Why I sold my Sézane Mini Milo Handbag
Hint: it's all about the details
I purchased this Sézane Mini Milo Bag in the color “Smooth Honey” in July 2023 for $435. I thought this was a smart purchase for many reasons:
Style - The style of this bag is very classic and very similar to the Saint Laurent Solferino or the Celine Teen Triomphe, but at a fraction of the cost. I love this style of handbag and thought it would get a lot of use.
Gold hardware - As someone who mainly wears gold toned jewelry, I loved that this handbag had a gold clasp on the front and buttons on the strap.
Adjustable strap - The strap on this handbag can be adjusted to two lengths and both lengths were flattering on my height and frame for a “shoulder bag” look vs a “crossbody” look.
Size - The “mini” size of this handbag was perfect for carrying all of my daily essentials without looking too bulky on my smaller frame.
Color - Although this handbag comes in several beautiful colors, I opted for a neutral tan color, thinking this would get the most wear.
Considering the price point and the positive characteristics of the bag, this should have been my everyday handbag used for running errands and casual outings. I was a little shocked to realize that since purchasing, I’d only worn this handbag 6 times, which is about $72.50 cost per fit. I found myself constantly reaching for my Lululemon Everywhere Belt Bag instead, which I don’t even track metrics for, since I had purchased it to be a technical “walk the dog” bag.
After 6 months of minimal wear, I decided to resell the mini Milo handbag to someone else who would give it more wear. What went wrong? I narrowed it down to three things:
Shade - Although I purchased the Sézane Mini Milo bag in a neutral “tan” color, “Smooth Honey” wasn’t quite the right shade of tan for me. I’ve realized a prefer a browner, deeper tan similar to the shades in the picture below. It may be a little hard to tell by these pictures, but “Smooth Honey” was a little too light and yellow for my preferences.
Clasp - Although I loved the look of the clasp, I found that it was really loud. If I were to open my handbag to pull something out and not close it right away, the top flap would fall onto the main body of the handbag and make a “clacking” sound. Even when the clasp was secured, I found that it rattled a little bit. Some of you may not mind this, but I found that it bothered me.
Leather - The smooth leather on this bag has absolutely no grain or sheen to it whatsoever. This means the bag can get easily scratched even if you’re careful. I found myself babying this handbag and for a bag that was supposed to be an everyday staple, this was not ideal. I know some say that scratches add character to a handbag, but I was afraid it would just look…beat up.
In the future, I’ll be more mindful of shades of color, hardware, and leather finishing. I ended up selling my handbag on Vestiaire for around $250, so this “learning moment” ended up costing me about $185. It’s okay, things happen!
As a quick note, Sézane did recently release the Claude Bag in a “Natural Heritage” color (pictured below), which is closer to the browner tan I prefer. I’ll be passing on this handbag due to the smooth leather and clasp still being an issue, but it might be a good fit for some of you!
Do any of you own the Sézane Mini Milo bag? If so, what do you love or not love about it?
Catch you next Sunday,
Cost per Fit 💰
loveee the way you broke this down! thanks for sharing!
This bag is very similar to my APC Grace (burgundy) and Eva (black) bags which I’ve worn for years and wear TONS. If you have a chance to touch one, I’d love to know your thoughts on it.
I’ve found brown is definitely a tricky colour to get right…you’re right that the shade is makes it or breaks it in terms of wearability! The clasps are secure on both my bags. The leather I think is similar and I’m mindful of scratching it but at the same time I don’t mind when things look a bit worn in.