Best Handcrafted Leather Crossbody Bags for Summer

Summer is a season of movement and travel-a time when you really want to be hands-free for long walks through farmers markets, dancing at outdoor concerts, sipping cool beers at your local brewery and bike rides through beach towns. You want to be able to easily grab your phone for that perfect sunset photo and to be able to transition to a nice sit down dinner while only needing one bag. That's where a quality handcrafted leather crossbody bag becomes your best friend –  The Rellebee Sling is the crossbody that will hold your most important items close to you. It is the bag you will never need to take off. 

Why Summer Calls for Something Special

Here's what we love about quality leather: it does well in summer conditions. Leather breathes, it develops character from the sun, the drops of rain, the oil from your skin, the knicks and scrapes from your travels. Our leather gets more beautiful with age which is exactly why we search for hides that already have that character and personality – leather from Thailand with subtle hand-rubbed finishes, hides that have branding, barbed wire marks, neck rolls and wrinkles. Hides that tell a story. 

The Crossbody Design that Functions

When we set out to design this bag, we put serious thought into exactly what we wanted our crossbody Sling to look like and how we wanted it to function. After listening to what our customers really needed and wanted we decided that we would focus on highlighting the leather with a simple design. 

The Shape That Makes Sense

We came up with a crescent wedge shape that literally wraps around your body. The wedge feature allows the Sling to fill out as you add items, but the design stays minimalist – meant to carry only your bare necessities: phone, sunglasses, keys, chapstick. That's it! That's all you need for most summer adventures.

The Strap Has to Be Right

Our straps are full grain adjustable leather bridle straps. Not too thin that they dig into your shoulder, not too thick that they look clunky. This allows you to wear the Sling as a crossbody or slung over your shoulder. Each Sling comes with a strap. Our bridle straps have been such a hit that we now offer them separately in Black, Red, Rugged Brown, and Honey so you can mix and match.

High-end Hardware 

Because we love our hides so much, we wanted to keep our hardware understated and fitting to the vibe of the leather. Not a lot of bling! We use chunky high-end D rings and swivel snap hooks. Our zippers are brass and designed to unzip easily with one hand – because when you're juggling a coffee and trying to find your sunglasses, accessibility and ease matter.

Summer Adventures, Sorted

The ideal summer day. Maybe you're starting your day with a cup of coffee and a farmers market stroll, a lunch date at a winery with friends, and ending with drinks on a rooftop. 

The Sling works for all of it.

For Market Mornings: Hands free to pick up peaches and test their ripeness, but easy access to cash and credit cards.

For Concerts and Music Festivals: This is where our crossbody Sling really shines. Hands free to dance, hold that ice cold IPA, and snap a few photos. Most importantly though you need to keep your essentials safe and secure in crowded spaces. The Sling wraps around your body keeping everything right where it should be. 

For Travel Adventures: Comfortable enough for long walks and bike rides through European streets, secure enough that you're not worrying about your passport (And yes, your passport fits perfectly in the Sling!)

For Evenings Out: Sophisticated enough for dinner and practical enough that you never have to worry about leaving it an Uber or at a bar. There's really no reason to ever take it off :)

The Rellebee Difference

Our leather goods are made in Baltimore and in the amish country in Pennsylvania by talented craftsmen and women. Having these bags mass produced in China or elsewhere would be much easier and would cost a fraction of the price but we would be giving up control. We would be losing the heirloom quality and craftsmanship that we love. More importantly our team of cutters and sewers have become our family. We all work together to turn leather into something really unique and special. Made in America is not easy but we believe in it and it's fun!

We work in small batches, one hide at a time, searching for hides that have character. We embrace the scrapes, scratches and scars because that's the story of the hide and what makes leather so special.

Your Summer Companion Awaits

For summer, we're particularly loving the Oat Milk and Light Brown and Dark Brown Slings – these hides have been our best sellers and for good reason. They capture that effortless summer vibe while getting better with every adventure.

Choose a handcrafted leather crossbody that will be your companion as your set out to wherever adventure leads you. The Rellebee Sling will carry your stories for summers to come.

This is the crossbody bag you won't want to put down, your constant travel companion that gets more beautiful with every mile you walk together.