, with clean lines ensures that in a neutral colour, this bag will go with pretty much anything, making it one of the best evening bags with wedding guest dresses as well as being discreet enough to slip into a work capsule wardrobe. With 12 colourways to choose from, including timeless hues to direction fashion colours such as hot pink and metallic gold or silver, there is a Darley for every taste.
The internal pockets offer plenty of storage, with a zipped coin purse and slots for multiple cards, making the streamlined finish also extremely practical, negating the need for a designer cardholder or wallet. There is also an additional back zipped pocket, however make no mistake, while this bag can take the essentials – keys, card, phone, lippy, it won’t fit much more in.
“I personally love my Darley as an everyday bag,” says woman&home fashion editor, Rivkie Baum. “It can sometimes feel a drop to tight on space, but as a general rule it’s ideal for the actual essentials that I want in reaching distance at a moments notice. And I always seem to have a tote bag slung over my shoulder for extra things anyway. I have used my Darley from AM to PM on multiple occasions and find in the discreet ox blood hue it goes with pretty much anything year through.”
With over fifteen years’ experience, Rivkie is an accomplished fashion editor, writer and stylist. Covering international fashion weeks, and styling photoshoots all over the world, Rivkie loves translating the trends in an accessible way to make fashion available for all budgets.
Best Mulberry bag for day to evening wear
(Image credit: Mulberry)
“This minimalist style is perfect for everyday wear,” according to Charlotte. “First introduced in 2010, it remains today a design hero so is a great investment and will hold its value. Again, the classic colours of oak, black and oxblood are all good investments. These retail full price for around £1,035 and we resell on our platform for anywhere between £500 and £550, depending on the condition.”
This sleek crossbody design features a chunky chain strap and Mulberry’s instantly recognisable postman’s lock. Now sold in a staggering 19 different colourways, prices for the bag start from £995 and creep upwards depending on leather and finish.
With sustainable goals in mind, Mulberry has been trying to move towards carbon neutrality and launched its first carbon neutral range in 2022 with the Lily silhouette. The bags popularity is perhaps not just due to its discreet but smart styling, but also down to its compact but still roomy size. In a world where recent handbag trends have been filled with extremes, from super sized to micro iterations, the Lily is the perfect middle ground.
Best fashion-forward Mulberry bag
(Image credit: Mulberry)
The Softie feels like quite a step outside of Mulberry’s comfort zone, as we are used to this British heritage brand focusing hard on structure. The Softie by comparison is all about quilted, puffed up shapes and squashy silhouettes that can be tucked under arms. A directional look, with underarm, oversized clutches the key takeaway from the autumn/winter handbag trends 2023, the Softie is yet to quite make it to icon status but is a bag that you can buy and love for seasons to come.
Thanks to the padded design, although this bag can be worn all year, it does certainly deliver a more wintery feel, thanks to the cocooning silhouette and protective fabric. While most Mulberry bags feel super sophisticated, we love the playfulness that the Softie brings to the brand.
Best Mulberry bag for work
(Image credit: Mulberry)
One of the best designer tote bags, the Bayswater tote is, as the name suggests part of a bigger family of Bayswater bags, all with common themes but making the core shape available to a host of different shoppers. A fantastic everyday bag, the size of the tote lends itself to carrying your laptop, along with other essentials without compromising on style and is one of the best designer bags under £1000. While the bag is not secured all the way along, it does have a central Postman’s lock and the design itself should tuck under arms when carried on the shoulder.
This Mulberry bag also features a removable, internal wallet pocket, which could be a game-changer for those who are heading out after work from the office as you essentially have a small envelope clutch to add to your bag collection, in addition to this beautifully lined, roomy tote.
Best Mulberry bag for occasionwear
(Image credit: Mulberry)
New to the collection, the Lana is another design that is pushing the boundaries for this iconic British brand. Although a crossbody strap is included, the Lana is essentially a top handle carry bag, tapping both into trends and to a new sophisticated era for handbag carrying. While we will never give up on our handsfree crossbody designs, the introduction of a top handle design feels like a potential nod to the Princess of Wales, who we can totally see one day sporting one of these. New for the season ahead, the bag is available in just three high shine leather finishes, with neutral hues reigning supreme. Sporting a Postman’s lock, but not quite as we know it, the asymmetrical hardware adds yet another fashion forward element to this polished bag’s design.
Best new-in Mulberry
(Image credit: Mulberry)
Like the Lana, the Pimlico is another new design for the brand and we’re already sold on its sleek aesthetic and architectural hardware. New for autumn/winter 2023, the calf leather Pimlico is available in just three neutral colours, making this an investment bag you can love all year round.
The lock, which is perhaps the most striking upgrade of this new Mulberry is once again an attempt to move the classic Postman’s lock on, and repositioning for a new generation of Mulberry shoppers, and for us, we’re fully sold. A rework of the Amberley, the bag as a whole feels sculptural, almost art-like, thanks to the curved silhouette and striking metal lock mechanism. Maintaining its youth with the crossbody bag silhouette, we can see the Pimlico become a key bag shape in the coming months.
Best Mulberry backpack
(Image credit: Mulberry)
Makers of some of the best designer backpacks, the Mulberry range of rucksacks are essentially a unisex collection of timeless designs. Crafted, as one might expect from high quality leather, if you’re commuting to and from the office and want to look smart without wrecking your shoulders and back, then a Mulberry Heritage backpack should be on your hitlist. Offering a delightfully vintage feel, but teamed with exquisite craftsmanship, they do make for some of the best backpacks for working women.
Featuring one main compartment, that is sealed with a drawcord and flap, buckled closure, the bag also has two sealed, smaller side compartments, ideal for keeping things you need easy access to.
Best Mulberry bag for a weekend away
(Image credit: Mulberry)
Another unisex design from the brand, the Clipper bag is one of the best weekend bags for those looking for something practical that does not compromise on designer style. Devoid of flashy, overt logos, this bag comes with a crossbody strap, but can also be carried via the top handles. Not an everyday bag, this is a great choice for those who often find themselves on short breaks and want something that will add to the occasion. Although we have chosen two leather designs, the Clipper is also available in a largely canvas body, which is perfect for those that want something a little lighter weight.
Perhaps not as iconic as some of the best Mulberry bags we have in this list, this designer weekend bag is one that can stay in your collection for many years to come and as with other leather goods, it should only get better with age.
What Mulberry bag does Kate Middleton use?
“The Princess of Wales is a longtime Mulberry handbag fan”, explains woman&home royal editor, Emma Shacklock. “From the chic equestrian-inspired Amberley Satchel to the super functional Mini Seaton bag and stunning Harlow and Darley bags. Whatever the season, the future Queen Consort knows how to elevate each already-gorgeous look with the perfect choice of accessories. Championing British brands is something we often see Kate do and Mulberry’s pared-back aesthetic gives a lovely understated luxury finish to her outfits. Whilst she does have neutral Mulberry bags – her white Amberley is a staple particularly in summer – Kate also loves to go bold, as we can see from her her forest green Amberley and baby blue Harlow which she often coordinates directly with the tones in her overall outfit.”
Are Mulberry bags worth the money?
Mulberry bags are certainly worth the investment and the huge selection of styles means that the brand is pretty good at hitting different price points, with some of the best affordable designer bags under £500 included in its range.
“Similarly to a number of other leading fashion houses, having worked in the fashion industry for a number of years, I have watched the cost of Mulberry bags, like its counterparts increase over the last decade. A big fan of a Mulberry handbag, these leather designs are built to last and as with most leather goods they do only improve with age. Of course, if you are buying a bag as an investment, you’ll want to make sure it stays in peak condition for the next purchaser,” says Rivkie Baum, fashion editor, womanandhome.com
Are Mulberry bags still cool?
Mulberry bags are very much still cool, and the British heritage brand, while not as celebrity-focused as some other big designer bag brands does garner a loyal following. Kate Middleton has been spotted on several occasions lately sporting a selection of the best Mulberry bags that has increased its popularity further in recent years. While the brand has shown during London Fashion Week, it has not been on the schedule for a while but continues to release seasonal collections that include fashion colour trend updates to core styles, as well as new silhouettes to keep the brand current.
Does Mulberry hold its value?
Mulberry bags do generally speaking hold their value. As with any designer purchase, those that hold their value best often err on the side of caution and are usually the most classic and neutral of styles, although limited edition designs can also be popular in terms of holding value. Looking after your bag and learning how to store it properly is key to keeping your handbag in good shape, as this will also contribute to its ongoing value.
Maintaining your Mulberry
Founder of The Handbag Clinic, Charlotte has great advise when it comes to investing and looking after your handbags.
Charlotte explains in order to maximise your investment: “In terms of what to avoid when buying preowned, I would advise shoppers to stay away from seasonal styles and colours – or rose gold hardware.”
But when it comes to maintaining value for your bag, “above all, the golden rule for ensuring your Mulberry bag holds its value is to stay on top of regular cleaning and protection treatments from day one. Because we are the only fully circular platform offering ‘Buy, Sell, Restore, Authenticate’, meaning we restore and resell handbags, we’re in a unique position to understand the direct monetary value regular protection and cleaning treatments add at resale. Mulberry leather is super absorbent and, just like skincare, needs its own regime. Pay attention to hard wearing areas such as the handles – investing in a specialist leather Care Kit enables you to continually care for your bag at home in between treatments.
One of the most difficult areas to maintain for a Mulberry Bayswater, which can devalue its resale price, is the suede interior and keeping its shape. We recommend storing it correctly, ensuing front flaps are flush with the bag, and using bag liner when in use to keep the inside fresh.”
Mulberry investment tip from Charlotte Staerck at The Handbag Clinic
“Another style, which we’re expecting to make a comeback soon is The Roxanne. This hasn’t been particularly popular for a while, but interest is picking up. Nicknamed the ‘Roxy’, It first launched in 2003 and Kate Moss was often pictured wearing it. Mulberry released a miniature version of it in 2021, which fueled interest in its original archive style. You can still pick this up on the preowned market relatively inexpensively, so that would be my forecast and investment tip if you’re looking for an appreciating asset.
Our experts:
Charlotte Staerck, is the co-founder and CEO of leading luxury handbag restoration and preowned retailer, The Handbag Clinic. Founded in 2013, the Clinic operates through its flagship store in Chelsea, concessions across Newcastle, York and Colchester, and recently launched in-store concessions in Selfridges and Harrods. Through its integrated offering of ‘Buy, Sell, Restore, Authenticate’ The Handbag Clinic is the only fully circular platform solving the ‘end of life’ issue by adding value back into wardrobes through an ongoing loop of circularity. Built on a 25-year legacy of leather and fabric restoration, its mission is to preserve the past whilst mindfully reinventing for the future; it is a proud gatekeeper for sustainable luxury, ensuring its integrity and circularity for generations to come.
Emma is the Royals Editor at Woman&Home and specialises in everything from historic royal traditions to magnificent residences. She also covers the best outfits from the likes of the Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla and the Royal Family’s work to support important causes close to their hearts.
