I Lived With the STOW London East West Curve Bag for a Month. Here's My Honest Review
Alice Hartwell
Are these British bags worth the investment?
High-quality leather rarely comes cheap, and it’s not often you find a brand delivering above expectations when it comes to quality at a fair price point. STOW London, however, might just be changing that.
I’ve spent the past few weeks toting its best-selling East West Curve bag around, and I have some thoughts. Keep scrolling for my full review and whether STOW London is a brand worth investing your pennies in.
STOW’s East West Curve bag is a standout from the brand’s popular Curve collection. Made in Ubrique from LWG-certified pebbled leather, it’s formed with a sculptural silhouette that still feels soft and relaxed.
The small, mountainous town in southern Spain is renowned for its leather craftsmanship, with a rich history of producing luxury leather goods for some of the world’s biggest luxury brands.
The bag has a magnetic closure and comes with both a top handle and crossbody strap, so you can easily switch up depending on how you want to style it on any given day.
It currently retails for £525, placing it firmly within the mid-luxury price point.
While there are nine earthy shades of the East West Curve bag to choose from, I opted for Mocha. (The true minimalist that I am.) You can also shop the style in a selection of finishes, including suede.
These aren’t bags that will hang around forever, though. STOW works on a small-batch production model, making and selling just 5,000 bags each year as part of its commitment to considered craftsmanship and quality.
About
While the bag comes with the option of an attachable strap, I wore it solely by the handle. (I’m just not really a crossbody girl.)
The first thing I immediately noticed when taking it out was just how soft and luxurious the leather felt. It’s beautifully malleable, but not to the point of feeling flimsy or losing its structure entirely.
That said, when the bag isn’t completely full, the flap closure can cave in slightly. It’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, but something to consider if you prefer a bag to maintain its sculptural shape at all times.
At 16.5cm high and 33cm wide, it’s fairly generous for an everyday bag. It’s not quite roomy enough to take travelling, but for a lunch date with a few errands afterwards? Plenty of space.
This definitely feels like a bag you could invest in and still be toting around in 10 years’ time. The clean, sophisticated silhouette feels utterly timeless, working just as well for daytime as it does for evening soirées.
The leather itself, while beautifully soft, also feels surprisingly durable. It’s the kind of bag I’d feel comfortable using regularly without constantly worrying about every little scuff or mark.
Everything You Can Fit In the STOW London East West Curve Bag
As this bag is unlined, you can fit rather a lot inside. Here’s everything I managed to fit, with room for more:
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- Sunglasses
- Power bank
- Cardholder
- Hairbrush
- Airpods
- Lipstick/balm (given the occasion)
Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing STOW London can truly be admired for, it’s its commitment to consistently sourcing high-quality leather and offering the finished product at a relatively accessible price point.
If you value craftsmanship and quality over bags that chase trends with a little more pomp, you’ll love the East West Curve—and, I’m sure, many of STOW’s other leather goods. These are investment bags that do exactly what they say on the tin, with the leather credentials to back it all up.
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