Today's Trends, Elevated to Timeless Luxury.

How to buy second hand designer bags with a specialist's eye: condition grades, where wear hides, what codes can and cannot tell you, and the questions to ask before you pay.

The Speedy, Keepall, Noé, Alma and the classic totes, model by model: how to date a vintage Louis Vuitton bag, judge its patina and buy one that will last.

Every Louis Vuitton date code format from the early 1980s to the microchip, with worked examples, the workshop letters, and what a code can and cannot tell you.

Every Hermès bag carries a small letter that dates it. Here is the full year chart, where to find the stamp on each model, and what it really tells a buyer.

The sticker inside a Chanel bag dates it to within a year or two. Here is the full year table, where to find the number, and why it is never proof on its own.

The numbers inside a Gucci bag are a style code, not a date code. Here is what they mean, where to find them, and how to use them to check a pre-owned bag.

The Birkin 25, 30, 35 and 40 side by side: dimensions in cm and inches, what each one really holds, and how leather and construction change the size you should choose.

Every Kelly size from the Mini to the 40, with dimensions in cm and inches, what each one holds, and why a Kelly carries less than a Birkin of the same number.

The Picotin 14, 18 and 22 side by side, with the larger sizes too: dimensions in cm and inches, what each one holds, and how to decide between the 18 and the 22.