Thursday, February 17

EVIDENCE THAT I WEAR PANTS + A MADEWELL REVIEW

Let's just get down to it, shall we? It is Thursday afternoon, I have a bowl of Post Shredded Wheat cereal keeping me company, "Kickstart My Heart" is on my headphones, and there are pictures to put on here.

Here. We. Go.

striped shirt, gap [x-ish] [x-ish]
v-neck tee, j.crew [x]
skinny jeans, gap
leather belt, american eagle
kinnetic flats, steve madden
skull ring, ebay
gold bangle, kate spade


Clearly, I woke up late and missed my morning pictures. The office bathroom doesn't offer the best backdrop, but you know, I take what I can get sometimes. I mean, beggars can't be choosers, right? Except in this case, it's more like bloggers can't be... choosy?... about where they pick to take their pictures... Yeah, I don't know where I was going with that one.

And now, a Madewell review of the Scholar Satchel:

Here it is, sitting on my couch.


I love the style. The Madewell team did a great job creating a bag that looks simultaneously old-school and modern. I want to love this bag. I really do -- it captured my heart online, and I was so excited to get it in my hands... But in person, I was underwhelmed. I think a lot of that underwhelmed feeling had to do with the leather and the weight of the canvas.

I was expecting something more substantial. The Madewell bag certainly isn't fragile, but I also expected more stiff-ness from it from the canvas. The leather, on the other hand, feels too stiff and looks like it could scratch easily.

Here are some detail shots:




I just feel like that for what I paid, there should have been something more luxurious about this bag, especially in the canvas material and lather. The style is definitely all there, but the quality is iffy. In addition, it just looked kind of weird when I had stuff inside it (in the final shot, the bag is empty). The bottom sagged out and it was just... odd.

For those who are interested, the turnlock on the flap is functional, and so are the buttonhole-style pegs on the two straps coming down the front of the bag. The shoulder strap is adjustable as well.

All in all, I have a feeling this bag will be going back. But for those who are still interested, here's the bag-to-human ratio:


PS. Giveaway. $100 gift card to Shopbop. BE THERE.

20 comments:

  1. You look adorable in skinnies. :)

    I'm sorry the quality is disappointing. That's never a good thing!

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  2. I love the size and the "idea" of the bag. Too bad it didn't live up to your expectations though - maybe you'll have more luck with the Fossil option since that one is all-leather? Or maybe get one of the smaller Cambridge satchels that come in fun primary colors?!

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  3. ah, I tried to comment yesterday but it wouldn't take, so now I'm going to say what I was going to say:

    I'm a major leather snob when it comes to bags - I tend to only buy one or two a year (if that) so I expect them to be well worth the money I pay for them. I like my leather to be incrediblely soft and supple or thick, pebbled, and tough - I don't think I would like the leather of the Madewell bag from your description.

    That being said, I saw that Lucky bag you mentioned in the store the other day - I didn't take a real good look at it since it's not my style, but the leather looked nice!

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  4. Meh, not crazy about the bag. So YAY YOU SAVE MONEY.

    The outfit is really fab, though. The belt is a great color (gawd I love leather belts) and the sparkly shoes add a whole lot of awesome to the button-down+jeans look.

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  5. IF you're not completely in love, return it.

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  6. Lol, bag to human ratio. :)

    Sorry that you were disappointed with this bag, but given that this style is so popular these days, I'm sure you will find one more to your liking.

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  7. Haha, it's rare that my friends see me in pants either...but you certainly do look cute!

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  8. You do casual just as good as you do dressy...love your outfit today! As for the bag...I think I'd return it too. You could find something cuter I think.

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  9. I agree, the bag is cute, but I'm just not loving it...it looked much better in the product shot! Are you going to get the Fossil one instead? That one looked really adorable!

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  10. i see what you mean - I love the style too - maybe you can try the fossil. Gotta love that shredded wheat!

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  11. It reminds me of the Mulberry Alexis bag...cute, but again, if you don't feel like it's worth the $$ I'm sure you can find something better.

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  12. oooooh that disappointing!!! but thank you for sharing the review!! perhaps now i can keep looking for the perfect bag!

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  13. Like Eek, the bag reminds me of the Alexa, but mini size. It's a nice bag, but if it doesn't live up to your expectations, it's best to put it back. Great to see you in pants too - and i don't mind the bathroom backdrop!

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  14. Amy, do I remember correctly that you were getting a red leather satchel with your initials? Do you use the bag? I remember being quite surprised by how stiff the leather was, when I happened to find the brand at UO.

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  15. Aww, that's too bad about the bag. It looked so promising in the pictures.

    Are you going to order the Fossil one instead? For what its worth, I have a Fossil bag from a few years ago and I am very happy with the quality of the leather for the price.

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  16. you should try this one, all leather, I saw it at Nordstrom and fell in love! http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/tarnish-mini-leather-turnlock-flap-satchel/3130406?origin=category&resultback=1144

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  17. I see exactly what you mean.

    What I would have probably liked is that the canvas part be thicker, stiffer in a white or ivory, then the leather be softer, luxe, not so tough and plasticky.

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  18. Thank you so much for the review on the satchel. It's been on my wishlist since it arrived on the website, but I think I can now move it to my *possibly, but only when on supersale* list instead.

    Btw...love your outfit in the first pic! :)

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  19. aww sad! at least it's not final sale, woohoo!:)

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