Saint Laurent, Explained: Le Smoking, the YSL Bags, the Boots and How They Fit

Saint Laurent is the Paris house that put women in a tuxedo, and under Anthony Vaccarello it is still the reference for sharp black tailoring, sexy heeled boots and leather bags stamped with the interlocking YSL. If you are buying your first piece, start with a bag: the Le 5 à 7, a slim hobo closed with the YSL logo, is the house's modern classic, and the chevron-quilted Loulou is the more polished alternative. Boots come next, and sunglasses are the least expensive way in. Below, our editors explain where Saint Laurent came from and why the clothes say Saint Laurent while the bags still say YSL, which bags, boots, sunglasses and tailoring to buy, how the house fits, how to care for its leathers and which pieces hold their value.

Saint Laurent at a glance

A short history of Saint Laurent, from Le Smoking to Anthony Vaccarello

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé founded the couture house on December 4, 1961, and the graphic artist Cassandre drew its interlocking YSL logo the same year, according to the biography published by the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris. The first collection, shown on January 29, 1962, already included a pea coat and a trench coat. Then came the ideas that still define the house: the Mondrian dress in 1965, the first tuxedo for women in 1966, the first pantsuit in 1967, and the first safari jacket and jumpsuit in 1968. Menswear borrowed for women, and cut to make them look powerful rather than disguised, is the thread that runs through all of it.

In 1966 the designer also launched Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, which Kering describes as the first luxury ready-to-wear line. Saint Laurent joined Kering in 1999. Yves Saint Laurent retired in 2002 and died in 2008. The ready-to-wear passed through several designers, among them Alber Elbaz, Tom Ford and Stefano Pilati, before Hedi Slimane arrived in 2012 and rechristened the house Saint Laurent, a return, WWD wrote when he left in 2016, to the impulses that first led the couturier to ready-to-wear in the 1960s. The Cassandre monogram stayed, which is why the clothes carry the Saint Laurent name while the bags wear the interlocking YSL as their hardware. Tom Ford, who went on to his own label, is one of the house's best-known alumni.

Anthony Vaccarello has been creative director since 2016. His Saint Laurent is darker and more nocturnal than Slimane's rock-and-roll version: strong shoulders, long legs, sheer blouses, a lot of black, and bags and boots that look expensive from across a room. He has also taken the house into film, with the launch of Saint Laurent Productions in 2023. At Vêtir, Saint Laurent is the designer named most often in requests to our AI stylist over the past year, and among our clients it is the most-searched house after Gucci. It also made The RealReal's list of the ten most-searched brands of 2026, WWD reported from the resale platform's annual report.

YSL bags: the Le 5 à 7

The Le 5 à 7 was first launched in the Spring 2021 collection and named after the French New Wave film Cléo from 5 to 7, a favorite of Vaccarello's, WWD reported. It is a slim hobo that sits close under the arm, closed by a leather tab that hooks onto the Cassandre logo. Our view: it is the most useful YSL bag to own, because it works with jeans in the day and a slip dress at night, and its curve softens the sharp tailoring the house is known for.

How to choose:

• The classic hobo in smooth leather is the polished version, and the one to buy if you want a bag that looks new for years.
• The supple versions, often in suede, are slouchier and roomier, and some come with a removable zip pouch. Suede is the most beautiful and the least forgiving in rain.
• Patent and croc-embossed leather in burgundy or black are the evening options and wipe clean easily.
• The tote version brings the same closure to a bag big enough for work.

Size and strap: the classic hobo is slim and holds only the essentials, a phone, card case, keys and sunglasses, as WWD's guide notes. If you carry more, choose a supple or large version or the tote. The classic's strap adjusts with a buckle but has a short drop, so the bag tucks under the arm; that works best over a sweater or a slim coat. The supple versions hang lower and clear a thicker winter coat.

The other YSL bags: Loulou, Kate, Sac de Jour and Niki

Saint Laurent has a long list of named bag families, and each has a clear job:

• Loulou: named in honor of Loulou de la Falaise, according to the same WWD guide; the museum's biography dates her first meeting with Yves Saint Laurent to 1968. It is chevron-quilted with an envelope flap and the Cassandre logo, on a sliding chain-and-leather strap you can wear long or doubled. Choose it if you want a structured shoulder bag that still feels soft.
• Kate: a flat, structured flap bag with YSL hardware on a chain. In patent it doubles as the house's evening bag.
• Sac de Jour: the work bag, with accordion sides, side tabs and a padlock. The smaller sizes add a detachable shoulder strap, so they carry by hand or on the shoulder.
• Niki: made in crinkled "vintage" leather that looks broken in from the first day, on chain straps. It is the most relaxed of the chain bags.
• Icare, Solferino and Mombasa: the Icare is a quilted leather shopper; the Solferino a flap bag that fastens with the YSL logo itself; the Mombasa a pleated hobo with a leather-covered handle. The Mombasa is also the best resale story in this guide: its average sale price on The RealReal rose from roughly $200 in 2016 to $1,600 in 2026, according to the same WWD report on The RealReal's data. Those are averages that are not adjusted for inflation or condition, WWD noted, so read them as demand, not a return on investment.

Two buying rules. Lambskin, which the house uses on some of its bags, is softer than grained or smooth calfskin and scratches more easily, so check the leather on the listing and save lambskin for a bag you will carry with care. And pick hardware by your jewelry: gold-tone and bronze-tone hardware look warmer with brown leathers and yellow gold, silver-tone with black and white gold. Browse designer shoulder bags to compare shapes across houses.

Saint Laurent boots: knee-high, riding and ankle boots

Saint Laurent boots are sharp: pointed or squared at the toe, close through the shaft and usually set on a slim heel. When a number follows the style name on a listing, as in 75 or 95, it is usually the heel height in millimeters, a convention many shoe houses and retailers follow, but the listing's own measurements are the final word. The shapes to know:

• The sleek knee-high in smooth leather or suede, on heels from low to very high. It is the most Saint Laurent boot of all.
• The riding boot, flat or nearly flat, the most practical tall boot in the collection.
• The suede knee-high on a stiletto, the one to wear with dresses.
• The Niki ankle boot, suede on a stiletto heel, with a strap carrying the Cassandre.
• The heeled Chelsea boot with elastic side panels, the one to wear under trousers.
• The Opyum, whose heel is shaped like the YSL logo.

Fit: the boots are sized in European sizes, and on the listings we checked a 37 is shown as a US 7. With a pointed toe, do not size down: the toe should not touch the end of the boot. For knee-high styles, check the calf circumference when the listing gives one, and try them with the socks or tights you will actually wear.

How to wear them:

1. The Saint Laurent uniform: black knee-high boots, a black pencil skirt and a tuxedo jacket with nothing but a camisole underneath.
2. Daytime: brown suede knee-highs under a knee-length knit dress, so the boot covers the hem gap and the leg reads as one line.
3. Weekend: flat riding boots with straight dark jeans tucked in, a chunky cardigan and a Loulou.
4. Office: a heeled Chelsea or a slim ankle boot under straight wool trousers that break just over the vamp.

To see how Saint Laurent's tall boots measure up against other houses', read our guide to the best knee-high boots; every pair we carry is under designer knee-high boots.

Saint Laurent sunglasses

Sunglasses are the least expensive way to wear Saint Laurent, and most of the acetate frames on the listings we checked are made in Italy. The shapes that suit the house best are the narrow, flat-topped cat-eye, the thick acetate cat-eye, the slim rectangle and the oval.

How to choose: a frame should be about as wide as your face at the temples, and the top of the frame should follow your brow rather than sit far above it. Angular frames, such as slim rectangles and narrow cat-eyes, add definition to a round face; rounder ovals soften a square jaw. Black acetate is the classic Saint Laurent choice; tortoiseshell is softer with brown hair and camel coats. In winter, a dark lens earns its keep on low sun and snow glare, so do not put sunglasses away in October. See our guide to designer sunglasses for other houses, or browse designer sunglasses.

Le Smoking and Saint Laurent tailoring

Le Smoking, the tuxedo for women that Yves Saint Laurent introduced in 1966, is still the heart of the house, and Vaccarello keeps returning to it: his Fall 2026 show, the collection in stores this winter, opened with oversized suits in charcoal, chocolate and black and closed with new versions of Le Smoking, W Magazine reported. Today's tuxedo jackets are cut in grain de poudre, a dry, finely textured wool, with satin peaked lapels and padded shoulders, and the double-breasted versions are long and fitted. There are also single-button versions, tuxedo dresses and matching trousers with a pressed crease.

How to wear it:

• Black tie: the jacket with its matching trousers, a silk camisole or bare skin under the lapels, pointed pumps and a Kate clutch. It is the most confident answer to a dress code, and our guide to dressing for black-tie events explains when it works.
• Dinner: the tuxedo jacket over straight dark jeans, with black knee-high boots and a Le 5 à 7.
• Daytime: a brown double-breasted blazer with cream trousers and loafers, or a long trench over a turtleneck.

Fit: the shoulders are built up and the jackets are long, so fit the shoulders first and let a tailor adjust the sleeves; the sleeve should show a little cuff, or a little wrist if you wear it bare. Hem trousers for the heel you will wear most. Browse more designer blazers for other cuts.

How Saint Laurent fits: clothing, shoes and bags

Clothing. Saint Laurent labels its clothes in French sizes, and retailers on Vêtir show either the French number or a US conversion; one listing we checked converts a French 36 to a US 4, but conversions vary by house and by store, so read the size chart on each listing. The silhouette is slim through the body with strong shoulders, so if you are between sizes, size for the shoulders in jackets and for the hips in trousers.

Shoes and boots. European sizes, converted to US on most listings. Pointed toes need length, not width, so resist sizing down.

Bags. Most families come in several sizes, from mini to large. For everyday use, a classic or supple Le 5 à 7, a medium Loulou or a small Sac de Jour covers most needs.

Is Saint Laurent worth it? What holds its value

For the bags, boots and tailoring you will wear for years, yes. The strongest long-term buys are the classics in black or brown leather: a Le 5 à 7, a Loulou, a Kate for evenings, black knee-high boots and a tuxedo jacket. The Mombasa's rise on the resale market shows that a well-made Saint Laurent bag can outlast its first moment, and a tuxedo jacket is the rare piece of clothing that looks as right in ten years as it does now. What is seasonal: raffia, beading, novelty colors and runway pieces; buy those because you love them. Save the box, dust bag and receipt of anything you might sell later, a Loulou or a pair of knee-high boots included, and let Vêtir's pre-owned resale help you sell it when the time comes.

If you like Saint Laurent, look at these houses too

• Prada: more intellectual and more practical, known for its nylon bags and loafers. Read our Prada guide.
• Bottega Veneta: woven leather and no logo, for when you want quieter bags. See our Bottega Veneta guide.
• Celine: Parisian tailoring and leather bags with a cleaner line. Our Celine guide covers the bags and sunglasses.
• Alaïa: body-conscious knits and sculpted leather from another Paris house.
• Khaite: New York's answer to sexy, sharp dressing, especially in boots and outerwear.

How to care for Saint Laurent leather

• Smooth and grained calfskin: wipe with a soft, dry cloth and store the bag stuffed with tissue in its dust bag, away from sunlight.
• Quilted leather: keep it away from rough surfaces, rings and dark jeans that can transfer dye, and never overstuff it, which flattens the quilting.
• Patent: store it in its own dust bag, not touching other bags, because patent can pick up color from them.
• Suede bags and boots: brush in one direction and use a protective spray before the first wet day.
• Boots: use boot shapers in knee-high styles so the shafts do not crease, and have a cobbler add a thin rubber sole guard to leather soles before winter.

How we chose

Only new Saint Laurent made the cut, and only pieces in stock at our check. The house's recurring families, the Le 5 à 7, Loulou, Kate and Sac de Jour bags, the knee-high and riding boots and the tuxedo jacket, took priority over one-season pieces. Materials and the country of manufacture came from each listing; color and shape came from the photographs, and a listing whose pictures did not show its stated color was left out. Resale listings also appear in the catalogue under the Saint Laurent name; we left every one out and limited each block's refills to new stock. Boots and tailoring are sized, so we chose styles with a good run of sizes still available at the time of writing.

Frequently asked questions

Saint Laurent vs. YSL: is there a difference?

No, it is the same house. Hedi Slimane renamed the ready-to-wear Saint Laurent in 2012, but the bags, shoes and many accessories still carry the YSL monogram that Cassandre drew in 1961, which is why most people still say YSL bags. The one real split is beauty: YSL Beauty is controlled by L'Oréal, which acquired the business in 2008, not by Kering.

Who is the creative director of Saint Laurent?

Anthony Vaccarello, who has led the house since 2016. He designs the women's and men's collections.

What does Le 5 à 7 mean?

The bag is named after the French New Wave film Cléo from 5 to 7. In French, "cinq à sept" also means the hours after work and before dinner, which suits a bag that goes from day to night.

What is Le Smoking?

The tuxedo for women that Yves Saint Laurent introduced in 1966. The house still makes it, in grain de poudre wool with satin lapels.

Do Saint Laurent boots run true to size?

Saint Laurent boots come in European sizes, and most listings on Vêtir give the US equivalent. The pointed toes need length, so choose your usual size or the half size up rather than sizing down, and check the calf measurement on knee-high styles.

Where are Saint Laurent bags made?

The bag, boot and tailoring listings we checked say made in Italy. The country of manufacture is printed on every listing, so check it for the piece you are buying.

If you own a Le 5 à 7 or a pair of Saint Laurent boots and want new ways to wear them, ask our AI stylist to build the outfits.

Keep reading

• Prada, explained
• Bottega Veneta, explained
• The best knee-high boots
• Designer sunglasses for women
• Celine, explained