Not what I thought I’d be coming home with today! Feeling very lucky and happy
We went for a look round the shops today and I was hoping I’d find a dark brown bag - I had a vision of something more like the Bayswater soft in Ebony for colour, but I didn’t think I’d be going to Mulberry. My searching had been extensive, online and in person, but without success. When airing my thoughts on the search to my husband, I said I was feeling grumpy about it all, everything I’d liked at all was wildly expensive, and I resented the idea of paying Mulberry prices or much more for something that didn’t bring me joy as much as fill a gap in an underwhelming way - I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I have quite a few Mulberry bags from over the years, including an oversize Alexa in grey, which I love, but is a work bag for size. We’re going on holiday (Paris) next week, but I needed to meet this bag need in advance of going, to unlock various outfits, if that makes sense 😄 so I couldn’t wait long enough to see what Paris had to offer.
When we went past the Mulberry shop, the door was open (it has been shut plus guards in the past, not sure what kind of risks they were guarding against that had passed, but maybe they decided to let I. a little spring air) and I thought - knowing the contents of the website pretty well - there was nothing that would actually work for me.
I picked up the Bayswater satchel and was really confused - I mistook it for an Alexa and couldn’t understand why it seemed bigger than the mini but smaller than the standard. The SA kindly explained and said I could compare it with the Alexas upstairs - I did. The first four photos I’ve shared are of the mini, which is what I bought in the end, and the fifth is standard size Alexa. The SA was super helpful, talking me through the different leathers. I looked at the Islington bucket bag, which is a stiffer leather, and the Bayswater satchel, which had a vegan tanning process and would discolour more over time, apparently.
By this stage I was already hooked on an Alexa, and texted my husband to say this 😄. I wasn’t sure about which one, but asked to take out the padding papers from inside both to compare how they stand without it, as that is how I’d take them abroad. Both managed well, looking very good without extra support, but then the SA suggested I pop my things in and see which worked best. I’m pretty good with spatial awareness usually, but I felt like I’d seen an illusion - my big set of car key, house key etc plus phone just disappeared into the mini! I couldn’t believe it. By this time I’d lured the family back to help me decide and my husband, being a practical sort, had already texted back to say maybe the bigger one would be more useful, but he was surprised too - you could have an umbrella, a charging block and a novel in there too, if you chose each well, or a bottle of water or a big sunglasses case… sold on the little one!! I think maybe if I was still the parent of someone quite small, and needed to take all the accompanying toys, wipes etc, the standard size Alexa would have been perfect. But as it is, my child looked down at me and agreed that this was definitely the right choice - much less “I’m a practical woman with everything in this bag” and more “I’m going shopping with my cute little bag” vibes!
Huge write up to say my collection has grown again, and although I’d wanted an Oak Alexa for a while I’d feared the standard to be too big and the mini too small - happy day to be wrong!! 🥰