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After years of looking at and admiring from a far, I finally decided to go ahead and purchase the Pochette Felicie from Louis Vuitton.
There was a time when this bag was inescapable and everyone seemed to want it. But in recent years, it seems like its popularity has waned, as many find the handbag impractical for their lifestyle.
Despite it currently trending downwards thought, for me I find this to be a bag that works for my needs. So for today’s blog, I want to dive into the fair criticism of this bag, why the bag works for me, as well as the things you should be aware of before deciding on if you want to purchase the Felicie.
Pochette Felicie Basics
Roughly translating to “lucky envelope” in English, the Pochette Felicie was released in 2015 as a wallet on chain style. And coming in at 8.3 L 4.7 W and 1.2 D, its a small bag indeed.
The original model comes with a beautiful Bijou chain that attaches to D rings on the side. The chain can be removed to wear the Felicie as a clutch, or it can be arranged to wear over the shoulder, crossbody or any other number of ways.
Inside, the Felicie features a textile lining with a slip pocket along the back that can be used to store thin objects, as well as two removable inserts— an 8 slot card holder with a slit pocket in the middle and an elongated zipper coin pouch.
Currently, the Felicie can be purchased in all 3 canvas prints, as well as in epi (which comes with a sliver hardware) and empreinte leathers in a variety of colors. At one point in the near past, Louis Vuitton did carry this piece in vernis leather. However it now seems to only be done for special limited edition collections.
The Pochette Felicie starts at $1,490.00 USD for the canvas options, and goes up from there.
My Felicie In Particular
I purchased my Felicie off of Fashionphile shortly after I purchased my Alma BB.
It is a beautiful Vernis leather in Rose Ballerine, form 2019 and was made in France (location doesn’t really mater to me but I know folks like to know).
It is in excellent condition with just the slightest color transfer on the back that could barely be seen.
It came with the golden bijou felicie chain and a dust bag. It was missing the two inserts, thought I was okay with that. I ended up finding a seller on Poshmark who was willing to sell me their card slot insert for a great price.
All in all, after taxes and with the 1 out of the 2 inserts purchased, I spent a total of $950.00 USD for my piece.
Criticism of the Pochette Felicie
This bag, as well as its new interpretation has a fair amount of criticism which should be considered if you are thinking about purchasing.
The first issue commonly brought up is its functionality.
While the bag is aesthetically beautiful, its more ridged structure an narrow depth really limit the useable space of this bag.
The two inserts that come with the Felicie will take up about half the real estate in your bag if you plan to use them. So most jut don’t.
I have found that its best to use the slip pocket that runs the length of the back more like a card holder so that I can have more space in the main cavity of the bag.
But even then, I still ill only be able to fit a few items in—a phone, a lipstick and a few other smaller items.
If you are not use to carrying a minimal complement, then this bag will not work for you.
A long with this being an ultra compact WOC style bag, some people also take issue with how impractical the bag is when you do have it packed.
Unless you only keep your cards and your phone in it, things end up stacked on top of each other. Which can be annoying for some on its own. But because of its snap button closure, if things aren’t lined up the fight way or if the bag is feeling over stuffed, the snap wont close.
This isn’t and issue unique to the Pochette Felicie, but because of its already limited capacity, it can become a problem faster for some.
The last major criticism I see for this bag is its every rising price.
The Felicie debuted at $875.00 USD back in 2015 and rose steadily in price up until 2020, when we started seeing dramatic price increases across the board.
While this was always an expensive style, it is definitely more so now for a bag that has limited uses.
For comparison, you can get a Speedy 25 for the same price as the Felicie and have a cute little bag that’s useful for multiple occasions.
Or, if you can spend a couple hundred extra, you can get a Neverfull that comes with its own Pochette that fits nearly the same amount as the Felicie does.
My point is, for the size and price, many people find that there are just better options for them, even within the house.
Ultimately, the Felicie is just too impractical for most peoples lives for it to warrant the grand expense. While I think the same could be said about the Chanel WOC as well, that bag is viewed as a classic and thus can command that higher price tag without folks blinking an eye.
Who the Pochette Felicie is For
Some bags have a really niche group of people they work for and I believe that to be true of the Felicie.
This bag functions best 1 of 2 ways: as a wallet that can be used on its own or inside larger bags, or as a small clutch that can be used to hold your bare necessities for a few hours.
I bought this bag because I wanted another small, dainty purse that I could use for date nights.
Since I only really need to carry my phone (which pretty much holds everything) maybe a card incase where were going doesn’t have Apple Pay, a lip product and a perfume, a smaller bag like this works prefect for me.
Since date nights and lunch dates are a regular occurrence for me coupled with the fact that I just prefer smaller, lighter bags because of my back injurgies, having the Felicie the rotate in and out of makes sense for my lifestyle.
Those who plan on using the Felicie as a nice wallet or a very expensive catch all in other bags will also find it fairly nice because as a wallet, it is very convenient and functional.
This is a simple bag made for simple use. And if you go into your purchase knowing this about the Felicie and plan specially to use it as the dainty WOC that it is and not a hand bag, you’ll probably be much happier with your purchase.
What Fits Inside?
Not much.
Again, I strongly believe that the Felicie should be viewed as a WOC and not a handbag because of its structure and size.
That said, if you are strategic and going to a place where you can comfortably fish around in your bag, you can fit your basics inside.
For my last date night out, in the back slip pocket, I was able to hold a hand wipe and a shout cleaning wipe, two cards and two flosser sticks.
Then in the main cavity, I held my phone, a powder compact, a perfume roller bottle, a Chanel duo lipstick, a small pill bottle, a small eye drop bottle and a hand sanitizer.
At that time I had lost my hand sanitizer bag charm so I wasn’t able to chip it to the outside of the purse. But generally I would.
Packing my bag this way, I had no issues closing it, nor did it feel bulgy. I did have to remove items though if I wanted to reach something at the bottom, so I would only recommend packing it like this if you’re going to be in a sit down situation. I imagine if you packed it like this while shopping it would only start to frustrate you.
Final Thought
The Pochette Felicie is a wonderful little bag, but she’s not for everyone.
I was drawn to its feminine looks and small size and think its prefect as a light, dinner/ lunch date bag.
While absolutely beautiful, this bag is expensive for what you’re getting, so if you can find a decent deal second hand, I would recommended that option over buying it new in store.
Of course, if you’re just looking for a small WOC style in generally, many companies offers beautiful WOC styles for a fraction of the cost of the Felicie. Even if you look within the Louis Vuitton House, you’ll find other options that will give you a bit more bang for your buck.
Alternatively, if you don’t mind paying extra, you can get the Chanel WOC, which will fit a similar amount but is a classic style and thus will hold its value for you a little better.
Overall I love my Felicie and think its a great piece for me and many others. But this would not be a bag I would recommend to everyone for the reasons stated above. If you are considering this bag, but feel some slight hesitation, I would recommend that you take a pause and look at what other options you may have available to you at the moment.
Anyways, are you considering the Pochette Felicie, or do you already have this bag? I would love to hear your thought on this bag down below!
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