Bayswater Variety

"Just one of any style" I said. "No point in having multiple colours in the same design" I continued.

4 Bayswaters later...

Why? How?And which one is my favourite? Want to find out?

...and which one is your favourite?

Oak NVT Printed vs Glossy Goat

Picking a bag is hard, right? First you might consider style and features:

• Is it big or small? 
• Structured or soft? 
• Hand-held or (also) suitable to be carried on the shoulder?

Then you have to select the "right" colour, that will work with your wardrobe. Though I don't tend to think about that, I just go with what I like (more often that not that's Oak NVT), I know many of others are more adventurous when it comes to choosing a colour.
 
And then you might become aware that different leathers have different characteristics. Where one finish might age visibly and develop a patina, another one might not change as quickly. One type of leather might make a bag slouchy, another will provide some structure. Oh, and they might also be paired with different hardware: brass, soft gold or nickel... 

Didn't I say this is hard?

As I happen to currently house two Bayswaters (to me the most iconic of Mulberry's styles) in two different finishes, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to compare these!

So scroll down and have a look at my video but I first also a few closeups so you can see the difference really well.

 NVT in Printed Oak

The leather is embossed with a pattern of sorts, that will remind you of a reptile skin - hence it often being called 'croc'. The print lends a structure to the bag, making it more rigid. The leather has that natural oak feel but is not as matte; it appears glossier and will become more so with use. The leather between the printed lines is smooth, colour varies, goes marginally lighter and darker. NVT Oak is notoriously prone to waterspots and many owners don't dare take their oak bags out in the rain. Regular treatment with Collonil will protect against this though.

The hardware on the older oak styles tends to be brass. Matte and more understated than the gold, it is actually my favourite finish. Not least because it doesn't get scratched as easily as the shinier hardware.

Glossy Goat

Since making the video I looked this up (thanks, Shian!) and this nicely even grain is, indeed, embossed. I have heard many goatskin bag owners use the word "bombproof". I can't vouch for that myself but the glossy finish certainly seems less sensitive than NVT. Overall the bag seems softer though and I do know that it will slouch quicker than the printed NVT.

The hardware on this Bayswater is soft gold. It is highly polished and I would say looks more formal and dressier than the brass. Being so glossy, it will show scratches sooner than brass.

Right, I think that's it - have a look at my video for a full on comparison!

Birthday Bag

There is a bit of a story behind this bag.

I had been going back and forth over what to get for my Mulberry voucher: There was the flirtation with Roxette. Then the infatuation with Cara. And the back and forth around her. I now started to look at the Kite - but for all of them I found one or more reasons not to take the plunge. 

And then my mum asked me for some "bag advice". Literally 2 minutes before little M and I were about to go through to our gate. We had spent 2 weeks at my parents' and not once had my mum asked. No, she remembered to ask just as we were about to wave goodbye. Anyway, I rolled my eyes and said, that this was really something to have a longer chat about, for example whether she wanted something structured or slouchy. "Oh, like that grey bag I have. Just another colour. And something a bit more... special..." We said our goodbyes and just before boarding I sent her an email with a few suggestions, namely these:

the Small Bayswater Satchel in Regal Blue

The Strathberry Tote in Burgundy

And the Strathberry Midi Tote in Navy

Her reply was something along the lines of "Oh, that Mulberry is lovely but £840 [it was in the sale] is rather a lot" and I decided I'd finish all my dithering and we'd all give her the bag for her upcoming birthday.

Luckily Mulberry Manchester had one in store and a quick visit on Saturday (where I restrained myself immensely and didn't look at anything else, as little M and Mr. G were with me) resulted in me going home with this lovely bag.

So just before I bubblewrapped it, I squeezed in a review... and thought that this one might be for myself as well... here we go again. *sigh*

The Most Mulberry Of All

Mulberry have done lots of bags, many of which  are well known.  Some could be called iconic, such as the Alexa, the Roxette or the Cara but none is as closely linked to the brand as the Bayswater. The shape, the flap closure, the postman's lock; even people who don't really know their handbags will instantly recognise her as a Mulberry.

My Mulberry Bayswater has forever been waiting for her curtain call. For some reason I kept ignoring her - at least as far as filming a review goes. (Maybe because I know that she'll stay put, whilst others that I reviewed were moved on fairly quickly.) I've not actually used her that much, simply because I haven't needed a formal bag that holds that much stuff. I also, up until very recently, had a 15 minute walk from the trainstation to my office, and didn't fancy lugging a fairly heavy bag around. I'm now in a new job, where I hop on a tram for most of the way from trainstation to office, so think she'll get more chance to be taken out.

Bayswater Gone Casual

Even though my Alexa and my Ledbury are my most used (and probably loved) Mulberry bags, I have to say that I have a special soft spot for my Bayswater. Such an iconic and instantly recognisable bag, I feel like such a grown up when I carry her. There are two drawbacks though. She is quite heavy and opening and closing her to get to your contents can be a bit of a faff - mainly because your arm will kind of cover the postman's lock. I therefore decided to try the Bayswater Tote, a more lightweight and casual version. 

Go East West

You might know that one of my favourite go-to bags is my Ledbury - especially since I managed to add a long strap that allows me to carry her cross-body. She does have rather short straps though, so if you like carrying your bag on your shoulder you might struggle.
  
Enter the Mulberry East West Bayswater: with the same height and just a tad wider, her handles are a fair bit longer, yet she is much more little-Ledbury than  big-Bayswater sized.

So before I come to the full review just a quick comparison:


Bayswater
Height 28cm
Width 37cm
Depth 17cm
Handle Drop 14cm
Weight 1400g

East West Bayswater
Height 20cm
Width 33cm
Depth 17cm
Handle Drop 18cm
Weight 900g

Ledbury
Height 20cm
Width 27cm
Depth 14cm
Handle Drop 11cm
Weight 750g 

All based on items in picture. I know that they can vary, especially weight (depending on leather) and handle drop. 

Chicken or Egg?

So if you've seen my post on the Ledbury conversion, you know that I essentially took an older model bag (Ledbury) and customised it so I was able to wear it with a strap, effectively creating a Small Bayswater Satchel - hence a newer model.

You could say it's ironic (though it's really just the logic precursor) that whereas I took the SBS as an inspiration to customise the Ledbury, Mulberry took the Ledbury as the inspiration for the SBS.

So what's better? Ledbury or SBS? There's only one way to find out...

Step It Up

Mummy & baby bags - all Mulberry

From the top

Bayswater NVT Printed Oak

Ledbury Printed Oak

Regular del Rey Deer Brown

Small del Rey Slate Blue

Regular Alexa Soft Buffalo Black

Mini Alexa Cabbage Green

Roxanne Darwin Chocolate

Blenheim Chocolate Darwin

MacBook Pro Travelling in (Mulberry-)Style

So what do you do if you have to carry a laptop (more specific a MacBook Pro) and don't want to give up your Mulberry? You could use a simple laptop sleeve on a strap together with your small- to medium-sized handbag. Or you could use a slim laptop sleeve and squeeze the whole thing into a Bayswater (I did this up until recently). Or you could discover something you didn't even know existed: a Bayswater for Macbook!

I acquired this very practical bag a few weeks ago and found it particularly useful when I was flying with my toddler in tow. Carrying his bag, pushchair, my bag and him and getting all that stuff (and him!) through security meant it was so much easier to just slide my MacBook out and back into the bag than getting it out of a sleeve inside a Bayswater - which is what I had done previously.

I really don't get why Mulberry ever stopped producing these - maybe it was just a limited licencing deal with Apple or whatever but I really wish you could get any Bayswater as a laptop bag...

Mulberry Bayswater for MacBook in Black Drummed Patent Leather

Factfile
Width 36cm, Height 28cm, Depth 12cm
1 padded laptop compartment with tab closure, 1 removable pull-top bag.
1 zipped compartment, 2 slip pockets, 1 press stud compartment for pendrives. 

Anyway, let's see what fits in...

Not So Boxy Bayswater

Whereas I am still on the fence on whether I prefer my Alexa a bit more slouchy, i.e. without an insert that gives the bag structure, I definitely want a big workbag such as my Heritage Bayswater, to be fairly boxy. If I carry any documents, I wouldn't want them to get crumpled and I'd probably expect to be able to slide in a laptop without having to uncrumple the bag first.

So far, I haven't owned a standard Baywater (yet) but from what I know, the Heritage Bayswaters are much more slouchy. I therefore ordered a standard Bayswater-sized Samorga insert (the colour is dune by the way), which fitted quite well into my Fudge Heritage Bayswater and achieved the desired boxy shape as well as gaining useful compartments inside the bag, which help to organise its contents.

Tradition or Heritage?

I always loved Mulberry's traditional Bayswater: great size (holds A4 or something laptop-sized), a style that allows you to dress up or down and a great choice of leathers and finishes. However, I am hopelessly addicted to wearing my bags cross-body and just was never sure enough I'd cope with the Bays' handles that may or may not work for me on the shoulder. Carrying a bag like that for my work commute (or any amount of time) in the crook of my arm, was not an option.

I therefore had a bit of an epiphany when I discovered the Heritage Bayswater: A classic Bayswater, all be it in a softer, slouchier leather, with a long strap attached - long enough to carry the bag cross-body! A real shame that this was just produced and sold for a short time, I believe somewhere around SS/AW12 but worth seeking out if these features excite you as much as they do me!

 Photo courtesy of Z.Collyer