Lancel is one of the oldest Parisian luxury brand : not only is it part of the French capital city fashion culture but has been literally designing it since 1876 !
Specialised in the accessory business, Lancel started with making cigarette cases before it became the well-known luxury brand we know.
Then, Angèle Lancel and her son became amongst the first to popularise handbags : Arletty, Edith Piaf… all these French icons were fans and loved shopping their cigarette cases along with the matching bag !
What made Lancel go big at the time it was created ? The Parisiennes taste for smoky terrasses, endless parties and elegance at any time.
Free-spirited women got all their accessories at Angèle Lancel’s small shop… which soon grew to a 4 stairs shop and workshop near the Opera.
“Ingenious luxury” and a strong understanding of women and style
Lancel thrived thanks to a fine sense of what women need : in 1927, Lancel launches its iconic bucket bag – simple, supple, finely designed with great leather, this is the brand first best-seller.
And actually still is, in 2019. Think of that Elsa bucket bag : its design was drawn from the original 1927’s lines !
Modern, colourful, witty : Lancel made a name based on a cunning sense of modernity and knew how to export that chic French-Boulevard spirit around the world as early as the 1970s. Let us show you our top 10 Lancel handbags and tour you through the collections of an iconic French brand : c’est parti !
Lancel’s Premier Flirt 👜 : the 2000s best-seller
Best-seller since the first day of its lauch, the Premier Flirt is an elegant and versatile descendant of the first Lancel bucket bags, the Seau and the Elsa.
Big but not too big, elegant without getting boring and – last but not least – available in a very wide range of colours and leathers, the Premier Flirt indeed is quite a womaniser… and so many falls for it that the bag is often out of stock and on waiting lists.
A handbag calls for practicality and style and the Premier Flirt has it all : it is quite impossible not to crush on the fine details, sewings and available nuances, as well as the many pockets, inside and outside.
The tone in 2019 was set by sportswear : elegance bound to comfort and usefulness were key to many outfits. Lancel didn’t wait until 2019 to make it happen with the Premier Flirt : this bag is what women had been asking for, and it has been since the early 2000s.
Vidéo Review First Flirt Lancel Bag
Artists and Lancel : The Dali handbag 👜
A bike chain on a handbag? Lancel did it! In 1970, Salvador Dali collaborated with the French brand to issue a not so usual and how spectacular handbag.
If Dali was known for his many contributions to Elsa Schiaparelli’s work, it is with Lancel that he created this handbag for his wife Gala. The pictograms on the leather were all drawn from La Toile Daligram, a work of art previously made by the artist.
In 2011, the French maison decided to reissue this quite unique handbag Dali designed for Lancel in the “Daligramme” collection : the pictograms from Dali’s work were either printed or carved in leather… and some even kept the signature bike chain on the handle !
They’re now vintage must-have : you will no longer find these bags available in Lancel stores but you might come across a nice one online or in a specialised thrift shop.
Lancel The Romane bag 👜 : a tiny piece of chic
A piece of jewellery to be taken out as a bag, or a bag thought of as jewellery? The Romane bag is a really pretty, feminine handbag with a tiny size.
It can be a companion by day or night, whatever the weather, especially if the weather outside is a bit dull or your outfit somehow (too) simple.
Born only a few month ago, the Romane handbags line is an ode to a vintage-inspired modernity, to femininity and practicality…
Lancel made once more a point to be a women’s go-to brand through crystallising the whims of the moment.
Talking of crystallising, the model chosen for the campaign is Louise Follain : who better to embody Lancel’s French frivolity and glee?
Discover Lancel’s Romane handbag
Lancel Oh Oui Ninon 👜 ! Youthful and elegant
Versatile, elegant and available in a really wide range of colours, Lancel’s Ninon bag is the most youthful and urban piece of the latest collections.
Supple leather and graphically perfect, it is a great rock’n’roll yet day-to-day item to add to a wardrobe.
Definitely made for a woman who runs, parties, loves to hang out with friends and has a great sense of style and basic items, it was revealed at the hands of the aforementioned Louise Follain.
The Ninon’s handle is a mix of metal chain and leather which allows to carry it in a variety of manner : night or day, day or night, this handbag is a living proof of Lancel’s understanding of active women’s need.
Daily, Ninon hangs on the shoulder ; in the evening, let’s show off and hang it at the elbow…. and many more possibilities are to imagine ! Rock this bag as it will rock your attitude.
Vidéo Lancel Ninon Bag
Lancel’s Pia handbag 👜 : posh and graphic !
With a logotype recently drawn from the archive by Lancel’s designers, Pia is a handbag designed to be as pure and elegant as possible.
A sense of old school charm as well as strict, contemporary aesthetics make the success and beauty of the Pia bag thanks to its very square shape.
The Pia line has a very posh Parisienne style : square, radical, almost too simple but so well executed and finely made that it becomes a crime calling it simple !
Ideal for daily errands, workplace fluff – with style –, Pia is not as versatile as its fellow Lancel handbags but will sure satisfy the most demanding, classic and radical fashion lovers.
Vidéo Lancel Pia Handbag
Lancel’s Le Clic 👜 : retro-future
Inspired by the brand’s archives, Le Clic is one of the latest creations of Lancel. On le Clic, a signature clasp imagined decades ago is reborn : two metal screw and a rectangular attach make the look and practicality of the bag. Like a jewell, this oversize clasp is the master piece of the handbag.
A very graphic look, many zippers added to the precious clasp make this bag both a manifest to the rock mood Lancel is setting ever since the early 2000s but also to the love for precious and clever vintage reissue.
Fierce and classy, the modern woman finds her alter-ego in Le Clic, whether in its tiny or big version. Launched very recently, the Clic is on its way to become a real bestseller all around the world !
The Clic Lancel Handbag in Vidéo
Lancel’s Charlie handbag 👜 : a newbie gone classic
Created in 2014 by Nicole Stulman, Charlie is inspired by Lancel’s travel collections from the 1960s.
Ten days after Charlie was launched, the handbag was already out of stock and on waiting lists : a “it-bag” was born !
The original bag behind Charlie was a travel bag, quite rigid, that the designer redesigned in a smaller size and softer leather – more graphic, very practical and modernised, Charlie ought to be a everlasting piece of chic amongst Lancel’s collections through the years.
Modern is a word I use and use again here for one reason : Lancel is the manufacturer of modernity. So much so that Charlie was one of the first ever bags of the brand to have its prototype made thanks to a 3D printer !
Presentation Lancel Charlie Bag
Lancel’s Lison 👜 : the charm of discretion and details
Louison has the business-woman kind of vibe that both pleases the eyes as much as looks flattering on any outfit. Graphic lines, noble leather, fine details and sewings make the perfection of this rather recent model with a 50s set of mind.
“Ingenious luxury” is how Lancel describes its ADN : mission accomplished with the Lison handbag and its soft but fierce, simple but full of wit design.
Not to mention that Lison, as precious as it looks, was first thought of a mere shopping bag for women with a sharp style.
Wether on a business trip or dining at the top of the Eiffel Tower, Lison is the embodiment of what a chic and classy Parisienne needs and wants !
Lancel Lison Handbag Presentation
Lancel’s B.Bardot 👜 : Brigitte is an aquired taste
Lancel has a habit of collaborating with artists and inspirational women : after actress Isabelle Adjani, the brand had a bag designed and named after the 60s French icon, Brigitte Bardot.
Now only available in vintage stores, the Bardot is a must-have collectors’ piece. Bardot did not collaborate per se with Lancel’s artistic director to make this bag.
He picked up hundreds of photographs of the French star and put up features, attitudes, manners that he wanted the handbag to reflect.
Bardot’s curved called for a bucket shape, her long blond hair for long pompoms and the handle is designed in honour of the well known headband she usually wore while on holiday in the south of France.
The Bardot is a handbag for chic bohemian nights and sunny beaches… and a total best-seller even now.
Lancel’s le Huit 👜 : the eighth marvel?
The bucket bag is a Lancel’s classic shape since 1927. Le Huit is a mix of the iconic shape and Lancel’s more rock’n’roll attitude from the 2010s.
With black of dark red leather, metal chains and details, this handbag sets the mood for a chic yet rebel silhouette.
Clever handles and sexy leather curves – thank you, bucket shape ! – are as sexy as they are ingenious. Le Huit is a condensed piece of elegance and bohemian luxury imagined for the 2010s’ Parisienne.
She travels, listens to rock and pop music but knows when to (pretend to?) be a sage woman. Fantasy and grace were the two words on Lancel’s mood board, it seems.
A hundred and forty years separate us from the creation of Lancel by Angèle Lancel, the witty, creative, emancipated women who made it all happen in the late XIXth century.
A hundred and forty years but no wrinkles can be spot in the brand’s ADN, apart from those on the leather of vintage handbags.
Lancel has always been a brand for modern women, all through the years, and always knew how to catch the spirit of the moment and the practical needs of women at all times.
Investing in a Lancel bag is all at once a great pleasure, a promise of a lasting relationship with the item, an act in the name of usefulness linked with great femininity.
The harder part is managing to chose which bag to (cleverly) indulge to… and I hope this article will help you chose your perfect handbag !
A day with LE HUIT Lancel Bag
A note on vintage vs. contemporary creations
Lancel has a long history of creating first choice resistant, lasting, out-of-trend handbags and accessories and make it a brand of choice while shopping vintage.
The many bestsellers that were created through the years are not always available at Lancel’s stores and must be found on websites and shops that are vintage specialists.
Most of the actual best-sellers – Premier Flirt, Charlie, Ninon… – are to be found vintage or at Lancel’s stores.
You can choose colours and details online and make a reservation to have a look at them at physical Lancel stores or buy online through the websites.
As for vintage only items, you have to keep in mind that if you are buying online you need to purchase your bag on a secured market place, with real guarantee of the conformity of the picture compared to the item you are willing to buy.
A handbag is a day to day companion you are going to keep, share, give to your daughters even ! With Lancel, you are sure to get a lasting piece of fierce womanhood and style, so enjoy your purchase in the best conditions !
