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review: a.p.c. half moon bag
By On In Review1,366 Comments

Last year I bought myself the A.P.C. Half moon bag and figured I should write a review on it as there aren’t that many helpful reviews out there at the moment. I love to read about people’s experiences before deciding on such an expensive purchase so maybe this post will help a few people out.

Current prices and availability
At the moment €345. I got mine in Antwerp, Belgium last year for €325, so that’s a small increase of €20. If you take a look at the French website it’s €310 with an increase of €15. You should be able to get your hands on one in one of the A.P.C. stores worldwide. I’ve been to their stores in different countries and they always seem to have a few in stock. If you live in the Netherlands and you’re not a big fan of online shopping (we don’t have an A.P.C. store), check SKY in Amsterdam or Wendela van Dijk in Rotterdam. If you don’t mind some online shopping, get your bag here, here or here.

Dimensions
24 x 17 x 8 cm. Strap 65 cm.

Form and function
The name of the bag pretty much speaks for itself when you look at the design of the bag. It’s simple yet slightly different with its round shape. It comes in two different kinds of leather; smooth Italian leather and embossed Italian leather, the latter less prone to scratches. You’ll find a double zip closure on top with leather pull tabs. This brings me to a major downside of the bag, due to the stiffness of the leather and the limited opening, it’s really hard to get in and out of it and to organise your belongings. You can only hope to grab the thing you’re looking for. On the plus side, it has a nice long strap with an adjustable goldtone buckle so it can be worn on the shoulder of cross body. Inside, you’ll find a large interior patch pocket and cotton-blend lining.

Care and maintenance
I decided to buy this bag because I wanted a smaller purse that wasn’t as fragile as my Céline trio bag. To be honest, it’s still pretty delicate but I definitely don’t have to worry about scratches as much as I do with the trio. That said, I never put it on the ground and I think I’m pretty careful with every bag that I own. So if you like to throw your bags carelessly around, this bag might not be the one for you. It’s also not a good option if you like to stuff your bags. Although it might seem pretty sturdy, I know of several people who’s bags changed shape over time. That said, it fits quite a lot for such a small bag. I usually carry my daily essentials: my iPhone, lip balm, keys, passport, mints, deodorant, earphones and Comme des Garçons wallet.

Pros:

  • the price is reasonable when you compare it to other designer bags
  • lovely design, compliments guaranteed
  • it can be worn in two different ways, I prefer to wear it cross-body

Cons:

  • hard to get and in out of the bag
  • might lose its shape if you overstuff it
  • watch out for colour transfer on light garments

So there you have it. To be honest, I can’t decide for you if this bag is worth its price. I guess it mostly depends on how careful you are with your bags. I know I’m very happy with it and carry it at least a couple of times a week when I travel light to work. It has gotten a lot more wear than my Céline trio lately due to the weather. I carried it through rain and snow and it still looks great apart from some minor scratches. I can tell you one thing for sure though, it’s definitely an eye-catcher that will get you many compliments.

For all of you half moon bag owners, is there anything you would like to add?

review-acne-canada-scarf
By On In Review2,169 Comments

The immensely popular Acne Canada scarf is hands down one of my favourite winter essentials. I bought mine a little over four years ago on sale at Matches Fashion and I haven’t worn another scarf since. What’s not to love: the colour goes with everything, it’s incredibly warm and it can easily double as a shawl because of its size (190 cm x 75 cm) as I do tend to get cold in the office sometimes.

By the way, in case you’re wondering why the logo on my scarf looks different from the one they use now; they changed the name from Acne (Ambition to Create Novel Expressions) to Acne Studios in 2013. Jonny Johansson, one of the founders and now global creative director, initially said he liked the idea of “appropriating a difficult word” and making it cool, but over the years he changed his mind: “I wish we hadn’t called it that. People said it was a weird name, and I agree with them.”

Material: 100% virgin lambswool. The material feels luxurious, soft and quite substantial. The term virgin wool is used to identify the wool one gets from shearing a lamb for the first time. This wool is known to be very soft and fine. It also provides exceptional protection from the elements and is water resistant. Wool is naturally absorbent and is able to absorb almost 20 percent of its weight in liquid.

Care instructions: dry-clean only. I’m usually not that strict when it comes to care instructions. Most of the dry-clean only items that I own, can be washed by hand. That said, I haven’t tried it with this scarf yet. So for now, I would suggest getting it professionally cleaned, just to be safe. Also be careful when it gets really wet and make sure you let it dry on a flat surface so it won’t lose its shape. Never dry it close to a heat source!

Price: €150. This scarf originally retailed for about €110 but currently sells for €150. Only a couple of weeks ago it sold for €130, so that’s a price increase of 15%. To me, that hardly comes as a surprise as it has been extremely popular for several years now and I’m sure a lot of consumers won’t mind paying its current price. But if you’re contemplating buying this scarf, make sure you don’t take too long to make up your mind. Who knows, another price increase could just be around the corner.

Worth the price: I absolutely love it and I have never regretted my purchase for one second. After all these years it still looks brand new; the quality is outstanding. It has truly proven itself to be a worthwhile investment. But, I did get it on sale and to be honest, I find its current price to be quite steep. If you can afford it and you don’t mind paying extra for the brand name, go for it! For those of you who can’t or won’t spend that amount on a simple (yet timeless) scarf, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that there’s a similar, cheaper 100% wool scarf out there that will last you just as long.

Other (cheaper) alternatives: A.P.C. (€145), & Other Stories (€55), H&M (€30), Hallhuber (€70), ICHY (€50), Filippa K (€100)

celine-trio-review
By On In Review720 Comments

celine_trio-bag-800

celine-trio-bag-review-800

Now I know a lot of you ladies are lusting after the Céline trio bag. But is it really worth the price? It’s one of my favourite bags so I thought it would be nice to write a review. It’s a gorgeous little bag that popped up all over the blogosphere in what seemed a matter of days. But I’m certainly not one to judge anyone that jumped on the trio bandwagon, because I instantly fell in love with it too. The trio is super versatile and I love the chic and understated design. It’s great for running errands or a night out. It does come with a few cons though, so if you’re considering this bag, please read on.

Current prices
I received an email from Department Feminin not too long ago with the current prices and at this very moment the small trio sells for €680 and the large trio for €780 (edit 30-12-16: current price for the small one is €730 and €780 for the large version). I got mine (the small version) for €600 three years ago so for such a small bag that’s pretty expensive to begin with, that’s quite the price increase. I expect it to become even more expensive over the next few years. So if you’re thinking about buying it, don’t wait too long!

Form and function
The trio, as it’s name suggests, consists out of three separate detachable compartments. When snapping the two outer pouches together, it can be used as a small clutch. I do have to be honest though, I never tried it myself as I’m not really a clutch person. I prefer my hands free, so I always carry it as a cross body bag. It comes with an adjustable strap which is stitched to the center compartment. The most common (and hard to find) colours are black and navy, but they sell different colours every season. They all come with gold hardware. At first I was after a black trio, but it wasn’t available at the time, so I settled for a navy one. Which probably sounds negative, but I’m still super happy with my decision. You can hardly tell if it’s black or blue, but it just looks a little bit softer (if that makes any sense). The lambskin is gorgeous and feels soft and luxurious. A major con however is it’s durability. The leather is not at all scratch-resistent and when I took it out in the rain, the raindrops actually stained the bag for a little while. So that really freaked me out. But fortunately they were gone after a few hours, pfieww! Since the leather is really soft, it doesn’t keep it’s shape very well, but because of that, it fits quite a lot. Usually I’ll take my CDG wallet, passport, lip balm and iPhone and there’s still room left. I love how easy it is to organise your stuff. I don’t have to search for my keys for 10 minutes. I’m sure that sounds familiar. Before I forget, I should probably mention that the zipper pulls look a little different now. The earlier pulls came with stitching all around (like mine), but nowadays they’re only stitched at the side that’s connected to the actual zipper. I have no idea why Céline changed it, but I like it either way.

Quality
I bought this bag almost three years ago and it’s holding up really well. I took these pictures this morning, so you can see for yourself. It does have one visible scratch on the back though, because I couldn’t help being a lazy idiot. I didn’t put it back in it’s dust bag before storing it. So it got scratched by another bag. What can I say, lesson learned. Other than that I can hardly spot any damage, except for some minor scuffing on one of the corners.

Pros:
  • it’s the cheapest Céline bag on the market
  • the versatility (two bags in one)
  • it looks and feels luxurious
  • the pouches make it very easy to organise your stuff
Cons:
  • the durability of the leather
  • the strap could be sturdier (I’ve read some stories about straps breaking, so I’m careful not to overstuff it)
  • the price

Well, I hope my review was helpful for those of you considering the Céline trio. Although it does come with a few cons, I love it and would definitely buy it again. You just need to be a bit more careful with it, and even though I’m usually a throw-my-bags-around kinda person that prefers the look of a used bag, I really don’t mind. Anything with a gorgeous design that’s still as functional as the trio is a worthwhile investment to me.