Hobo Bag
Puffer Hobo Bag, Pink (16.9 in)
15.9 x 16.9 x 1.8 in · puffer
4.2 out of 5 · 89 ratings$19.99
Our story
How WESTBRONCO began, and what we have kept
We began in 2017 with one bag and one complaint. The leather shoulder bag one of us carried every day weighed more empty than the laptop inside it, and by six in the evening it had left a red line across one shoulder. We wanted the opposite of that bag: soft against the body, light enough to forget, roomy enough for a phone, a wallet, keys, a paperback and a bottle of water.
The answer turned out to be quilting. Two layers of nylon with a thin layer of wadding between them hold a shape on their own. No frame, no stiff board in the base, no metal feet. A WESTBRONCO bag keeps its silhouette because of the way it is sewn, and that is the whole trick. Take the frame out and you take most of the weight out with it.
One shape, then five
The crescent came first because it is the shape that sits closest to the body. A curved base follows the hip instead of swinging away from it, and a short strap keeps the weight high, where your shoulder can take it. Everything after that answered a question someone asked us. The crossbody came from people who wanted both hands free. The tote came from people who carry a laptop. The small backpack came from parents and from anyone who walks to work.
The wallets came last and they are the WESTBRONCO staples we are quietest about. A wristlet that holds a phone, four cards and a key is the difference between carrying a bag on a Saturday and carrying nothing at all.
| Department | Pieces | Sizes we make | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crescent Bags | 47 | 5.5 to 12.2 in | $9.99 |
| Crossbody Bags | 44 | 7.5 to 13.4 in | $11.99 |
| Shoulder & Hobo Bags | 31 | 10.0 to 16.9 in | $9.09 |
| Tote Bags | 20 | 8.9 to 17.5 in | $12.99 |
| Backpacks | 13 | 9.5 to 15.9 in | $7.99 |
| Wallets & Wristlets | 64 | 4.3 to 17.5 in | $6.34 |
| Belt Bags & Travel | 27 | 7.1 to 32.0 in | $4.99 |
What quilted nylon does, and what it does not
Nylon shrugs off a drizzle and wipes clean with a damp cloth. It does not care about a coffee ring the way suede does. It is water resistant, which is not the same as waterproof: a walk from the car in the rain is fine, an hour in a downpour with a paper notebook inside is not. We would rather say that here than let you find it out in November.
Quilting also has a cost we do not hide. A puffy bag has no hard edges, so it will not stand up on its own when it is empty, and a laptop rides better in the models where we sewed a padded sleeve than in the ones where it does not. Each piece in the range says which it is.
Colour is half the work
The WESTBRONCO philosophy on colour is a quiet palette: powder pink, rose, khaki, sand, sage, ivory, black. These are colours that sit under a coat in February and next to a linen dress in July. We repeat a shade across silhouettes on purpose, so a wristlet can match the tote it lives in, and we keep a shade in the range for as long as the fabric mill keeps making it.
That is the whole of it. Light bags, quiet colours, honest limits. If a piece does not do something, the page for that department says so.
