Interview with Luna Boston

Luna Boston is a popular online shopping destination that features a wide selection of both new and established handbags. Their location on Newbury Street makes them neighbors with Burberry, Cartier, and Gucci, to name a few, and is one of the most expensive addresses in the country. Yet their online store has grown to service a large number of customers from all over the world.

We caught up with Luna Boston to get a look inside this popular yet pretty darn distinctive store.

Purse Page: Tell us about Luna Boston for our readers around the world who may not be familiar with you.

Luna Boston: Luna Boston started as a labor of love on Boston’s Newbury Street, and has turned into an international online destination for the best in modern designer handbags. We sell bags from 20-30 modern designers at a
time, like Rebecca Minkoff, Botkier, and Lauren Merkin, and we are highly focused on offering a very wide selection and providing excellent customer service and support. Our customers regularly tell us that they shop with us because of our friendly staff, in stock policy, same day shipping, and easy returns — we try to make online shopping as enjoyable as humanly possible, while offering the best possible selection of modern handbags.

Rebecca Minkoff Morning After Bag in Tangerine

PP: What do you see as the 3 hottest trends for this spring and summer?

LB: 1) Tropical colors are super hot: oranges, blues, and bold pinks are flying off of our shelves. We can hardly keep Rebecca Minkoff’s tangerine colored bags in stock (it all started with Vanessa Hudgens carrying the tangerine Morning After Mini!), and Foley + Corinna’s fuchsia and electric sea colors have been super popular as well.

2) Patent leather is still very hot. We love the way that Botkier does patent (especially the Marine colored mini Bianca) and Badgley Mischka Platinum and Cynthia Rowley also brought us extensive patent collections this season.

3) Updated neutrals. This season, lots of designers came out with neutrals that are much more interesting than classic tan or white….my favorites are the shimmery champagne and mocha leathers from Treesje, and a great new color called “dusty” from Rebecca Minkoff.

Treesje Divino Shoulder Bag in Champagne Shimmer

PP: Who is on fire right now? Are there specific designers who customers are asking more and more of?

LB: Rebecca Minkoff is super hot — we get so many of her bags in and they fly right out the door — we’ve sold out of a few styles before they’ve ever even arrived to us!

The next big one is Treesje….we love this line as we’ve carried it from the first day that we opened in 2004, but they are just starting to come into their own. We get more and more calls about this one every day — the designers use amazing leathers and their shapes are wearable but unique at the same time. You’ll hear more and more about Treesje in the next few months.

We’re thrilled to announce that we are going to be doing some exclusive collaborations with both of these designers for fall!

Lauren Merkin Lucy Baby Croc Metallic Lambskin Clutch in Silver

PP: What advice do you have for the woman is more budget conscious, but still wants to look fabulous at work, and out with her friends?

LB: She should focus on finding one great bag that will work for lots of occasions — quality, not quantity. With handbags, you really can usually tell the difference between a high-quality bag and a not so high quality bag, so I am a firm believer in splurging on one bag at the top of your price range, then making it work with lots of outfits.

Lots of women make the mistake of assuming that this means getting a black bag — usually, I’d say the opposite. Colored bags tend to be more neutral and stylish than black or brown in many ways; pick a color that you don’t wear on your body a lot to avoid clashing, and one that goes with black or with browns. I love a blue bag, or a nice shade of purple….they go with just about anything, any season. For shape, go as small as you can for day since you will be wearing it for night too. And as far as the type of bag, for versatility, I’d recommend a medium sized
satchel that can be carried in hand for work, or on the shoulder for a more casual look.

PP: How do you decide which designers to offer in your stores? Are you focused on designers who are more cutting edge, or offer more classic styles? Or a combination of both?

LB: We try to offer designers who are modern and stylish, and cutting edge enough that their products aren’t oversaturating the market. But, we are really focused on wearable products, so you won’t see very many overly
whimsical designs or bags that are too “out there” on our shelves. We love bags that are modern, but also classic enough that they don’t have a shelf life — you should be able to pull your bag out again next season, or in a few years, if you love it, without worrying that it will look dated. Most importantly, we look for products made with top-of-the line materials, and with details — like beautiful linings or unique hardware — that make women fall in love with their bag.

PP: How has your website grown? Are you seeing more people purchasing online now than before? And tell us about the shipping process. When a customer makes a purchase on your web site, what happens then?

LB: Our business has gone more and more online every year. At this point, we are really focused on our site as the future of the business, along with some possible new store locations to service areas of the country where
we already know that we have lots of customers. Most of our customers are from major cities on the coasts, although we have shipped to every state and many countries.

We try to focus on really making online shopping easy and gratifying. So, a customer places an order on our site…first things first, they know that the bag is in stock. Lots of websites show product that they don’t have available — our inventory is real-time, so if you order from us, it means we’ve got it ready to ship to you. As soon as the customer completes an order, our warehouse gets an alert to remove the item from our shelves. It’s then inspected by hand and boxed right away, along with a receipt and little gift to show our appreciation! Then the box
goes into our outgoing shipment room, and waits for one of our two daily UPS pickups. We guarantee that we’ll ship any orders placed before 3 PM EST the same day, or on Monday for weekend orders, so it’s important that we stay on top of every order as it comes in — when we get busy, getting behind isn’t an option!

PP: Name 3 bags every woman should have in her closet that will cover her for any occasion.

LB: 1) A great clutch. A shoulder bag or handbag just isn’t appropriate for evening, unless you are over 60. I love a patent clutch — my go-to is a gray Lauren Merkin Eve — or a metallic clutch. Either one can go dressy or can just dress up a going-out outfit.

2) A polished tote. Not necessarily structured, but big and classy. Every woman should be able to pull together a polished daytime look in an instant, whether for a last-minute interview or because you’re trying to get an upgrade to first-class on your next flight. A great tote is part of the package.

3) A stylish, modern medium sized satchel or hobo. This is the one that most women already have, since it’s often for everyday wear. I vote for the satchel - more modern right now - but if you prefer the hobo for ease of carrying, that works too. This is your fallback everyday bag, and for maximum impact, it shouldn’t be black or brown - your bag completes your outfit, and it should pop.

Thank you to Luna Boston for a fantastic interview! To see more of what they have to offer, have a look at their store at LunaBoston.com