Selected women's and men's leather bags are reduced in the ECCO Black Friday sale: handbags, shoulder bags, crossbody bags, totes, backpacks, briefcases and small leather goods. Every reduced bag is marked on its product page. Filter by type and color on the bags sale page to see what is in stock now. Black and tan crossbody bags and leather backpacks tend to sell through first in November, because they are the usual gift choices. All ECCO bags use leather from ECCO's own tanneries.

Real leather has an irregular grain, a natural smell and a surface that creases rather than cracks when you fold it. It feels warm and slightly textured under the fingers; synthetic leather feels cool, smooth and uniform. The edges of a cut panel show fibers on real leather and a plastic core on synthetic. ECCO bags are made from full grain leather produced in ECCO's own tanneries, which is why the grain differs slightly from bag to bag. Each product page names the leather used. Full grain leather develops a patina with use rather than wearing out.

Structured crossbody bags, slim shoulder bags with a soft shape and medium sized totes in plain leather are the handbags most people are buying, in black, tan and chocolate brown. The look is minimal: no visible logos, good leather and clean hardware. ECCO handbags fit that brief, with full grain leather from ECCO's own tanneries and simple Scandinavian shapes that do not date. Selected handbags are in the ECCO Black Friday sale, which is the moment to buy a bag while the choice of colors is widest.

Yes, if you carry it every day. A leather backpack lasts years, keeps its shape with a laptop inside and looks right in the office, where a sports backpack does not. The leather develops a patina rather than wearing out, and it wipes clean. Look for padded straps, a flat back panel and a laptop sleeve. ECCO backpacks use full grain leather from ECCO's own tanneries with those practical details built in. Selected backpacks are in the Black Friday sale, which narrows the gap with a fabric bag.