When I hear about a new brand in the attainable affluence market I tend to have sticker shock. Kendra Scott, Draper James, Lele Sadoughi, and Hill House are all brands I love that I was initially hesitant to buy due to their pricing. Sometimes I’ll try the brand out and determine it is worth the price or I might follow them on social media for a while and purchase when they have a sale. With Stoney Clover Lane I followed them for months before ever making a purchase. My first Stoney Clover Lane purchase was in the Spring of 2021 and I now have 15 bags and have purchased numerous patches so I guess you could say my short answer is yes . . . But it’s also no. So allow me to explain.
Stoney Clover Lane offers bags and pouches that can be personalized with an assortment of patches they also carry. Stoney Clover has what they call their “core collection” that is a variety of silhouettes in solid colors. Prices start at $38 for a luggage tag or clear travel pouch and go up to $208 for a duffle bag. The large pouch, which retails for $78, is their best seller. Of course, there’s really nothing exciting about a solid color nylon pouch so the real fun comes in customization.
If you’ve been curious about Stoney Clover than chances are you’ve seen their pieces with colorful terry letter patches. Most people personalize their bags with either their name or initials or with the function of the bag. So let’s say you want to buy the classic large pouch and use it for makeup and you want a fun rainbow look. Patches start at $16 per patch for the terry letters and Stoney Clover charges a $15 customization fee to sew the patches onto the bag – this would make the price $189. Additionally, Stoney Clover charges $15 shipping and is a large enough business to charge sales tax. To purchase that bag shipped to my home state of Mississippi the total would be $217.70 – now imo that is A LOT to spend on a makeup bag.
To me personally, spending over $200 for a makeup bag is just too much! But, there are ways to reduce your cost. The first is to not use the Stoney Clover customizer – while having your patches sewn on is going to be the most secure they do come with a 3M adhesive on the back of each patch and I have found that to be strong enough. You can also wait until you are near a Stoney Clover store to purchase in person or you can look for a boutique that offers Stoney Clover – if you are in the Memphis area that would be Ultimate Gifts in Southaven. When a business has not had many sales in a particular state they are not based in they do not have to collect sales tax for out of state purchases, so to get the absolute best price on a Stoney Clover item is to purchase from an out of state boutique that offers free shipping. Following all of these tricks would make that rainbow letter makeup bag $174 – which is still a lot imo but much better than $217.
You can of course opt for personalization with less letters to also save. I personally prefer to do my initials with a icon patch vs my full name or longer word. You can also get creative with your labeling – glam instead of makeup for example. But to be perfectly honest you can also find nylon bags on etsy with terry patches for a fraction of the price. I should warn that most patches you are going to find elsewhere are going to be iron on and that nylon will melt if exposed to too much heat. I made myself a dupe snack pouch and to be perfectly honest, it works but it’s not great. So if you are a bit of a perfectionist there is probably value to you in purchasing from Stoney Clover as their patches are very easy to stick on and don’t require heat.
As far as quality goes I do think Stoney Clover bags are well made. The zippers are pretty substantial and I have not had a single piece have the zipper come apart or get snagged. The bags are lined and the extra layer adds structure to the bag – these are not flimsy bags that topple over and spill your contents everywhere. The nylon is pretty easy to keep clean too – I spot treat my bags with a magic eraser as needed but I can also run them through the washing machine. I actually just washed my mini heart tote and it looks good as new. I did have my patches sewn on that one so I felt safe washing it, I would be a little hesitant to toss one with stuck on patches in the washer and would hand wash instead – this convenience is one argument I would make for why the $15 customization fee to sew on patches could be worth it.
Now where Stoney Clover really excels in my opinion is their special collections and collaborations. Unfortunately, these pieces comes with a higher price point but they are also more unique. My very first Stoney Clover Lane bag was a pink gingham mini heart tote from the Pastel Picnic collection. I did use the customizer on this bag and in total spent $273. Now, that’s a lot to spend on a purse but it’s a heart shaped purse with a ruffle trim, in a pink gingham print that I was able to personalize with my monogram; that is a lot of things I love rolled into into one bag and it would be pretty hard to find that combo anywhere else so it was worth the premium to me.
As far as collaborations, Stoney Clover has worked with Hello Kitty, Barbie, American Girl Doll and Disney – with a Disney Princess and Mickey and Friends collection – along with other brands. If you look at their tagged photos on instagram most of them are going to be their bags being used at Disney. I personally haven’t been to Disney since 2013 so that’s not the reason I purchase their bags but clearly it is for a lot of people. If having a bag with your favorite character and personalized with your name or initials would add to the excitement of your Disney trip than I think you should go for it!
One thing I really like about Stoney Clover is the ability to create a matching set. For example, I purchased the tote in the hydrangea print from the pastel picnic collection and I use it as an over night bag – I also have a large, small and heart pouch in this print and a mini pouch with a heart patch in this print. Because this print was part of a limited collection I started with the tote and large pouch and added on the other pieces as they came available for a reasonable re-sale price.
I purchased a mini tote from the American Girl Doll collection mostly to make it up to myself that I never had a doll as a kid ( my sister did though, I’m not salty) but I must say it makes for a nice carry all bag. My most recent purchase was a mini tote and mini heart tote from the High Tea collection. These prints are super feminine and totally my jam, plus I have carried my first heart tote frequently this past year so I figured another one was something I would get a lot of use out of. Afternoon tea is one of my favorite things so I did spend more than I usually do on patches to make a tea themed bag – all in this bag cost a little over $400 and I fully recognize that’s a lot to spend on a nylon bag but I honestly really love it and I think it’s ok to spend your money on things that make you happy even if other people don’t get it. I saw someone post online asking of people were buying these bags for themselves or their children and while I don’t have Stoney Clover sales statistics I would guess based on what I see that 90% of their sales are people like me – grown women buying pieces for ourselves.
So, when you add it all up I’ve spent a little over $2k in bags and patches this past year – so I’m not a die-hard customer who buys from every collection drop but I do appreciate the quality, unique prints and customization options. I’m also the type who will pay a little more for everyday items that have a nice aesthetic even if that doesn’t add any functionality to the item. While I do enjoy the travel set in the hydrangea print I find that I gravitate more towards items that can be used more frequently such as the mini heart tote and mini tote – both of those pieces make a good purse in my opinion, and the heart pouch which I will use as a clutch. At the end of the day I think Stoney Clover adds some fun to an outfit and it’s fun to make a bag that completely unique to me.
I hope you have found this review helpful in determining if Stoney Clover Lane is right for you!