Something Old, Something New

You might have seen one of my Mulberry Roxanne reviews. And maybe also my Roxette unboxing  - though I just realised, I haven't done a proper review yet, so need to do that asap! Anyway, back to the here and now: the Roxette is often described as the modern take on the Roxanne, so I thought I'd do a quick comparison video.

I need to state here that I am comparing the Small Roxette with the Roxanne, so you could argue that I should compare the Roxanne with the Regular Roxette but I don't have one of those and the Rosemary is a fair bit smaller that the Small Roxette.

Fancy having a look? Measurements for your info at the bottom!

Which one is your favourite?

Roxanne measures ca width 34 cm, depth 18 cm, height 19 cm. Handledrop is ca 22cm.

Roxette measures ca width 30 cm, depth 14 cm, height 21 cm. Handledrop is ca 10cm - but you do get a long adjustable strap.

Repeat Offender

Is it still surprising when somebody does the surprising thing again and again? 

Like when I say 
"Oh, I like that bag", then 
"ah, I'm not sure", 
"nah' it's not for me"...and then 
- I buy it? 

Only just did that with the Cara and have been using her loads, so bound to happen again, right?

Maybe with the Mulberry Small Roxette? From "must have" to "meh" in the course of a week - and just a little while down the line and... ta daaaa...

So there you go. I gave in. Watch me unbox (or un-bag) my new Mulberry Small Roxette.

Covet Monday - Cara on Location

Ok, so I really hadn't planned on doing *another* covet post on handbags after last Monday's. Certainly not on Mulberry.

But being on holiday - and having a babysitter available (thanks mum & dad) - meant not only the possibility of having a play with  the newly landed Roxette (and to decide on size and leather) but also to check out the not before visited Mulberry store in Frankfurt.

Upon entering, I was immediately welcomed and offered help but then happily left to browse. A few minutes later the lovely sales assistant, who had greeted me initially, came back and cooed over my cabbage green Mini Aexa, which kicked off a long conversation about classic pieces and other bags in my collection. Both happy to chat, we talked about old and new bags and she was either a very good actress or clearly excited to talk to somebody who is slightly Mulberry-obsessed.

Meanwhile, I had a look at all Roxettes on offer: a blue printed small one and black and oak regular-sized. I dismissed the regular one straight away: just too big. I liked the shape and the cross-body-ness of the small one but wasn't as impressed with the leather as I thought I'd be. 

 The print on the blue wasn't as deep/pronounced as I would have hoped and the oak (Calfskin) was much more similar to the pebbled oak of Effie rather than the classic oak (Natural Leather) I have seen on Bayswater or Cara. I also slightly struggled with the buckle opening. All together a bit of a "Meh"-moment after all the build-up.







I totally surprised myself though by falling head over heels with a bag I had previously dismissed: the Cara. Specifically the Mini Cara ticked a lot of boxes:

• Dinky enough for my small frame yet probably just as roomy as my Ledbury as she is quite high. 
• Flexible carry options and with a bit of tinkering suitable for cross-body wearing.
• Perfect in finish: I would love to buy a NVT Oak bag from new and see her age. :)

  
So with a price tag of £795 she is also much more affordable than the Roxette (£995 for small oak) and would make perfect use of the voucher I have left to spend.







In re. to the store:

Setup:  

Like all Mulberry stores, it was light and airy, and even though it is quite "deep" and could have easily ended up being dark at the far end, it never felt that way. Fashion is placed at the end of the shop with a comfortable lounge-type area, creating a nice flow & resting point. Plenty of space to wander around and lots of class-topped cabinets afford space to have a play with the goods on show.

Stock: 

Good choice overall with core styles available in core and seasonal colours. 

Noteworthy for myself was also the small Jamie: I was surprisingly impressed by the conversion between short (shoulder) and long (cross body) strap and thought the size and was great. Closure with a non-fuss zip was a bonus.

 

A couple of exclusives, such as the Aligator printed Lily. (Beautiful and shiny, though a smidge out of my budget at over €12k)




 



Sales Assistants: I really can't praise them enough. They were welcoming and attentive and found just the right balance of giving you attention but leaving you to browse. I was offered a drink after a few minutes and encouraged to have a play with whichever bag I wanted. I also saw them take a couple of items outside for customers trying to decide on colour, to see the finish in daylight/sunshine. (Stark contrast: at Louis Vuitton I was stared down and followed around by security. I reckon, they'd have body checked me, had I asked to see an item right outside the store door. Did I look that dodgy?!)


Location:
The location is, predictably, on Frankfurt's high-end street Goethestrasse, with Louis Vuitton, CHANEL, Burberry and the likes nearby. Parking is available either right outside (if you are lucky) or in the Goetheplatz underground carpark.

 


I really should have taken lots more pictures of the store but feel I can now justify another visit soon. :)

So after all that spiel just to summarise - this week's covetable item is the Mulberry Mini Cara in Oak Natural Leather. And she might actually be mine soon. Watch this space!

Motivation Monday - She's Got The Look

Hotel Chocolate Salted Caramel Puddles.
A massage.
Boden's Cropped Cashmere Cardigans.

All things that I'd classify as little (or big) luxuries.

Even if you love your job, Monday mornings can be hard. So what better motivation than reminding yourself what you could do with some of your hard-earned cash. I am therefore introducing "Motivation Monday", where I shall feature things on my wish dream list.

And I'm starting with a pretty big ticket item: the recently launched Mulberry Roxette. Despite carrying the name of a rather successful, yet slightly overstyled early 90s Swedish band (for those who've never heard of them:  that's what the title of this article eludes to), the bag concerned is a rather unfussy and contemporary take on Mulberry's Roxanne. For me the main attraction lies in how her shape showcases the leather and I am currently swaying between oak (can you imagine how beautiful that would age?!) and midnight blue croc calfskin. I need to have a proper look at her in a shop (Spinningfields, here I come).

I am also undecided between sizes. The small one comes with that oh-so-practical long strap. (You know how I feel about being able to carry my bag cross-body.) But the regular sized one might give me more versatility.

The only thing that I have slight "concerns" about is the closure. This seems to be a small belt buckle, which you actually have to undo. Not sure I will want to bother with that much faff. 

The price tag of £995/£1100 (oak/croc) for small and £1100/£1200 for regular is enough reason to get this right. Or to wait for the sale.

What do you think?