****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I had been looking for a new tote bag to use as a general every day bag. I like an open tote bag that will stand up that I can reach into and grab what I'm looking for. I wanted a bag that looks and feels like real leather but with the price of PU leather. This bag fills most of those points. The ostrich textured PU leather does look and feel very authentic. I liked several colors and had a hard time deciding but I went with the brown color as I felt it was the most natural looking. I'm happy with the color, it will go with everything, but all the others are nice also. Because the leather is soft, it won't stand up when it's empty. I don't like bags that are too stiff, so you can't have everything. I put a lot of "stuff" in my bag so it stands fairly well and just slouches over at the top. It's big enough to distribute the weight and the straps stay put on my shoulder better than many other bags. It's not an open tote. It has a zipper that closes the top, which is good for traveling. It's more secure and nothing falls out if It falls over. The zipper opens fully so it's easy to get into the bag. And you can just leave it open. The zipper doesn't close the whole bag; it leaves an opening on either size of the zipper which is great. It leaves room for an umbrella or a tall water bottle to stand up. It has a good strong lining in a nice dark tan color, with two open pockets on one side, a zippered pocket on the other and a full width zippered divider. Most bags have these dividers in the middle of the bag which divides it into two equal sized sections. This divider is all the way over to the back side leaving one small side and one large side. I really like that feature. The larger side gives you plenty of space of books, a tablet or small laptop. I have a good sized inner organizer bag in mine where I put lots of small things and I can switch out to another tote bag easily. And I like that it has a good sized zippered pocket on the outside. And the zipper pulls are very attractive. I think the straps are usually the weakest feature of most tote bags, but the straps on this bag are good. They're strong, stitched on both sides, yet soft and flexible. I was leary of the buckles. The holes in these kind of straps usually don't hold up under pressure, so, time will tell about them. But I do like the fact that the strap length can be adjusted. I lengthened mine right away so I can easily sling the bag over my shoulder with a heavy coat on. A longer strap doesn't slide off as easily as a shorter one. I would like the hardware better if it was a little less brassy/gold. I would prefer a silver or grayish toned metal but I know gold is popular and this is not brassy enough to be unacceptable. Overall it's a great bag, especially for the price.
