Style, Travel

Kate Spade Saturday Weekender Bag: Itching for a Trip

After about a month of hemming and hawing, I finally took the plunge and bought some luggage. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I got the Saturday Weekender.

While I was doing “research”, I could barely find any real life (non sponsored) photos or reviews of this bag. Very curious. Did no bloggers buy this bag? So I thought I might as well do a review.

I was torn on which size to get as the dimensions had me stumped for a long time:

  • Regular size: Height: 16″ Width: 19″ Depth: 8″
  • Small size: Height: 14.75″ Width: 14.75″ Depth: 7″

The small looked rather wimpy in the online photos, so regular size it was. Shipping was fast, and I was really pleased with the packaging. Like previous Kate Spade bags I’ve bought everything was carefully packed and protected, from the zippers to the straps. I’m sure I pissed off my coworkers as I was doing my very loud and very lengthy unboxing. I couldn’t help it- the bag was just so well packaged!

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It’s pretty big on me. Side note: I think the only time I see myself in a decent full size mirror these days is either shopping or in the work bathroom. This explains a lot.

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When I took it home, I did a test packing run. WHOA NELLY. This thing holds a ton when fully loaded! And yep the straps really do stand up.

What I Fit in the Bag:

  • 3 pairs of shoes (bottom zone)
  • 2 pairs of jeans
  • 8 shirts
  • 3 dresses
  • Underwear
  • Toiletries
  • Canvas jacket
  • Swimsuit
  • Water bottle

And there was still space for more. But to be fair, it was heavy as hell. Oh right, that’s why I don’t like duffles 🙂

Pros:

It’s a fairly lightweight bag.The bottom compartment is going to be awesome for storing my shoes and dirty laundry. The inside organizer is well thought out and detachable. The bag holds a TON. The zipper pulls are leather, which seemed strange to me at first, but then I realized that they don’t clink. Heaven. Minus points for the plastic zippers however.

Cons:

I knew this from reading the handful of reviews from the website, but it’s not completely obvious due to the dearth of photos- this is a floppy bag with NO structure whatsoever. It will never look like a cute half circle unless you stuff it to the heavens, and then it will probably be be too damn heavy.

While the bottom shoe/dirty laundry compartment was the seller for me, you have to have something in there or the bag collapses upon itself. UGH. Also, two of the side pockets are a bit too shallow to be useful. The only thing that I could think of to put in there is trash. I’m not so sure how comfortable this bag will be in handling real weight. This is probably nitpicky, but when I use the shoulder strap, the two handles hang very awkwardly upright since they are so stiff. I imagine this will lessen in time.

Looking back and knowing my personal packing patterns (minimalist), I should have gotten the smaller bag. Because no doubt that that bag could have held a ton too.

Verdict:

Despite all the cons I posted, I’m still smitten with the bag. Why? I have no clue. Love is strange like that. It’s just such an easy cheerful bag. Looking forward to taking it for a trip soon, perhaps this Saturday?

Shopping, Style, Travel

Luggage Lust

Some may spend their lives dreaming of their wedding day. I dream of the day when I step off the plane with my perfectly quirky, perfectly lightweight and perfectly badass carry-on approved bag. My soulmate, hahaha. I normally travel with a big ass backpack, but it would be nice to have some proper grown up luggage.

Luggage shopping is intimidating. There’s just so damn much to learn and so many choices. What size? What material? Soft sided, hard shell or mixed? Duffel bag? Suitcase? Wheels? Spinners? WTH. That’s not even getting into style options.

I have a few mini trips in the hopper for the upcoming months, and while I don’t absolutely need it, I’ve been having fun checking out luggage options. Here’s a few pieces that I’ve been eyeballing and dreaming of…

Lugguge Lust

From the top, clockwise:

  1. Everlane Weekender– At only 95$, I can’t believe that I’ve wanted one for so long without getting one. I worry that the straps might be a little long on me. Also, it’s kind of duffle baggy, and I don’t do duffles. Decisions, decisions.
  2. The Small Weekender from Kate Spade Saturday- It has a separate compartment for shoes! How cool is that? This could make a great gym bag.
  3. Lipault Plume 22″ 4 wheeled carry on- When I first saw this in a travel shop I thought that no way it would be able to take a beating. However the Amazon reviews for it are A+++, and in person the bags are gorgeous. I wish I had a real reason to buy this luggage.
  4. Tumi Vapor International Carryon– I love Tumi bags, and occassionally see them in Marshalls stores at like 75% off. Fingers crossed this one shows up.
  5. Eagle Creek DS3 hardshell– I’m a fan of Eagle Creek’s packing systems. I imagine their suitcases are quality too.
  6. Samsonite Cityscapes 20″ hardshell- I know this bag is cheesy, but I don’t care. When I saw it at the mall it just made me smile.