Wash Bag Guide

The Who’s Who of Leather Wash Bags

Now some may say that the wash bag is at the very bottom of the pile when talking about stylish leather bags. It’s true you can’t flaunt your wash bag, and swing it from your elbow, to and fro, when you’re out on the town. It’s also true that you can’t sling your wash bag over your shoulder, like a backpack and then abseil down a cliff.

Wash bags just aren’t those kind of bags.

They’re sensitive to your needs – they're creatures of habit. They like being opened in the morning and at night but during the day they prefer to be left alone. They enjoy this quiet time.

Although you can stereotype wash bags and pigeon hole them to a degree they still do vary in character and it’s important that you get the right one to make your unique life that little bit fuller and easier to manage, especially when on your travels.

So where should we start? There are several factors which make wash bags different from one another – leather (quality and colour), size (very important), storage options (aka zippability) and finally price (some can be very expensive, so we’ve ignored those within this information).

Let’s Start Small

These smaller ‘cousins’ to the wash bag are often referred to as shaving kit bags which, to be honest, is a mouthful but it does describe them very well.

They are very similar to the new breed of small wash bags known as beard grooming bags (or dopp kits). These can be slightly on the ‘uber trendy’ side of things at the moment and health and hygiene rarely seems to be taken into consideration by many of the owners but who can argue with modern fashion trends.

These smaller wash bags are great if you’re not big on toiletries or plan to use it mainly whilst travelling. They’re generally more affordable too.

Here we have some little-uns, both have wonderfully tactile leather and show different types of personalization that some of the better wash bag makers offer:

Vida Vida Small Shaving Kit Bag
Small yet perfectly formed.

Shaving Kit Bag In Leather

Vida Vida Beard Grooming Bag
We can include beard grooming products inside this if you order it from us

Vida Vida Beard Grooming Dopp Kit



Moving Up To The Mid-size Wash Bags

This is where it’s at for most hombres – big enough to keep toiletries in at home but small enough for travelling too. One word – versatile. That said there is still a huge diversity within the mid-size range.

  • Do you want more than one zip pocket?
  • Do you want to be able to hang it up?
  • Do you want a waterproof lining?
  • Do you want a more standard personalization such as gold embossed initials or something more sentimental, such as your own child’s drawing, laser engraved onto it?
  • Do you like classic, simple and functional or all singing all dancing?

To be honest I don’t know – only you do – but here’s a few examples to whet your appetites and show you just how eclectic and crazy the mid-sized selection of wash bags can be.

Vida Vida Leather Wash Bag with Child's Masterpiece 
We can engrave your own unique drawing onto this one.
Leather Wash Bag with Laser Engraved Picture

Vida Vida Leather Wash Bag 
Dark brown with gold initials

Dark Brown Leather Wash Bag With Initials

Vida Vida Zip Bottom Leather Wash Bag

Zip Bottom Leather Wash Bag Brown Tan

How About The Large Wash Bags?

There’s no messing around with these guys – you’re going to need to check in your luggage if you want to take these suckers away on your hols with you (unless this is all you are traveling with.

More compartments and as a general rule more bonus features, these tend to be the priciest of all the breeds of leather wash bag – particularly if you’re going for a well-known, high end brand.

But we think quality and function are the key things to think about here.
Here’s a couple of examples just to show who the real pimps of underground wash bag world are – if they could drink, it’d be all about the Cristal baby…

Vida Vida Leather Wash Bag with Strap

Brown Black Leather Wash Bag with Strap

Vida Vida 3 Zip Leather Wash Bag

3 Zip Wash Bag In Real Leather

Vida Vida Luxe Vintage Leather Wash Bag

Vintage Leather Wash Bag - Tan


And finally we couldn’t forget about the wash bag known as the freak, amongst other wash bags (they can be oh so cruel sometimes).

The hanging wash bag… de de daaar!

It’s really not as scary as some may tell you, it may look nothing like it’s family but it’s multi-compartmental, it hangs in the shower or bathroom and it quickly rolls up for easy stowing in the suitcase. In our book, an absolute gem of a wash bag, but we love all of our wash bags equally – you can’t have favourites.

Vida Vida Hanging Leather Wash Bag

Hanging Large Leather Wash Bag

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