I will start with Rebecca Minkoff.
Over the past two years, quite a few Rebecca Minkoff bags have joined my family, but then gone to new homes. Because they are rare and harder to find in Canada, and a little more expensive here, I usually bought my RM’s online, new and used. In fact, Holt Renfrew only recently started carrying RM’s. Because of this, I was usually buying these bags without trying them on IRL, so there was a certain amount of trial and error with styles that didn’t end up suiting me or sizes that I didn’t like.
My very first RM was the full-sized Nikki in Dark Brown, which I talked about back in May 2009. This was an excellent choice for me because I tend to be a hobo-style kind of girl. And the leather on this one was the thickest, chewiest leather ever! I still have this bag and have no plans to sell it!
The second RM I ever purchased was a bit of a bittersweet sort of parting. I found one on the Basic Boutique website and on sale with free shipping! The RM full-sized Beloved in Black Haze was a perfect crossbody bag for me.
I loved the size of the bag at 13”L x 9.5” H x 5”D. And the adjustable shoulder strap was a real bonus as it could be worn short as a shoulder bag, or long as a crossbody (messenger) bag. With 4 exterior zippered pockets and 3 interior pockets (1 large zippered and 2 open patch pockets, this bag was the most functional bag I would own! The tassels hanging from each zipper pull was a huge feature for me too. I love tassels.
But I absolutely could not stand the Black Haze leather and the gold hardware. I found Black Haze to be too stiff for my liking. After the soft, slouchy leather on my Nikki, the Black Haze seemed to pale in comparison. When I attempted to clean a small patch that had gotten dirty, the Black Haze actually bled! The gold hardware made it very old fashioned for me. I have always preferred silver or gunmetal hardware on my bags. I was not impressed, but I loved the bag. What to do? I sold it, and decided to get another Beloved, but in a different leather, other than Haze leather. By this time though, RM had stopped making the full-sized Beloved or they were very rare and hard to find. The Mini Beloved, however, was in abundance.I found a gorgeous Mini Beloved in Black Cat leather and Gunmetal hardware on AsterAlice, on sale and with free shipping! This combination was definitely exactly what I was looking for! The Black Cat leather was so soft and supple and the gunmetal hardware was not garish. I loved it! It had the same adjustable shoulder/crossbody strap as the full-sized Beloved, and the same amount of interior and exterior pockets. And came with matching leather tassels as well. This bag looked so cute and chic on!
But it was too small for my needs. At 10”L x 8”H x 4.5”D, the Mini Beloved was just too tight once I got all my things into it. As a mother of two young children, I tended to carry a lot, so the Mini Beloved just didn’t make the cut.
But it was too small for my needs. At 10”L x 8”H x 4.5”D, the Mini Beloved was just too tight once I got all my things into it. As a mother of two young children, I tended to carry a lot, so the Mini Beloved just didn’t make the cut.
So, again, I sold it. And now I regret it. My children are older now and I find I don’t carry quite as much…and I am finding myself wishing I had a bag like the Mini Beloved. Perhaps sometime in the near future, I’ll have the pleasure of owning another, possible in a different colour this time? I think a perfect one would be on in a dark grey with silver or gunmetal hardware. If RM puts one out like that, I will be all over it.Yet another RM that I full regret selling is the full-sized Stud Nikki in Flat Iron Gray (FIG) with Gunmetal hardware. I found this one on AsterAlice on sale with free shipping as well. And I really NEVER should have even considered selling this beauty!
This Stud FIG Nikki was not only the perfect size and style for me, but the FIG leather was gorgeous! It was a pebbled medium gray that was set off perfectly by the gunmetal studs. I had always admired the Studded RM line, but most of them were the gold studs, which I found much too garish. So when I discovered she had the studs in gunmetal as well, I jumped on it. I had initially wanted the black Stud Nikki with gunmetal hardware, but AsterAlice sold out as soon as they went on sale. So I decided to give the FIG a try…and I wasn’t disappointed!
Like my full-sized Dark Brown Nikki, the Stud FIG Nikki had 3 multi-function patch pockets and 1 large zippered pocket in the interior, with an added metro card pocket. The lining was the new white and gray strip lining that matched the FIG perfectly! I was so in love! Unlike the Dark Brown Nikki though, the Stud FIG Nikki had the newer clip hardware, and not the Signature RM hardware that I have a preference for, but that wasn’t a big deal to me. The Stud FIG Nikki was heavier than my Dark Brown Nikki, however, because of the added weight of the studs.Why did I sell it, you ask? Temporary insanity?? Um…I needed the money to fund another bag – a Chanel. It was worth my Chanel in the end…but I still miss my Stud Nikki.
The next two RM’s were ones that I really didn’t mind selling, in fact, I couldn’t wait to get rid of! First was the RM Morning After Mini in Crocodile embossed leather. This one was actually acquired in a partial trade. I had never owned a Morning After Mini (MAM) or Morning After Bag (MAB), and had not really planned on it either as I am usually not a fan of hand-held satchels.
I really should have gone with my gut instinct on this one, because, sure enough, when Croc MAM arrived, I was not overly impressed. Sure, she was lovely to look at with all that lovely patent embossed leather and shiny light gold hardware, but I quickly found that I was not a fan of crocodile (embossed or not) and the MAM was just too much like my old Louis Vuitton Speedy, which I had traded away because the hand-held satchel didn’t suit me or my lifestyle. 
At 12.5”L x 8”H x 6”D with a dual handle drop of 6”, the MAM was really too much like the LV Speedy 30. The advantage that the MAM had over the Speedy 30 would be that it had the large zippered pocket on the exterior. The interior also boasted more pockets than the Speedy 30’s one patch pocket. The MAM had two open patch pockets, as well as a large zippered pocket. However, it still resembled the bottomless pit that I was constantly searching through for my belongings in the Speedy 30. The hardware wasn’t overly garish, as it was light gold and not brass. It also had the Signature RM hardware that I prefer, but even that didn’t save it’s lack of functionality for me. So off this one went as well. I had trouble selling this one, actually, and ended up trading it for another RM, which I was much happier with…the 5-Zip Morning After Clutch in Eggplant, which I will talk about in another post in the near future.
Note to self, avoid all MAM’s, MAB’s and Patent Leather with RM’s in the future.
The most recently RM acquisition was actually another full-sized Nikki in Charcoal patent leather with silver hardware that I wasn’t too thrilled about. It was a previously owned Nikki that another Purse Forum member was selling at a steal. So I snapped it up, thinking I couldn’t possibly go wrong with a full-sized Nikki in dark gray with silver Signature RM hardware, and patent to boot! It would be the perfect go-to bag for our Vancouver weather!
When she arrived though, I was disappointed to find that Charcoal was really not dark gray, but a dark brown with metallic undertones. And unlike the soft, slouchy leather that my Dark Brown Nikki boasted, this Charcoal patent leather was rather stiff and unforgiving for a hobo style that tends to be slouchy. So my perfect go-to bag ended up looking too much like my existing Dark Brown Nikki, without the luscious leather. Not even the silver Signature hardware could save her. And off she went too.
Note to self, avoid all MAM’s, MAB’s and Patent Leather with RM’s in the future. 
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