I’ve been on a K-brand (Korean brand) bag kick ever since my first Korean Brand Bag Review. And I originally thought I might tack this on one to the original, but I’ve gotten enough interest (and I have enough to say) to make this a stand alone review. So without further ado, here is my review of my first (but probably not last) Margesherwood (yes all one word) bag.

I originally chose the Marge Sherwood Soft Boston bag in brown nubuck because I had been wanting a suede bag ala Miu Miu Beau Bag style. However I would never pay $3800 for a suede bag because suede doesn’t wear well, especially if you don’t take care of it. And knowing myself I would not be careful with it. Plus even though it looks like a simple bag, this style is definitely a trend right now and something that will look “oh-so-2025” in five or more years (probably when we swing back to maximalism). So this dupe by Margesherwood is just the thing to scratch the itch. For $412 on W Concept (which is cheaper than the $460 on Ssense) plus any discount that W Concept gives (at the time of writing this they’re giving a 20% discount so the bag comes out to $329), this bag is 100% worth it.

First a bit about the brand: Margesherwood is a Korean brand that is named after the Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Their designs are supposed to evoke the sophistication and grace of Marge in that movie. While I wouldn’t say Margesherwood’s styling or vibes echo the simple Carolyn Bassette Kennedy-like (shall we say quiet luxury) asthetic of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character in the movie, I can see a certain simplicity of design that both share. But I don’t think Marge Sherwood would wear Margesherwood.

As for the Soft Boston Bag, maybe Marge would possibly carry it (or at least the almost $4k version of it from Miu Miu). I chose the nubuck material because I had been in search of something with a suede-like texture. But the Boston Bag also comes in Structured Brown Leather (which is made of pull-up leather, thus giving it a rustic, vintage and aged look), Structured White Leather (which is an off-white glossy leather), and Soft Crinkled brown, white, beige, and black leather. All the bags are made in Korea.

The interior of the bags are lined in a shiny-ish branded polyester-like material that gives it a decidedly un-lux feel. There’s a zipper pocket and a flat pocket on either side. The bottom has no feet. The bag measures 12.6 in x 7.1 in x 4.3 in (32 cm x 18 cm x 11 cm) with a strap drop of 9.8” (25cm). It’s big enough to fit all the essentials plus a notebook, an ipad mini, and a small water bottle. It can kind of fit a 13” laptop of the laptop is tilted (but only because this is the soft version of the Boston bag—I don’t think the structured version would fit it). But that distorts the bag and makes it hard to fit other things. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking to carry a laptop in it. I did a short video of what fits in the Margesherwood Boston Bag here.

I really like this nubuck version of the bag though I do wish it was a bit more structured. If I had done my research before my purchase I might have gone with the Structured Brown leather version since I like my bags to hold their shape. I would say the Soft version of the Boston Bag mostly holds it’s shape, but can concave at the middle or distort depending what’s in side. So I probably wouldn’t overstuff my Soft nubuck Boston bag most of the time. Also over time, the nubuck is a soft leather, which can probably stretch out if it’s constantly used to carry heavy things.

But on the bright side, I get to try a textured leather bag in a simple, easy-to-use design for a really reasonable price. I just learned that nubuck is made by sanding down the outside of a leather hide, while suede is made from sanding down the interior of a leather hide. Thus you can see the leather grain in nubuck, but not in suede. Both are vulnerable to water (though suede is more delicate), so both should be protected with a water repellant spray.

I’ll of course update this review with how this bag wears. But I have to say, this is the first time in a long time where I was excited to review a bag (and have been able to write it all out relatively quickly)!

P.S. For those who want to know about my bag charm (since I got some interested when I posted it on Insta), I got it as a gift from a friend. I asked her where she got it and she said Temu. I took a look to see if I could find it there I did not, but there are others like it.