How I Style My Alexander McQueen Bucket Bag

I’ve been lusting after bucket bags ever since I first spied the now iconic Mansur Gavriel bucket bag. I do believe that Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel redefined the bucket bag with their new minimalist take on the bag shape. Let’s face, they were a little Kate Moss at Glastonbury in 2003 before their sleek and simple bag launched.

Of course, getting your paws on a Mansur Gavriel is nigh on impossible. Every fashionista is after one so demand has more than outstripped supply. While keeping a beady eye on the Mansur Gavriel social media accounts to see when a new drop was hitting, I scoured London for the perfect bucket bag. Which is a LOT harder than it might sound. Alexander Wang’s Diego is super heavy, the Saint Laurent Emmanuelle is too small, you see the dilemma?

I finally stumbled upon the dream bag – Alexander McQueen’s padlock bucket bag. I did the usual stalking for a month or so then eventually bought the bag back in November. I know, I kept that one quiet. It hadn’t even hit Instagram til this month. Sorry about that.

What I love about the McQueen bag is that it’s so simple, the logo is extremely discrete, the leather is plain and there’s only a small skull detail on the side. C’est tout. The leather isn’t shiny like the Mansur Gavriel, which means it’s not so susceptible to being ruined by a scratch, the leather is soft but durable – essential for Tube commute. Pretty sparse inside, there are three pockets and it is a little like a Tardis as my keys/Oyster Card/eyeliner are always getting lost in it but it’s no biggie.

In terms of styling, as it’s such a simple bag it’s become my everyday, go-to bag and I just sling it over my shoulder. Admittedly it’s not great for super dressy, evening shindigs but for work, post-work drinks and weekends it’s absolutely perfect. Here are a little taster of how I’ve been styling my bag: