Last week I did an impromptu Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag review, so this week I wanted to do a review on Mansur Gavriel's Bucket bag, which is their most well-known bag.
{Update 12.7.15: I managed to get my hands on the mini mini bucket bag so here's a review of the Mansur Gavriel Mini Mini bucket bag compared to the Mini bucket bag.}
It comes in 3 sizes: The classic or large (which is the largest, and the one in cream canvas below), the mini (which is the royal blue one in the pictures), and a mini mini (which I don't have).
The measurements:
Classic Bucket bag: 12.25” H X 10” W X 6” D
Mini Bucket bag: 9.5” H X 8” W X 4.5” D
I've used the larger canvas bucket bag for traveling and though there's no way to fully close the bag, I felt my items were safe since the bag is so deep. Also it was really awesome to be able to open up the top and overload the bag with stuff when we went shopping. The mini bucket bag is not that much smaller and fits a lot of items as well. I used to have the veg tanned leather one, but it's very stiff and requires some breaking in. I don't really have the patience for that breaking in period so I rather like the calf leather version (the mini one) and the canvas one. Both are malleable and easy to carry from the get-go. However the veg tanned classic bag has fun interior colors and comes with a detachable pouch (these two versions of the bucket bag doesn't come with the pouch). The straps are adjustable so it's easy to carry it over the shoulder or as a cross-body.
I used the black canvas one here for traveling and it held up like a champ. The white canvas one got dirty after the first time I used it (some black scuff marks and color transfer from my jeans). Even though the cream canvas with natural leather is a cute combo, it's not worth the maintenance.
You can still find these bags sporadically at various small boutiques. I got the royal blue mini and the black canvas bucket bags at Mohawk General Store in LA, and the white one at ShopBazaar. If you want to buy one of your own, the Mansur Gavriel site is going to have a restock in August (but be ready for it, because bags sell out in less than a minute), or just sporadically check Google shopping for stores that might have it in stock.
Not everyone loves a bucket bag, but if you like the style, Mansur Gavriel is the new classic.
{update: I have also written up a new post on how to care for the leather of your Mansur Gavriel bags.}