I finally caved in, and bought myself the Balenciaga bag I had been lusting after. I went for the Balenciaga Day bag – the mens version is different from the woman’s although they are quite similar. I have wanted one for quite some years now so it only made sense to buy myself one when I got back from Spain to cure my post holiday blues (the constant rain back here in England really is not helping matters!) – or at least that is how I justified it to myself. Needless to say it certainly brightened up my day when it arrived.

What I love most about Balenciaga bags is how unassuming they are yet to anyone ‘in the know’ they are instantly recognisable with the tell tale Balenciaga trademarks such as the distressed leather, the stunning hardware, the appliqué leather decorations, and leather zip tassels. Balenciaga make beautiful bags, and they do not need to put their name on them in big letters just to sell them. The only place it says Balenciaga is on a leather patch inside pocket, and the zips have ‘B’ subtly on the one side.

The distressed leather is lambskin; it is perfectly supple. I cannot stop stroking my new bag. I am really excited to see how this bag will age, I imagine it will only get better as the leather wears in time. Another incredible thing about the leather is that although it is thin it is unbelievably tough. The bag itself is lightweight, and weighs practically nothing. The biggest dilemma I had when going to buy this bag was choosing which colour to get – Balenciaga bags come in a delightful array of colours from your standard black to a delightful azure. I really loved the ‘biche’ brown colour, and I thought that ‘anthracite’ was another great choice however I went for black in the end. The reasoning being that my Mulberry bags are brown, and up until now I did not have just a black leather bag.

I found the bag surprisingly spacious – I was not expecting to be able to fit so much inside. I would not want it any bigger, or smaller however it is just right. What appealed to me about this Balenciaga bag is the slouchy casual look of it, it is perfect for every day use. The bag itself has a front zip pocket which is actually quite deep. The inside is accessed by a zip across the top. Inside the lining is canvas, and there is another zip which is also quite deep. It is a messenger bag, and the straps are adjustable. Much of the bag is hand stitched. The bag is made in Italy, and the hardware is palladium plated metal.

Although the leather does have a sheen to it my photographs make it look shinier than it actually is. The lighting in my room is rather rubbish for photographs; so I had to use my camera’s built in flash.

My bag collection is slowly growing, and I can honestly say I love each, and every one of them!