Moynat Women's Bags

Founded in Paris in 1849 by Pauline Moynat — five years before Louis Vuitton — Moynat is the oldest Parisian trunk maker still in business. The house remained confidential for a century and a half until Bernard Arnault acquired it personally in 2010 (the deal sat outside LVMH), bringing in designer Ramesh Nair to rebuild the line through 2018 with his architectural pieces, before Pauline Marchetti took over as creative director. The house has stayed deliberately discreet: a single flagship at 348 Rue Saint-Honoré, a very tight distribution network and no e-commerce. Resale is, in practice, one of the only ways in. Our selection holds 14 authenticated Moynat women's bags, from €500 to €3,200, with an average of €1,708.

The signature pieces

The Réjane (introduced in 2014, named after early-20th-century actress Gabrielle Réjane, a client of the original house) is Moynat's rectangular top-handle bag — pinched sides, saddler's handle, carried by hand or cross-body. The Gabrielle is softer, playing on rounded volumes and visible saddle stitching. The Pauline, a structured tote sized from small to large, has become the ambassador of the M-Monogram canvas drawn by Ramesh Nair. The Limousine, a travel-style tote referencing the original trunks, completes the lexicon. On JoliCloset, browse the line by handbags (12 pieces), totes and clutches.

Leathers and M-Monogram canvas

Moynat works primarily in taurillon — a young-bull full-grain leather with a natural pebbled grain that patinas without losing structure. Signature colours are Blush, Aubergine, Glacier Blue, Taupe and black. The M-Monogram canvas, an Art Deco motif created in 2011, alternates lozenges and interlaced letters across tobacco-brown, grey or multicolour combinations; it is set into matching leather trims with palladium or brushed-brass hardware. Bags routinely carry saddle-stitched seams, the trunk maker's hallmark.

Retail price and the resale market

At boutique level, a new Réjane starts around €4,500 and climbs past €7,000 in exotics. Resale opens a meaningful gap: on JoliCloset, pre-owned Réjane and Gabrielle bags typically trade between €1,500 and €2,800 depending on size, colour and condition. Four of the fourteen pieces currently in stock are never-worn-with-tags, four are in very good condition. Moynat's small global output — runs are deliberately tiny — supports resale value comparable to the more confidential Hermès references.

Authentication

Every bag is inspected before listing: consistency of the taurillon grain, cleanness of the saddle stitch, alignment of the M-Monogram pattern across seams, hardware engraving, internal production code and quality of the alcantara or leather lining. Moynat does not use authenticity cards on most pieces — verification therefore relies on material and construction coherence, checked piece by piece.