ROYCE New York

ROYCE New York is a four-generation family business with a long memory. The leather craft stretches back to the 1880s in Vienna, Austria, and Harold Bauer founded the ROYCE brand in 1974 after scaling his father's leather gifting business. In 2016 the company became ROYCE New York, an homage to the Bauer family's 70th year of leather craftsmanship in New York City. Harold's son Will joined in 2014. The brand is known for functional, minimalist design with sparing logos, and for personalization, which explains why so many names here say monogrammed or personalized. The bags set the tone. The monogrammed leather weekender duffel, the executive duffel and the executive rolling duffel suitcase are for the trip, and the pebble grain wide tote and the personalized travel backpack are for the commute. The Colombian leather toiletry bag and the compact toiletry bag keep a sink tidy. For documents, the RFID blocking passport case, the AirTag trackable passport travel wallet and the vaccine card travel wallet cover the airport. Smaller cases, like the zipper credit card case and the envelope card case, go in a pocket. For pouches and travel sets, my flat zip pouch edit is a good reference, and the duffle bag story is worth reading before a weekend away.

This group is for the things that live inside the bag. The RFID blocking four zip organizer travel case and the zippered travel tech organizer case keep cords and cards in one place. The executive writing portfolio and the contemporary leather journal are for the desk, and the monogrammed executive journal comes with a rollerball pen. There is also a double eyeglass travel case, plus the monogrammed wine champagne bottle carrying case and the double carrying case for a dinner party. A simple test for any organizer: lay out what you carry on a normal trip first, then pick the case with a slot for each item. If you prefer a tote for the commute, my notes on a coated canvas tote show another option. What I would skip is the double bottle case if you only carry a single bottle, since the extra slot just adds bulk.

These are the small pieces that make good gifts, and they are where the personalization really shows, since a few initials on a key chain or a case change how it feels. The monogrammed heart-shaped key chain and the monogrammed valet key chain are simple, personal choices. The monogrammed jewelry trinket case and the zippered travel jewelry case are for bracelets and rings, so a single case can hold a small jewelry collection on a trip, while the leather travel watch roll and the personalized suede-lined double watch roll protect a watch case on the road. The 2 inch executive ring binder is for the desk. To pair a watch roll with something worth putting in it, my round dress watch edit is a good place to start.

The last group is for the surfaces at home and at the office. The catchall valet trays come as a travel version, a suede lined one and a monogrammed one, and the leather desktop note tray and personalized letter desk tray keep a desk in order. The monogrammed executive desk blotter and accessory set is the full desk piece. The leather travel and grooming toiletry kit and the two manicure grooming kits are compact. For daily carry, the personalized 13 inch laptop sleeve, the lambskin tech gloves and the sunglasses carrying case are small additions. If you want to see structured bags in the same spirit, the boxy bag trend is a good companion.

If I were buying one gift from ROYCE New York, it would be the monogrammed passport case, since the brand's sparing logo leaves room for initials. Picture him at an airport gate with the weekender duffel and a leather journal tucked in the side pocket. ROYCE sources American genuine leather, and I like that the whole house stays practical, with minimal design and a logo kept small.