If you remember back in November I won a Blogger competition with Filofax to come up with the idea for their next Blogger challenge. As my prize I was allowed to choose a few items from their website to keep for myself. Of course I didn't keep everything for myself, I never do but somethings I did and guess what...one of those things was a bag!
OK so why did this planner loving person opt for a bag over a planner? It would be most logical to go for a planner wouldn't it! Well it is no secret that I have one or two planners so I didn't technically "need" a new planner, although there are plenty that are on my one day wish list. So when browsing and trying to decide what I should go for I came across the Filofax bag section and one in particular caught my eye.
Now I have often said this over on my vlogging channel but I am not a clothes person. I wrote a guest blog post over on the Prudent Pair blog about that too! Arts and crafts stuff, yes but clothes not so much. I do like to look at clothes and accessories but never really find something that I like, anyway rather than repeat what I said in my blog post for the Prudent Pair why not read about it here They are a fledgling blog so would really appreciate the support. I am not a bag person, however this bag really caught my eye. I wasn't sure what it was about it, whether it was the colour or the style but I just knew that I had to have it!
I have held off posting a review about it because I like to give things a good road test before sharing a review. I think it is very important to get to really know a product and how it works before sharing an opinion. You may say that three months is too much time and I should know sooner than that, well as a general rule I don't use this style of bag that often. I prefer a cross body bag when I am out shopping because I like to have my hands free for browsing and carrying my shopping. There are times though when I want this style of bag or a bigger one. There are times when I need to carry a lot or I need to 'smarten up', you know that sort of thing. I told you I am not massively into clothes so I only have a couple of bags. My larger bag in this sort of style gave up the fight not long before I won the competition so I did need something to replace it so it was rather timely. Because I don't use this style of bag all that often this bag hasn't seen that much action so only now do I feel confident to write and share my review.
Well firstly I love the colour. On the website it is listed as 'bright blue' and well yes I think that is a very accurate description. In fact they also have this bag in black and burnt orange and I did struggle to decide on which colour to go for. The black is very classic and no doubt would go with everything but the two colours were calling out to my heart. I wear a lot of blue so that is purely what I based my decision on and nothing else. I am glad that I did go for that colour as it is stunning in every way but I do still love that burnt orange...
When it arrived it was in a dust bag tote which was nice to see it was protected. This is my very first leather bag so I don't really know what to expect from it or what to look for. As I said I am by no means a fashion blogger or guru and know nothing about these things. I can only speak as I find which I am sure is only a good thing as this way you get a very honest opinion. I don't know what to look out for and review in terms of composition and findings and all that jazz, is that even what one calls it? So here you go, here is my review. It's a nice bag. There you go thanks for reading, bye! he he! No in all seriousness, I really like it.
The bag is of the same quality that I have come to expect from other high end Filofax products. The grain of the leather is very similar to my Finsbury Filofax planner, I don't know if it is the same but it is very similar to me anyway. The zipper has leather tabs and there are little tabs at the end of the zipper with Filofax stamped into it so anyone could see that brand. I don't think you would purchase this bag to 'show off' the brand neccessarily as I don't think many people who are into bags would recognise this and appreciate the quality and value. Filofax and planner people would but I am not sure if you were not in this community if you would. I mean if I were spending this money on a bag and I wasn't into my planners, I probably wouldn't give this bag a second look and would probably opt for a 'well known bag name'. Such a shame as it is such a lovely bag it really is. It has a beautiful construction and I am very happy with it. The only thing I will say is that it needs to have 'things' in it in order to look good as other wise it has a squishy look to it, what I mean is that the sides sort of start to fall in a bit. The more that is in it, the more padded out it gets and looks much nicer from the outside. The bag on it's own is of a fairly sizeable weight without anything in it though so I would want to watch what I am cramming in there! The handles are very sturdy and even stand up on their own too which I really like.
Overall I am really pleased with it. The bag is stylish and fits in with my style. It is practical as well as looking good and I know that it is sturdy and durable and of a good quality to hopefully last a long time. I think I will get tired of this bag before it wears out!
So this post is just my review on thoughts on the bag in general and on the outside of the bag. I am planning to do a whole other blog post on the inside as, well, the inside is rather lovely. That and I thought you gals might like to see what I carry in there and can get in there too!
Well as a non fashion blogger and someone who doesn't 'style' outfits I don't think I did too badly! This is just me and what I would normally wear so you can see how a 'real' person would wear and use this bag. I like to keep it real he he!
I will be back soon with an inside look / tour for you so stay tuned for that. If there is anything else you would like to know about this bag then please do let me know so that I can include it in my next post for you.
I am not sure where this bag retails other than on the Filofax website but here are the details:
Calipso Handbag by Filofax
Bright Blue Leather, also available in Black & Burnt Organge
Product Code: 828033
RRP: £139.00
PLEASE NOTE: I was given this product as my prize winnings from Filofax. I have not been asked to give a review, this was given to me as a prize only. The fact that I was given these does not alter my opinion in anyway. This review is my own personal opionion on the product / company, given in good faith and has not be sponsored or endorsed. The photography unless otherwise stated / credited is also my own. None of the links are affiliate links
I love the colour of the bag. Looks as if it has lots of room in it which I need with my bags, as I like to carry everything but the kitchen sink in mine.
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