Bag, For Life

I've got a new 'Bag for Life' and I don't mean the plastic shopping kind you're familiar with, this is a bag, for life.  My mum is one of those women who carry everything but the kitchen sink around with her, literally, she carries her life around in her handbag.  I can't help but feel that has rubbed off on me and also part of my daily life is carrying around camera equipment and various other bits and bobs which we use for this job on a daily basis; laptop, numerous amounts of cables and chargers, snacks for shooting (cue the 'Emergency Snickers') etc.  So I need a bag for my life, a bag that's big enough, sturdy enough, practical enough, and comfortable.  Well, ta Dahhhhhhh!  I'd like to introduce you to Stella, yes not one of my most original names for my bags but there you have it.  She's my one and only Stella McCartney bag so it felt kind of fitting in this case.  I got Stella from Monnier Freres which I've mentioned before, a luxury accessories retailer where you won't just find the average bags and accessories that you see everywhere, in fact I didn't even know this bag existed until I spotted it on their site, so always worth a look before committing to a new bag/accessory.

Let's analyse Stella for a moment because I know many of you will want to know a bit about her and why she's my chosen bag, for life.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Stella McCartney, she's a vegan so none of her bags are made from real leather.  I know what you're thinking, especially after you look at the luxury price tag, 'why on earth would I pay that for something that isn't leather?'.  I used to think the same but there are actually so many pros that faux leather over real leather and at the risk of sounding like that famous advert, this isn't just any faux leather, this is Stella McCartney faux leather.  Her imitation nappa has been developed to the highest standard and quality, it feels like actual butter.  It's soft and supple, but durable, it's thicker than leather so lasts longer and will withstand more weight.  I have really given this bag a run for it's money recently so I can totally vouch for that.  You'll notice that I've gone for an ivory colour in this bag (also available in tan, black, nude and gold) and that's not even a colour I would have considered in the slightest had it been genuine leather.  Faux leather is much easier to clean, and more resistant to staining.  It's to the kind of bag you have to precious about in the rain, and if you're anything like me, yes you can dump it on the floor.  I recently took Stella as my companion, along with Simon of course 😉 , as my travel bag to Turkey.  She's been in overhead lockers on the plane, she's been on the floor, she been on the beach sitting in sand, and she's come home looking brand new.  She was actually great as a travel bag because inside she has a little pouch which is attached for security, and this was great for holding my travel documents and my wallet and even phone.  I carry so much crap with me when I travel that all I had to do when I needed one of the important items was feel for the pouch or the lanyard it's attached to and pull it out, zero rummaging required.  Now if all those points aren't valid pros for a bag, for life then I don't know what is.

For a more in depth review of Stella, keep your eyes peel on my YouTube channel for a 'What's In My Bag' review video coming soon!