Gerard Darel is a quite recent house in the French leather goods and fashion industry. Darel has always been making clothes, even before it existed since the parents of both owners, Gérard and Danièle, were working in the textile industry in Alger.
When they got to Paris in the late sixties, they already had one thing in mind : they would create their own fashion brand. In 1971, Gérard Darel, the brand, was born in Paris… and was to make one quick and not so quiet way into the industry.
Their fashion line was immediately the talk of Paris and their blazers would be out of stock in no more than ten hours at the time !
Success came up but Gerard Darel’s globalisation really happened on a fortunate event at an auction, and it involved Jackie Kennedy… Well, Jackie Kennedy’s necklace, actually.
In 1996, Mrs. darel buys her pearls at Sotheby’s and decides to replicate the necklace into Darel’s collections : the media talk of it and it soon goes all around the planet. That is when Gerard Darel grew to be the huge brand we know.
After this first unexpected turn, Gerard and Danièle Darel played the auction game a few other times : Marilyn Monroe’s shirt, one of Proust’s manuscripts… that will also help people go and speak of Darel.
Struggles at the end of the 2000s brought Charlotte Gainsbourg and other celebrities to help the brand renew its image and go bigger.
The house whose 24h handbag is now a worldwide best-seller has done a lot to make its shine go back to what it was… and – I promise !! – their creations today are amongst the most beautiful it-bags !
Gérard Darel Saxo Bag 👜: classic & bohemian bucket bag
Gérard Darel is know for a low-key style, pure lines and clever folds. Saxo does go in the line of the Darel collections, as just as any model still doesn’t forget to carry a touch of fantasy.
The Saxo handbag is a bucket bag – this easy-going and a bit bohemian shape is pondered by the elegant rigidity of the smooth leather, bringing sophistication to the Saxo. Its little pompoms and the two handles – hands, sewed, and a shoulder strap, removable – make the Saxo a clever and sensual style asset.
You could think it has been seen, a good-looking bucket bag – well, forget about it : the Saxo has a uniqueness due to its design, fine leather and details that will for sure intrigue (if not seduce!) you.
Vidéo Saxo Handbag Review
Gérard Darel Simone Bag 👜: a Lady’s bag for the young spirited
Simone. What a name ah? In France, I must say, we don’t really name children “Simone” anymore. The deliciously quaint sound of it comes slowly back into fashion along with Louise, but it remains rare.
And that is precisely, I think, where the bag gets its name from : an elegant quaintness that finally breathes youth.
Simone is a Lady’s bag with a young spirit. Its very graphic shape, an almost square, made of different calf skin gives the Simone a perfect sophisticated, elegant look and so screams classy and classic.
But as you can see, there is more to Simone than classique : leather details looking like a pompom and a golden attach for the handles adds a little je ne sais quoi and distinguished yet cool vibe to it, makes it all. So please do run and go grab it – any silhouette will be rejuvenated as much as sophisticated, all of a sudden !
Gérard Darel 24h Bag 👜: the it-bag for it-women
Out of time, out of trends and outstanding – these are the words to describe Darel’s it-bag, born in 2003. Rumor has it that a 24h is sold every two seconds in the world. It even starred in a Desperate Housewives episode thanks to Eva Longoria, who basically fell in love with hers.
The 24h has its purpose in its own name : it is meant to be a women’s companion for 24h, from dropping the kids or your dog to daycare until – your daycare is also a nightcare in this hypothesis – the end of the night on the dance-floor.
Made of more than thirty pieces of leather, it is a must-have of refined leather crafting. Once you have it at your arm, once you’ve filled it with all you need for a day – water, snacks, a pair of sneakers or heels, you iPad… – you’re good to go and live your life to the fullest with the fullest and coolest of handbags !
The 24h Bag Video of Presentation
Gérard Darel Marilyn Bag 👜, the 24h crochet : Saint Tropez in the city
I see your eyebrow raising : you are guessing that I will not present you another 24h now. Well indeed, I am going to do even better. I am going to introduce you to the 24h handbag in a version that has, first, all the perks of the 2003 original one, second, a look unique and never seen.
The 24h crochet, is – the name tells it quite obviously – made of a finely knitted body that resembles the 24h’s shape yet has something more, something holiday-like and sophisticated at the same time. Whether in Mykonos, Saint Tropez or any staycation you’d like, it will be your all-time favourite bag.
Anyway, if you are a woman with a strong style, a deep personality, you are just in front of the perfect bag. Boho and cool, easy going and versatile, it will get you anywhere, even in the workplace!, with a look that is your own and unique style. So walk with a straight back and low-key attitude : this handbag will lead your steps.
Gérard Darel Micro GD Bag 👜: the party girl’s companion
Thought of as a tiny – very tiny – version of the 24h bag, the Micro GD is a handbag for women who dare going out with nothing but a phone, sunglasses and a pack of cigs and a lighter. Sorry – that’s the French coming out – let’s say a pack of chewing gums!
The Micro GD is a party gal’s handbag. Let’s not fool ourselves, you really can’t go the whole day with it – you can’t fit a girl’s life in the Micro GD. But well, isn’t it pretty and cute? If you are a woman who goes for style before practical, you have found your match.
The Micro 3D is for daring women. Women of the kind who don’t need much but their iPhone and confidence when you go out. And god how liberating is that? So please, be that Micro GD woman who needs very little to be herself and herself only – with the help of a how fashionable handbag – to go out and shine.
Gérard Darel M box Bag 👜: the Instagram friendly style asset
The M box is incredibly versatile. Not so much because it can be worn different ways but because it can be worn in any imaginable way. You are a streetwear addict? Go for it! You are a vintage lover? Go for it! You are going to a party? Go. For. It.
This little flap bag from Darel’s recent collections is as cute as a kitten… but its style is sharp like a shark tooth. Smooth leather, a golden chain as a strap with a leather padding for you to be comfy, rivets as a detail and, engraved in the letter, a signature : Gérard Darel. This bag is elegance mixed with modernity. And that might well be what the “M” stands for.
With the M box, Darel strikes right where they needed : straight to our fashionistas’ hearts. A dream made true and made in high quality leather is everything you need to be happy, right?
Gérard Darel Lady Cabas 👜 : “Où est le Bon Marché?”
I have talked to you before about cabas, these luxury shopping bags that were made because… who needs a tote when you can have a giant leather companion at your arm? Well, the Lady Cabas is one of a kind with its simple design and perfect crafting.
Its elegance resides in its classicality and elementariness : two handles and the cody of the bag, with an inside zip pockets for your keys and phone. It shouts clarity and practicality.
But that would be a shame to stop at this point. Because the leather has a charming grain, the handles are graphic and sewed with precision and grace. Little details like threads of different colours make a difference and bring light and elegance to the Lady Cabas.
Go for this bag if you are a wanderer, a busy woman, someone who likes the delicacy of simplicity. There is no faux-pas possible with Lady Cabas : even with its big size, the design makes it a perfect shopper’s style asset.
Gérard Darel Miss Belt Bag 👜 : for a walk in the countryside
Flap bags are the 2019 it-bags – small but not too small, easy to carry around and often really well designed for modern women, you can’t help but falling in love.
Thing is, it is hard to stand out in a crowd of handbags that are just the same size and roughly same shape as you. Gérard Darel well understood that with its Miss Belt bag.
Miss Belt as something bucolic and rural, like a bag made for picking up flowers and fruits. Extremely simple in its design, Miss Belt gets its charm from that British country-side vibe : this flap bag with this curved fold has definitely something to seduce us.
Gérard Darel strikes cleverly with Miss Belt : the buckles on the shoulder strap add even more to the discreet yet obvious elegance of the handbag. Don’t hesitate a moment if you are the kind of dreamy urban woman who needs a bit of charming rurality in her wardrobe, to go along with her linen tee-shirts and camel flats.
Midday GD Bag 👜: the working girl’s handbag
The signature of the Midday GD are the two zippers at the centre of the bag. Very recognisable, the midday GD is absolutely modern and even a bit rock and roll amongst the rest of the Gérard Darel handbags collection !
Created as the brother of the 24h, the Midday is a day-time handbag, conceived to be as practical as sexy, and… as useful and witty as the 24h ! The Midday has something more efficient and technique though. A strap with padding for comfort, buckles, a half curved look… it is a modern woman’s bag.
The Midday kind of woman goes to lunch with friends, has always something to write her ideas in her handbag as well as many other accessories meant to ease her busy life.
There is nothing to stop that woman, who’d rather sit at night with a cup of tea or a detox juice watching Netflix rather than go out and kill it on the dance-floor. But be careful : that doesn’t mean she doesn’t when she sets her mind on it…
A French brand with low-key French attitude
What is quite delightful about all the Gérard Darel bags I just reviewed is how versatile, adaptable and not so French they are.
Maybe that is a reason for the 24h’s success overseas – after seeing Eva Longoria wear it and watching an add starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and the precious handbag, it happened that celebrities just snapped and ran to their phone to contact Darel and get their own 24h.
The most famous instant crush for the 24h is Angelina Jolie’s, who, rumour has it, had made a scene to get hers for she yearned it so much !
Gérard Darel has a not son long history with handbags but sure knew how to conquer women, through understanding their needs and passions.
And, just like their clothing lines, the people at Gérard Darel are quite used to ‘out of stock’ items in their stores…
History will tell if their taste and intuition will remain the same, and if not, you can just go to your favourite vintage store for an authentic 2003 24h bag !
