Every Kelly Size Compared25, 28 & 32 — three bags, three lives

The number is the width in centimetres. Verified dimensions run 25 × 19 × 9 cm, 28 × 22 × 10 cm and 32 × 23 × 10.5 cm (width × height × depth). Here is how they compare across what a buyer actually weighs — bars are qualitative, not scores.

Treat dimensions as the frame, not the whole story: a structured Sellier 28 in Epsom and a soft Retourné 28 in Togo carry very differently at identical measurements. Every Kelly ships with a detachable shoulder strap, but the smaller the bag, the more it wants to be carried in the hand.

At 25 cm the Kelly reads more as jewellery than luggage. It is the size demand has moved toward hardest in recent years — the one buyers ask for first, and typically the most competitively pursued of the three when a good example appears.

The trade-off is honest: a 25 takes a phone, a slim cardholder, keys and a lipstick, and little more. On its short 19 cm height the strap makes crossbody wear possible, but this is an evening-and-occasion bag before it is a workhorse. Chase it for what it is — considered, compact, hard to find — not because it is the size people photograph most.

The 28 is the size that actually gets worn. At 28 × 22 × 10 cm it holds a real daily kit — a wallet, sunglasses, a phone, a slim pouch — and its extra height makes the shoulder strap genuinely comfortable, so it moves between hand and shoulder without fuss.

For a first Kelly it is the safe answer: formal enough for the office and dinner, roomy enough for a normal day, and the most broadly wanted of the three. That breadth is quietly useful — a size many people want in many contexts has the deepest pool of future buyers.

The 32 is the largest of the three everyday sizes and the one whose demand has cooled as the market moved toward smaller bags. It is generally the most available of the trio and the least likely to attract a scarcity scramble.

None of that makes it a lesser bag. At 32 × 23 × 10.5 cm it carries a working day — documents, a tablet, a full kit — and on a taller frame it looks proportioned where a 25 can look lost. If you want a Kelly you can genuinely use from morning to night, the 32’s softer demand is arguably an advantage: more choice, less competition. Choose it because it fits your life, not on a bet that the market swings back on a schedule.

Size isn’t the only thing that changes a Kelly. Each size comes in two constructions. Sellier is stitched on the outside, giving a crisp, rigid, architectural bag that holds its shape. Retourné is stitched then turned right-side out, so the seams sit inside and the bag is softer, slouchier and a little more relaxed on the arm.

Neither is “better” — Sellier reads more formal and structured, Retourné more everyday, and availability shifts by leather (rigid leathers like Epsom suit Sellier; supple ones like Togo suit Retourné). For a buyer the point is simply that construction is a real variable: when you compare two listings, hold it constant along with size, leather and condition, or you are comparing different bags.

In the index at the top of this page, the Kelly 25 sample currently sits above the 28, and the 28 above the 32. It is tempting to read that as “smaller costs more” — but that would be the wrong lesson.

A median is the centre of whatever is listed right now. Samples differ by leather, construction, condition, colour, hardware and exotic skins — so a gap between sizes reflects the mix, not a proven size premium.

These are asking prices from live listings, not completed sales, and they are not a guaranteed resale value. Read them as a live picture of what is currently being asked, then narrow to like-for-like: same size, then same leather, construction, colour, hardware and comparable condition. Decide the size on your life first; use the market only to judge a specific listing against its true peers. None of this is investment advice — a Kelly is a bag to carry, and that should be the point.