Everlane Review: The Day Tote Mini

I was very lucky to be asked again this month if I wanted anything from Everlane’s line sheet as an affiliate. And you bet I zoomed in on their Day Tote Mini. Their regular Day Tote is an all time favorite (the most used bag in my closet, which I wrote about here), so I was super excited to try out the mini version since I’m all about smaller bags now (that I can hang off the stroller bar). So even if I wasn’t gifted this awesome bag, I would have most definitely purchased it myself to try it out.

I love the Day Tote Mini because it reminds me of the Celine small vertical cabas, which I always wanted and was *this close* to buying once. But in the end I decided not to because it seemed too plain of a bag to spend over a $1200 for. So I was super excited to see the Day Tote Mini on Everlane’s Coming Soon page and couldn’t wait to take it for a spin. And after having tried it out for a bit, I like this Day Tote Mini a lot. It might actually be a bit better than the Celine small vertical cabas because it’s not as big or as tall. So I can keep things upright and organized (while I could see things getting lost at the bottom of the Celine cabas). Also the shorter bag works well for my petite frame.

The leather of the Day Tote Mini is the same sturdy but lightweight leather that I’ve come to know and love on the regular Day Tote. I like that this tote can stand up on it’s own and doesn’t slouch over like a lot of other totes (however I should note, if you’re not careful how you pack the regular Day Tote, you can distort the leather so it ends up looking wonky like mine did). But I don’t really foresee that same problem with this mini tote since it’s so small, you can’t really overstuff it with heavy items that will bend it out of shape. Oh and I accidentally poured hot water all over this bag and it was completely fine. Just wiped off the water and it was as good as new (no water spots!).

This Day Tote Mini fits all the essentials and then some. I like that I can fit a baby’s bottle upright in there if I need to. So you could probably fit a small water bottle if needed. You could also fit a book or kindle in there. I also love that I can fit things like my sunglass case and sunblock vertically so everything is easy to find. There’s one flat pocket inside that fits my keys and lip balm.

{Wearing: Everlane Cotton Weave Collarless Shirtdress (review coming soon), Everlane V Slingback (reviewed here), Everlane Day Tote Mini, and thrifted hat}

The crossbody strap is adjustable or you can remove it completely which is a nice feature to have. These days since I hang my bag on the stroller I like to have to the option to remove the crossbody strap. For this bag, I remove one side but leave the other side attached just in case I need to quickly throw it over my shoulder. Oh, and the holes where the crossbody strap loops through are reinforced so you don’t have to worry about that area getting worn out if you end up carrying heavy items in your bag.

The only drawback to this bag is that there is no closure so if you’re in a crowded place, you’re going to either want to hold the bag in your hands or have at least one hand over it when wearing it over your shoulder. And if you have a lot of things in your bag, you definitely want to do this since it will gape open when stuffed. If your bag isn’t as stuffed then the handles will kind of come together when slung over your hip so it’s not too open.

I was actually really tempted to get the taupe color above but I played it safe and got black. Since the leather feels similar to the leather of my Everlane mini form bag (and they’re made in the same factory), I don’t think the lighter colors will have issues with color transfer from jeans or getting marked up easily (though I don’t know for sure). But I do like that the black looks classic and it goes with this year’s “summer witch” theme lol. But I’m pretty disappointed with the pale yellow color they have for the third option. A light gray would have been more versatile.

Anyway I put together this review a little early since it was requested by a reader. And I’ll update it to let you know how the bag wears over time! But I hope I’ll be writing a 100 days wear post about this bag (like I did for the regular Day Tote) by the end of the year!

P.S. And congrats to Jenn R. for winning the Everlane gift card giveaway! You have been emailed :)

Everlane Review Dipped Zip Tote {Updated Feb 2018}

One of the things I let myself get from Everlane after my complete shopping fast in March, was this Everlane Dipped Zip Tote in black.  I was really in need of a new work bag (all of last year I was using a backpack, but I'm firmly in my mid-30's now and wearing a backpack everyday feels like I'm regressing).  So I was in search of a good tote.  I used to have the Mansur Gavriel one, but that was too fancy for my needs (and the leather on that scratches up like crazy so it wasn't the best option for a bag I was planning to throw around with all my stuff).  I also reviewed Everlane's pocket tote earlier this year, which I loved except for the bottom sagging out.  So when I was browsing Everlane's site and saw this dipped tote, I thought it might be exactly the one I needed (and I wasn't disappointed).

The best thing about this bag is definitely the dipped bottom.  It's the answer to the problem of a unsupported sagging bottom (lol if only there was a fix for unsupported saggy human bottoms), which was the problem with the pocket tote.  I also love the super sturdy leather straps that are wide enough that it doesn't dig into my shoulders when I'm carry my full work load (which includes a 13" macbook pro+cover and a handful of different pouches, see pic below).

At first I thought that the bag might be too narrow for my needs since the bottom of the bag is quite narrow and not stretchy, and in the beginnng when my bag was packed to capacity it did look like the top un-dipped part kind of overextended over the narrow dipped part.  But I've found that after use, it doesn't really look like that anymore (so maybe the dipped part is just super structured in the beginning).  I also love that the bag can be zipped up, which is perfect for travel.

My only real gripe with this bag is that the black undipped canvas picks up dog hair and lint like crazy and because it's black it shows.  I probably would have preferred the gray canvas with the black dipped bottom, but that was unfortunately sold out by the time I purchased.  

I've been using this bag for about two months now and it's been awesome.  I did see some reviews on the Everlane site mention that the dipped part starts to crack after heavy usage.  But I've been throwing it around and so far so good (but of course will update this review if I start to see flaws).

As usual this review is not sponsored and is made possible by readers like you (lol when I heard that phrase on PBS as a kid I never really understood what that meant) who use my referral link for their first Everlane purchase.  And you can find all my other unsponsored Everlane reviews here.

{Feb 2018 Update: So I have used this bag everyday since I got it in May 2017.  The bag has held up really well, with the only wear being the corners (the plastic is starting to wear down).  See the pic below.  But I decided to upgrade to Everlane's Day Market Tote because I needed a bigger tote.  Anyway if you're interested it's for sale here.}

Everlane Review Leather Foldover Crossbody Bag {Updated August 2018}

You know I'm a huge bag lady so when Everlane came out with a line of new leather bags, of course I had to try it out and review it.  Well if you're looking for a luxurious and sumptuous leather simple crossbody then I think you might really like this one.  And I would say for $30 more, Everlane's foldover crossbody is a better choice than Cuyana's crossbody pouch, especially if you need to carry a bit more than the essentials.

So let's talk about this beautiful bag.  First off, the leather is amazing!  Super buttery and soft.  This leather is different from Everlane's Petra line of leather bags since these bags were made in Spain while the Petra bags were made in Italy.  The Spanish leather feels softer and more porous and not quite as hardy as the Italian leather, but it does feel more luxurious and probably won't have the same problem of stiffening up over time that the Petra leather has.  This does mean though that the crossbody might be more prone to scratching and color transfer (for the natural color one specifically).

The bag itself is super lightweight but still large enough to fit your essentials and then some.  In the pictures below I'm carrying my sunglass case, wallet, and keys.  And even though it may look bulky from the back, it looks good from the front because the foldover flap hides much of the bulk (and this is why it's better than Cuyana's crossbody pouch IMHO).  I like that you can access items from the zipper under the flap, instead of having to use the top zipper and reaching down into the bag every time you want to grab something (Everlane's video of the bag shows the functionality of the 2 zippers).  The strap of the crossbody is also easily adjustable (though not removable, which would have been a cool feature to allow it to become a clutch as well as a crossbody).

In the end though I returned this particular purse because for the life of me, I will not be able to keep this purse from getting dirty.  However if you do like the natural color, I reviewed several leather cleaners and protectors for Mansur Gavriel bags and it might be a good resource on how to protect this crossbody.  Also just to note that this leather is more like the calf-skin than the vegetable-tanned leather that Mansur Gavriel uses.  

Anyway I'm still in love with this bag and I think I'll get it in the navy leather.  But first I need to take an audit of all my bags (actually Grechen has really inspired me to take a closet audit in general).  So until then I'm going to hold off on repurchasing this bag.  But if you're interested in this beautiful leather bag (and really it's amazing).  You can find all my other Everlane reviews here.

{2018 Update: I actually repurchased this in the oxblood/burgundy color and love it!  It's my go-to travel bag since it can lie flat but still hold a lot of things if you need it to.  You can see me wear it around Europe here during my winter 10x10 challenge}