During my last vacation, my Missoni for Target carry-on finally bit the dust. It was able to hold together through the whole vacation but I noticed it had started to come apart at a seam that couldn’t be repaired. It made me really sad as it went everywhere with me – Italy, New York, Vegas many times, San Diego, San Francisco and SE Asia. It was always easy to spot among the sea of black and gray.

Thus began my search for a new travel buddy. I have always wanted a leather weekender and originally considered the Transport Weekender. But I also wanted something that could be rolled around instead of being carried everywhere. Because of that, I turned my focus to an actual suitcase. I knew I wanted something chic and I love the look of the old vintage style steamer trunks and cases. That took me to Steamline and Globe-Trotter, which would be fabulous to have, but I just couldn’t justify the price. I know they are well made but for most of the year, it would be in a closet, unseen.

I finally found something that is so chic and that I absolutely love from Amazon. I bought the Vanity Case and the Small Carry-on. Against my better judgement, I chose the white with dark brown accents and straps. I just couldn’t resist the white over the other colors, knowing full well it will get dirty. There are some covers for them but even though that would keep them clean I wouldn’t be able to show them off.

They items came from Japan and took about a week, which was quicker than I expected. The material is PVC/PU and the brown does look a little cheap. The small trunk is a carry-on size and so lightweight, especially compared to my last bag. I could have used it in place of a kettle ball for workouts.

The vanity case can sit on top of the small trunk and there is a little strap that you can hook around the handle so nothing falls off.

The inside of the small trunk. There’s a small pocket on the top. The bottom has a cover, with another zip pocket, so that everything looks nice and neat.

So there is one thing bothers me about this trunk. The poles for the pull-out handle take up a little room inside the trunk. You don’t start out with a flat bottom. Now, I haven’t seen, or even been able to find, pictures of the inside of the Steamline or Globetrotter trunks so I don’t know if they have the same issue. For the price, I doubt it. If you roll your clothes then you can work with this issue. Sometimes I roll, sometimes I use additional inserts.

I’m all packed! I have six outfits in here including pants, shorts, a dress and tops. They are all Summer items so the material is thinner than a sweater, but everything fit comfortably. The leather straps that you see buckle and there are two key locks on either side.

The vanity case has two pockets on one side but no cover on the other. Since there is no pull-out handle, the bottom is flat. I have some additional shoes underneath my toiletries and make-up bags. The leather straps snap to the case and there is a combination lock for the case. I’ve actually used this case for weekend trips to see our friends in Dallas.

The wheels on the small trunk spin and the handle is easy to pull out. The proportion is good for me and not overwhelming. I always hate to see people struggling with such large bags. I think I’d rather have two small trunks than one large suitcase to manage.

In addition to the small strap to connect around the handles, the vanity case also comes with an over-the-shoulder strap.

I am contemplating ordering the Medium size, with a cover, so that it would be more useful traveling during Winter or for longer trips, when I need more clothes. Of course, I also hate checking a bag so I may just get another small trunk. I did use this a few weeks ago traveling to Vegas. I was forced to check the small trunk on the way there and it did get dirty and a little scuffed up. When I got home I got a little baking soda and water and made a little paste and all the dark scuffs and dirt came right off. I did choose fashion over function with these two bags but I’m really pleased with my purchases.