My Bag Collection: Mulberry Alexa

It might look like I have lots and lots of bags but many of them come and go. If you know me and/or my blog you will be well aware that a bag is really only allowed to stay if it is practical and if I get good use out of it. Ok, exceptions apply, but I tend to think that it's pretty pointless to have a bag sat in your wardrobe. Get it out. Use it. And if it doesn't work for you: move it on.

This is the second post in my series of giving you a bit more info on the bags that are "keepers". After showing you what's so great about the Mulberry Mini Alexa, I am now going to tell you why the regular Alexa is one of my most used bags!

Model
Mulberry Alexa (Regular) in Black Soft Buffalo Leather

Size
33cm wide, 23cm high, 16.5cm deep

Features
Postman Lock and magnetic strap closure. Fully lined. Interior slip and interior zip pocket. Removable and adjustable strap.

Style
Heavily inspired by the traditional satchel shape (though deeper), the Alexa is probably most known for its slouchy shape and rock'n'roll style. This is my ultimate "just throw it on" bag, due to its size, long strap (you know how much I like to carry my bags cross body) and low maintenance leather. More casual than a typical workbag, I use it for work nevertheless and think it works absolutely fine - especially in black.

When do I use her
At the moment this is my daily work commute bag. (My laptop doesn't fit, so that goes into a separate, simple sleeve.) As I said above: this is my go-to bag and if I can't decide which one to take, I usually end up taking my Alexa.

Fits
Samorga insert for Alexa, Van der Spek Nomad (TN-sized Midori) with pen, Naked Cow FN-sized Midori with 4 inserts & pen, pencil case, Mulberry French Purse, travel card, access card, various charger cable, tissues, handcream, lip salve, inhalers, ibuprofen, various letters & paperwork, compact shopping bag, keys*,  work phone* & iPhone*
*yes, I forgot these in the pics

Recommended Care
Use Collonil Gel for cleaning and nourishing and finish off with Collonil Waterstop spray to protect.

For further info (including how to convert it to a rucksack!) have a look at the various reviews I've done on the Alexa
Alexa - general
Alexa - with Samorga 
Alexa - as baby bag
Alexa - strap conversion

Which one is your go-to bag?

My Bag Collection: Mulberry Alexa Mini

If you've been following my blog you know that I'm really into handbags. Many have come and gone though as I am trying to be quite ruthless: if I don't use a bag, if I don't find her suitable to my lifestyle or just not practical, she has to go. I think they are really too expensive to sit in my wardrobe and I justify keeping the ones that I do have by maintaining a good cost per use ratio.

So, which bags are staying, which am I using again and again? I thought it would be interesting to reflect on that and to present those a little bit more in depth on top of the videos that I have done.

Here's the first one...

Model
Mulberry Mini Alexa in Cabbage Green Soft Buffalo Leather

Size
22cm wide, 17cm high, 10cm deep. 

Features
Interior zip pocket, long removable strap.

Style
Fun and casual, the colour puts me in a good mood every time I carry her.  And even though she is slouchy and casual in appearance, I think she works well with a more formal or even evening outfit as she's just a cute juxtaposition in that case.

When do I use her
Not big enough as an everyday work commute bag, I use her when I'm out and about on my own as I can fit my essentials (see below). She's great for popping in my suitcase and is therefore my chosen going on holiday bag.

Fits
Purse, phone, inhaler, tissues, even my Fauxdori and a small shopping bag.

Recommended Care
Use Collonil Gel for cleaning and nourishing and finish off with Collonil Waterstop spray to protect.

For more info, check out my full video review here.

Room for a Few (I'm sorry, I'll stop soon)

So you might have watched my attempt at passing off my Alexa as a baby bag. What better way to justify a Mulberry purchase with "it's for the baby, really"?! If you did watch it, you might remember that it was a rather cramped affair and whereas you might get away with using a regular sized Alexa to lug around your baby paraphernalia, it won't be big enough to serve as a baby bag. So when I recently got my hands on an oversized version, I couldn't wait to try...

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

This One Is Small And This One Is Far Away

Wanting to buy practical bags, which are ultimately worth their money because I can use them lots, is what I usually strive for. Bags that are beautiful or cute but tiny tend to not come on my radar. 

This little Mulberry Alexa in Cabbage Green was a complete spur of the moment purchase on eBay. I just fell in love with the colour and as I love the Alexa style, I threw caution to the wind.

Sorry, couldn't resist the "small and far away" pic but wanted to include one that shows the difference in size.

Let me know what you think!

Conversion-ist - yes, it's that Alexa again...

What else could I possibly talk about regarding the Alexa..? I know: the outside! Somebody asked me to do a quick how-to on Alexa-strap-conversion. So, here it is...

Baby-Bag and Beyond

Thinking about whether you could get away with acquiring a new (or pre-loved) Mulberry and passing it off using it as a baby bag? Well, I've put my work horse, a black Soft Buffalo Regular Alexa, to the test. See how I got on!

With a Little Help from SAMORGA

The Mulberry Alexa is notoriously slouchy - in fact, that's why so many people like it. It gives it this real boho/rock chick/ask if I care feel and means it's a bag that takes you from work to play effortlessly. However, it also means that if it's not very full, it's rather like a fabric bag and your items tumble all over each other. 

This is were the lovely people from SAMORGA come in. Their bag inserts do not only provide different pockets for all your bits and bobs but the fairly rigid felt they are made from, give your bag structure and rigidity. So, with much further ado, here a video on receiving my SAMORGA insert for my Mulberry Alexa and having a first play.

Mulberry again - Lexie to the Rescue

The Mulberry Alexa is my daily go-to bag. Its long strap means I can wear it cross-body, run for the train or after my 2-year-old and get to whatever I'm carrying really quickly. I own one in black (that's the one that gets lugged around almost every day), in oak (that on has been asleep tucked away and for a while) and have recently acquired a mini-sized one in cabbage green. I have yet to test-drive that one properly.

Anyway, without much further ado, a quite hasty (and coughy) review. Let me know what you think!