Size comparison
Saint Laurent LouLou small vs medium: sizes and capacity
The LouLou Small is 23 x 17 x 9 cm and the Classic Medium is 32 x 22 x 12 cm: 9 cm wider, 5 cm taller and 3 cm deeper, taking the box from 3,519 cm³ to 8,448 cm³, 140% more. The Small fits a phone, cards, keys and a compact; the Medium adds a full-size wallet and a pouch.
The LouLou is a quilted shoulder bag with a chain that converts between a long crossbody drop and a short shoulder drop, and the two tiers below are further apart than their names suggest: the Small is a compact shoulder bag and the Medium is closer to a working day bag.
Saint Laurent's own pages print 25 cm and 23 cm for the same Small tier two years apart. This page uses 23 x 17 x 9 cm, which is the figure the site's LouLou Small model page publishes, and the 25 cm line is kept on the family ladder rather than being averaged into this one.
Both sides of this comparison are published figures from the same records the model pages use, so the centimetres here and the centimetres there cannot disagree.
Saint Laurent LouLou Small vs Saint Laurent LouLou Medium: published sizes side by side
The two tiers in published centimetres, converted to inches, with the difference between them.
| Measurement | Saint Laurent LouLou Small | Saint Laurent LouLou Medium | Difference (A → B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 23 cm / 9.1 in | 32 cm / 12.6 in | +9 cm / +3.5 in wider |
| Height | 17 cm / 6.7 in | 22 cm / 8.7 in | +5 cm / +2.0 in taller |
| Depth | 9 cm / 3.5 in | 12 cm / 4.7 in | +3 cm / +1.2 in deeper |
| Box volume (derived) | 3,519 cm³ | 8,448 cm³ | +4,929 cm³ (+140%) |
| What the figure says fits | Phone, card holder, keys and a compact; a full-size wallet beside the phone is where this tier stops. The 2023 body is 2 cm narrower than the 2021 line at the same height and depth. | Phone, full-size wallet, pouch and extras; a laptop or bulky flat object stops it working. | see the capacity section below |
Inches are the same centimetres divided by 2.54 and rounded to one decimal, exactly as on the model pages, so no page on this site carries a second set of inch values. Box volume is arithmetic on the three published figures (width × height × depth) — it is a scale comparison, not a published capacity rating, because a rounded or slouched body never fills its own box.
Capacity: what fits in each one
Nine centimetres of width and three of depth is the difference between a wallet-and-phone bag and a bag that also takes a pouch.
The Small is published as a phone, card holder, keys and a compact, and it stops at a full-size wallet beside the phone — the flap closes, but the quilted body is working flat. In the hand it reads as a compact shoulder bag, which is why buyers reach for it as an evening-into-dinner size as much as for daily use.
The Medium is published for a phone, a full-size wallet, a pouch and extras, with a laptop or a bulky flat object named as what stops it working. That is a different daily routine: the wallet lies flat, the pouch sits beside it and the chain still runs properly over the shoulder because the body has 3 cm more depth to give.
Saint Laurent LouLou Small: what people carry
- A phone, a card holder, keys and a compact
- A 56 cm full chain drop for crossbody, or 30 cm doubled for the shoulder
- Nothing that has to lie flat — the Small works around small, soft items
- The lighter, closer carry of the two
Published fit note: Phone, card holder, keys and a compact; a full-size wallet beside the phone is where this tier stops. The 2023 body is 2 cm narrower than the 2021 line at the same height and depth.
Saint Laurent LouLou Medium: what people carry
- A full-size wallet lying flat with a phone beside it
- A pouch, keys and a compact in the space that the depth adds
- A 48 cm full chain drop and a 26 cm doubled drop, both shorter than the Small's
- A working-day load that does not have to be emptied for the evening
Published fit note: Phone, full-size wallet, pouch and extras; a laptop or bulky flat object stops it working.
The two lists above describe how the sizes are carried in practice; the fit notes are the published descriptions that travel with the millimetres in the size records.
Which one suits which buyer
The pair divides on the wallet: the Small is built around a card holder, the Medium around the full-size wallet most buyers carry.
Buyers who keep the Small are usually carrying light and want the bag to sit close: cards, keys, a compact and a phone cover a day, and the shorter doubled drop means the bag can be worn under the arm as well as across the body. It is also the tier that works with an evening outfit without being put away.
The Medium is for buyers whose wallet is a wallet. At 32 cm wide and 12 cm deep it takes the full-size wallet, a pouch and cosmetics at once, and the quilted body keeps its shape rather than flattening. Buyers who walk or commute with the bag tend to prefer it, even though it is the larger of the two on the shoulder.
Choose the Saint Laurent LouLou Small if…
- You carry a card holder rather than a full-size wallet
- You want the bag to sit close, under the arm or across the body
- The bag doubles as an evening bag
- You want the lighter of the two when both are packed
Choose the Saint Laurent LouLou Medium if…
- A full-size wallet is part of your daily load
- You want a pouch and cosmetics in the bag as well as the essentials
- You prefer the chain worn long across the body
- You want one quilted bag that covers the whole working day
Questions buyers ask about the Saint Laurent LouLou Small and the Saint Laurent LouLou Medium
Why does one LouLou Small figure say 25 cm and another 23 cm?
Because Saint Laurent's own product pages print both widths for the same tier, two years apart: 25 cm on the 2021 page and 23 cm on the 2023 page, with the same 17 cm height and 9 cm depth. This page follows the 23 cm figure, the one the model page publishes, and the family ladder prints both lines.
How much bigger is the LouLou Medium than the Small?
Nine centimetres wider, five centimetres taller and three centimetres deeper: 32 x 22 x 12 cm against 23 x 17 x 9 cm. Box volume moves from 3,519 cm³ to 8,448 cm³, a 140% increase, which is why the two read as different bags rather than as neighbouring sizes.
Do the two sizes have the same chain drop?
No, and it is easy to miss. The size guide records a 56 cm full drop and a 30 cm doubled drop for the Small, against 48 cm and 26 cm for the Medium. The Medium hangs higher on the body at both settings, which is worth knowing if you plan to wear the bag long.
Does the LouLou Small hold a full-size wallet?
Only by leaving the phone out. The published fit note for the Small names a phone, card holder, keys and a compact, and the point where it stops is a full-size wallet beside the phone. The Medium is published for exactly that load, which is the main reason buyers move up.
Are the Puffer and 2025 lines the same sizes?
No. The Puffer Small is 29 x 17 x 11 cm and the Puffer Medium is 35 x 23 x 13.5 cm, while the 2025 lambskin and suede line runs 24 x 14 x 6 cm and 29 x 17 x 8 cm. They share tier names with the classic line but not the figures, so the centimetres are the only reliable identifier.
Album photos at these sizes
Both tiers appear in photo records on this site; each photo below says which bag it is. Photos are album records for the model named in the caption, so nothing here is passed off as the other size.
Where these figures come from
Row by row, this is the record each centimetre comes from, and the model page that publishes the same figure.
| Tier | Figure on this page | Source record | Model page (same figure) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Laurent LouLou Small | 23 x 17 x 9 cm | ysl-loulou-bag-size-guide | Saint Laurent LouLou |
| Saint Laurent LouLou Medium | 32 x 22 x 12 cm | ysl-loulou-bag-size-guide | No dedicated model page yet — the tier figures live in the family record above. |
- Saint Laurent LouLou Small: this page prints 23 x 17 x 9 cm; the model page publishes 23 x 17 x 9 cm.
- Saint Laurent LouLou Medium: no dedicated model page yet, so the family record is the only published figure for this tier.
Inch values are converted from these centimetres; nothing on this page is a measured sample, an average of two records, or a rounded figure from a listing title. Where a family record carries two published values for the same tier, both are printed on the family ladder rather than one being averaged away.
Model pages and guides for these two sizes
- Saint Laurent LouLou The model page for this tier: 23 x 17 x 9 cm.
- Saint Laurent LouLou Medium record No dedicated page for this tier yet; its figures are published in the record linked here.
- ysl-loulou-bag-size-guide The size table the Saint Laurent LouLou Small and Saint Laurent LouLou Medium figures on this page are quoted from.
- ysl loulou bag size guide Related reading on the same buying decisions — sizing, capacity and how to read a listing.
- bag size shape daily use guide Related reading on the same buying decisions — sizing, capacity and how to read a listing.
- bag straps handles guide Related reading on the same buying decisions — sizing, capacity and how to read a listing.
- Saint Laurent LouLou Another published record at a comparable size — 23 x 17 x 9 cm.
- Saint Laurent Envelope Another published record at a comparable size — 24 x 18 x 6 cm.
- Saint Laurent Niki Another published record at a comparable size — 28 x 20 x 8.5 cm.
- Every model size comparison on this site The full list of side-by-side comparisons, grouped by house.
- Fashion Bags Catalog — Latest Styles & Brand Collections The bag catalog these models come from.
Still deciding between the two?
Tell us whether you carry a full-size wallet and how long you like the chain, and we will send the measurements and album photos of both LouLou tiers so you can compare them on the shoulder.
Figures last checked 2026-09-24 against LouLou family record and the model pages linked above. This page describes published proportions and photo records only; it is not a statement about stock, price, condition or delivery.