If you know me or follow me on social media, you may know that I’m partial to a designer bag or two and ever since I was young, I’ve always appreciated a good bag! Over the past few years, I have built up a concise collection of designer bags, consisting of different designers, colours and styles. I never thought I would end up purchasing the exact same style of bag from the same designer, until I came across the Balenciaga City Bag. I purchased my first city bag back in October 2018 and then my second as a graduation present to myself, a few months later in April 2019. I always do thorough research when I plan on purchasing a new designer bag, because unless you’re minted, it’s a lot of money to spend on something without researching first, so here’s my two cents on the Balenciaga City Bag!
FEATURES OF A CITY BAG
Adjustable & Removable Shoulder Strap
Detachable Mirror
Hand-Braided Top Handles
Zipped Closure
Zipped Pocket on the Exterior
Zipped Pocket on the Interior
Inner Double Phone Compartment
Canvas Lining
SMALL CITY BAG
Dimensions – W 11.7 X H 8.2 X D 3.9”
100% Crocodile Embossed Calfskin
Shiny Brass Hardware
CLASSIC (MEDIUM) CITY BAG
Dimensions – W 14.8 X H 10.1 X D 5.8”
100% Lambskin
Shiny Silver Hardware
GENERAL REVIEW THE CITY BAG
– Whenever I use either one of these bags, I always use the detachable strap. With the small city, I occasionally wear it crossbody, or when I need to be hands free. With the classic size, I rarely use the shoulder strap, but when I do its only if I need to be hands free for a few minutes. I wouldn’t wear the classic size crossbody as the bag is too big and the shoulder strap isn’t long enough.
– With regards to the limited organisation on the interior, I never really use the double inner phone compartments, although I do have a tendency to use the inner zipped compartments to put things such as my cardholder in, just for easy access in the bag.
– In terms of the mirror, as much as it is a nice touch, I have never used the mirror that comes with these bags. I always keep it in the front zipped pocket, but I could imagine that there are many people who would use it and find it handy.
– The leather on both of these bags is nice and robust and you don’t have to worry about scratching or damaging it with general everyday use. I have a Saint Laurent handbag and the leather is so delicate I’m somewhat scared to use it, but I love how I don’t have to worry about that when I use these as it means I can actually enjoy using it, rather than being scared to.
THOUGHTS ON THE SMALL CITY
– The small city is big enough to fit all of your necessities in, but small enough to wear crossbody without look out of proportion. It’s a great transition bag as it’s easy to transition from day to night as it’s not huge, to the point where it would look out of place when going out to dinner or to an event.
– My small city bag is in a beautiful taupe colour, and even though it’s not black, it still goes with so many outfits effortlessly. My favourite way to wear it is either with an all black outfit, or with a nice white shirt and denim jeans. The colour is a great alternative to black, yet still works with pretty much any colour!
– As I chose to get the small city in the embossed leather, there’s a lot more structure to it, as opposed to if I were to have got it without the mock-embossed crocodile.
– Although I don’t have a great deal to say on this bag, out of the two, I probably get more use out of this one than the classic.
THOUGHTS ON THE CLASSIC CITY
– I have found that the classic city makes for a really good work bag, it fits my 13” MacBook Pro and also fits an A4 notebook in pretty snug. For general personal use, it fits everything that you need for everyday use and a bit more.
– It’s worth noting that the bag is pretty rectangular, so it potentially isn’t as big as you might expect! In terms of weight, generally the city bags aren’t overly heavy to begin with, therefore the only additional weight comes from the contents you put inside it. Unlike some other bags, which are heavy before you even start, I haven’t really found my bag to extremely heavy when I use it, only if I put in my laptop, which has quite a heavy case on it anyway.
– A feature of the city bag itself is that it doesn’t have a great deal of compartments, which isn’t a problem in the smaller size, however in the classic size, it’s easy for items to get lost and I do find myself rummaging through my bag at times.
– The leather of my classic city, which is the lambskin, has yet to be an issue, however I wouldn’t be surprised if over time, the bag became even more slouchy and unstructured. One of the standout aspects of the bag, is that it it’s a casual and slouchy bag, however because I don’t want mine to lose all of it’s form, I keep my bag stuffed when I’m not using it and I hang it on door knobs, rather than sitting it on a chair or the floor to try and prevent it from looking like lifeless.
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
Well, I think it’s probably obvious that I would recommend the Balenciaga City Bag as I have two of them. In terms of leather preference, I don’t really have one, both the Crocodile Embossed Calfskin and the Lambskin have both held up really well and I would say just go with whatever one you prefer. However, regarding the size, it definitely depends on what you plan on using the bag for. If you want something small, but functional, then I would recommend the small size, however if you want something more classic and a good bag for work and everyday, then the classic size if your best bet.
Have you set your sights on this bag? What are your thoughts on it now?
