My Sézane Claude bag review is that I absolutely love it. It’s #1 on my list of preferred Sézane bags (topping the Milo, which I equally think is basically perfect). Here’s how it all breaks down.
The Sézane Claude: Quick Specs
Dimensions: 6.1 x 2.6 x 7.9 in / 15.5 x 6.5 x 20 cm — it fits more than I expect, just looking at it
Strap length: 20.5 in / 52 cm — I’m 5’4″ and for the strap drop, on me, it hits at the high hip worn crossbody, and upper thigh worn on the shoulder.
Weight: 550 g / 1 pound, 3.4 oz. It’s not light but it’s not, like, a burden.
Materials: Bag: Cowhide leather. Lining: Cotton. (The one exception is the woven straw, with the main body made 80% of cotton-polyamide textile and 20% cowhide leather.)
Top 5 Claude Picks
Colors available: Glossy black, glossy chocolate, glossy burgundy, smooth blue denim, smooth honey, leopard, ecru and black snakeskin, woven straw, moss green, and chocolate croco print
Preferred colors (in order): Woven straw, chocolate croco print, glossy black, glossy chocolate, and smooth honey
Prices (noting that who knows how tariffs will affect this in the months to come): $450/€. (The woven straw, with less leather, is slightly cheaper at $435.)
Made: Italy
The Sézane Claude: What Fits Inside
More than you might expect! What I can get inside: a book, my phone (a large Pixel 9), my wallet, an Instax Mini, sunglasses, sunscreen, a Moleskine notebook, pens and pencils, etc. (Not the Instax and the book/notebook at the same time.)
The Sézane Claude: Comfort, Strap & Sizing
This is a classic pocketbook, if you know what I mean. It’s substantial, and it fits more inside than it might seem from the images. I usually wear it crossbody, though it goes on the shoulder in the winter when bulky coat season arrives.
I really like to weigh my bags up with stuff. While it does fit more than you’d expect, this is still a smallish bag, and the total weight is always much lighter than my usual tote bag haul, with my laptop and a couple books and general detritus. Note that the half-moon shape means that you lose some volume at the bottom.
Materials & Build Quality
Sézane bags are sewn in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, with some of the raffia bags made in Madagascar, using cowhide leather for the bag itself and cotton for the lining.
The Claude doesn’t feel like a Burberry or Celine bag, when the leather grain really comes to the fore, but I find the Claude to have a medium- to high-quality feel and finish. The glossy bags have more of that sense of “plastic-y-ness” than the matte-ish finishes, so if you want to avoid this, I would avoid the glossy ones.
My favorite part of the Claude is the clasp, which is a sort of stylized S and I find very beautiful. I haven’t noticed deterioration on this part of the bag, but if and when I do, I will cry.
I think the bag’s build quality is most evident in the versions that sort of make its construction clearest — like the woven straw, where the leather trim is such a lovely detail.
Wear & Tear After 14 Months
I’m mostly happy with how my Claude has aged.
A couple caveats: I love the woven straw, but I didn’t ultimately didn’t buy it because I was worried that it wouldn’t age well — that the woven straw would deteriorate faster than a bag like this (read: that costs this much) should. I was similarly worried about the glossy black: A black bag seems to me like a smart choice for a mid-three-figure bag, but I was concerned that the gloss wouldn’t wear well.
The clasp (which I’m obsessed with) shows no notable wear. This is some gentle wear around the top of the shoulder strap.
Now, as to scratches: I’ve been pretty lucky, and I’ve been very very gentle with this bag, but I’ve heard and seen elsewhere that it can be prone to taking on scratches. If this is something that is a concern, I recommend watching this video, which shows how one owner of a Mini Milo) buffed them out using Sézane’s leather conditioner:
Style & Outfits
I chose the natural leather because I wanted something I could wear with most everything. For me, this has become my go-to day bag when I’m doing anything more substantial than running errands on my own. My ideal outfit with this bag, for summer:
- Vintage Levi’s jean shorts
- A cute top
- Vejas
And for fall, a slight variation:
- Madewell high-rise, wide-cut jeans
- A different cute top
- Vejas
I’m less inclined to go for this during the winter, or in the evening. I don’t like wearing crossbodies with heavy coats, and the Victor is a much better choice for nighttime.
Speaking of, comparing the Claude to the Milo, Mini Milo, and Victor:
| Bag | Volume | Price | # Colors | Top Color | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | 2.015* liters | $435-$450 | 16(!) | Woven straw | The ideal, go-to crossbody |
| Milo | 1.836 liters | $475 | 7 | Chocolate croco | Literally more square |
| Mini Milo | 1.14 liters | $435-$460 | 4 | Gold patchwork | V small, v styley |
| Victor | 4 liters* | $375-$390 | 3 | Black croco print | Suitable for low-key evening |
* While the Milo and Mini Milo are rectangular prisms, the Claude has a half-moon bottom, and the Victor tapers slightly toward the top, so their calculated volumes are higher than their usable volumes.
Price/VAT/Where to Buy
The Claude is $450 — except for the woven straw, which is $435. This is most unfortunate, as it’s just €345 in France — and after VAT refund, that falls to about €305. (Read all about VAT refunds here.) That’s $357 by today’s exchange rate. So you just need to buy about seven to make it worth flying over from New York. (Depending on fares lol.)
