Since Rebecca Minkoff has yet to make a full scale debut in Canada, her bags are largely unrecognized here. Holt Renfrew doesn't sell them, and the Rebecca Minkoff website only lists two stores in East Canada who sell RMs (in Toronto and Quebec). Recenly, a friend of mine told me that she had seen some RM patent cosmetic cases in a boutique in downtown Vancouver called Blubird at Alberni Street & Burrard Street. I paid the boutique a visit and was pleasantly surprised to find that they carried the newest RM Supernova Stud Nikki and Supernova Stud Devote!
I was more than thrilled as the RM Nikki is the bag that I had been admiring on tPF for the last few months now...and hoping to have a better look at before deciding if I really wanted one. I'd read on tPF that the RM leather is "very smooshy", "chewy", "buttery soft", "thick". Trying on the Stud Nikki in black leather with gold tone studs, I would have to agree with every adjective used on tPF...hands down! I loved the size of the Nikki as well. It measures at 19" x 4" x 15" with a 9" drop at the handle. There are three multi-function, open pockets on one wall and a large zippered pocket on the opposite wall. The open pockets are trimmed with the same leather as the exterior...a nice touch. The Stud Nikki is lined with the blue and white striped lining. I have seen on tPF that many RM bags have the coveted black and white floral lining, but I have yet to see that in person. I found the Stud Nikki to be a little heavy, but the bag is studded, and the hardware is not the RM signature hardware, but the original hardware with the large lobster clips on either side of the bag. Gorgeous, gorgeous bag! I fell completely in love with it...until I took a peek at the price tag! Now the Supernova Stud Nikki retails in the USA for $650USD. Blubird's price tag for it read $847CAD!!! Ouch! I looked hopefull at DH, who'd gone to see the bag with me. And at the look he gave me after he took a look at the price tag...I put Nikki back on the shelf.
I didn't give up though...I went back to see the bag several times and resolved that the Supernova Stud Nikki, or just a Nikki, for that matter, would be my next designer bag conquest.
I didn't give up though...I went back to see the bag several times and resolved that the Supernova Stud Nikki, or just a Nikki, for that matter, would be my next designer bag conquest.
So as I had mentioned in a previous post, I did find a brand new, never used dark brown Nikki on eBay that was being sold by a fellow tPFer. That transaction went smoothly and Nikki arrived to me the day before yesterday.
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She came, brand new, still with tags at $407USD shipped, which came to $490CAD with the exchange. I was charged another $60CAD in duties at the post office. The dark brown lambskin is thick, chewy, very smooshy and soft as butter! The colour is rich and the leather smells just amazing! My new Nikki is quite a bit lighter than the Supernova Stud Nikki, but shares the same interior features. The leather, however, is even softer and smooshier on the dark brown than on the black Stud Nikki. According to my fellow "Minkettes" (an endearing term used by the designer for all her followers), the kind of leather used to make an RM bag depends on the colour of the bag. I'm assuming this is because certain skins take better to certain coloured dyes?
Because of the size of the Nikki, things in your bag may tend to get a little lost, but I have one of those Purseket-like purse organizers that my friend MJ once made for me, so I don't have that problem. I highly recommend a Purseket purse organizer though...you can find them on eBay. However, because the Nikki has so many pockets, I have a pocket each for my iPhone, keys and work ID, as well as the zippered pocket to put cosmetics and such in. So really, an organizer isn't even needed for the Nikki. And I love that my Nikki has the signature RM hardware rather than just the original lobster clip!
Now I've also been warned by my fellow "Minkettes" that once you buy one RM bag, you'll want more and more. Well, I know what other RM styles there are and I'm not particularly interested in any of the others. Some of the either styles just suit me, I feel. The Nikki suits my lifestyle and my personality, but I'm not about to run out and buy a few more Nikkis in different colours. I've never been one to buy the same bag, but just in a different colour, fabric or skin. But apparently, as with Balenciaga, having several Nikkis is all the rage!
Anyway, I am just thrilled with my dark brown RM Nikki bag! Folks, I now know what the fuss is all about over Rebecca Minkoff! Now all I need to get is the official "Minkette" bag charm to add to my Nikki - and I'm officially a "Minkette"!
