After doing 7 kinds of Mansur Gavriel reviews (including multiple Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag Review, the Mansur Gavriel bucket bag review, the tote review and a general review of their leather quality and care) you would think I would have run out of things to review. Well not quite! This is possibly my last Mansur Gavriel review, at least for the near future, since this is the last of my MG collection.
I originally never planned on getting the crossbody since I had so many other MG bags already (read about my bag addiction here), but I loved all the other MG bags that I had so I thought I would give this new style a shot. And I'm so glad that I did! Unexpectedly, this is one of my favorite bags from their collection. These are the reasons why I love it so much:
Pros:
-The bag is super simple but really stylish at the same time. Plus it's versatile enough to go from casual day bag to a night bag. I especially love the neutral sand color.
-The calf leather on this is great. There was a faint chemical-type smell that I also noticed on the Lady Bag, but it was much more faint on the crossbody. I only noticed it when I put my nose right up to the bag, but that's about it.
-There's no color transfer from jeans to the bag (always something to worry about on a light colored bag) {update 11.16.15: actually I wore a semi-new pair of black jeans and now my sand cross-body is looking a little gray on the back, so yes color transfer is possible, but I blame the jeans, and me!}. {update 11.21.15: I just used Chamberlain's Leather Milk No.1 (featured here) and all the streaks and transferred color is gone. Looks like new again!}
Pro/Con
-The size is something that can be seen as both a pro or a con, depending on what your needs are. I love that this bag fits the essentials: phone, wallet, keys, and sunglasses. But if you're looking to fit anything more than that this bag will be too small for your needs. It measures 7" x 9.25" x 2.25" and it's that 2.25" that makes this bag feel extra small. The crossbody is a really structured bag so there's no give to that depth. If you're looking for a small bag from Mansur Gavriel that can fit a bit more than the essentials then I would recommend the mini mini bucket bag or the mini bucket bag. Both fit more than you would expect.
But if you're looking for a classic and timeless bag, but don't carry a lot, then the cross body is the bag for you. Lately, it's been my go-to when doing errands. It's so easy to just throw everything in there and head out the door (and the magnetic closure makes it super easy to open and close, no fiddling with clasps or drawstrings).
{2.28.17 edit: I thought I should probably let you know that I ended up selling this bag awhile ago because after daily use over 6 months, the leather straps that attach to the body started to crack and crumble. From what I understand though, this only happens with the calf skin leather versions and veg-tanned leather should crack and soften like that. Oh also, as the leather softened, the imprint of the magnet closure became more visible and took away from the overall clean look}