Product Review - Zara Two-Tone Shopper Basket Bag

Today's review is on my new favorite handbag. I received this as a birthday present from my mom back in August but only started using it this past December. In fact it made its debut the day I left for London for Christmas.

I am a sucker for oversized handbags and when I saw this on the Zara website back in the Summer of 2012, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I decided to wait though since I had just bought the Plaited Shopper bag and hadn't even used it yet. You can check out my review on that over here.

Before I start my review, let's take a look at the specs:

Dimensions: 15 x 20 x 7 inches.

Outer: 100% POLYURETHANE

Lining: 50% COTTON, 50% JUTE
Retail Price: 79.90 USD

First things first, as opposed to my other Zara bag, this one is obviously not real leather. Also, the canvas lining inside does not detach, which I love. This bag is huge and I've been able to fit a small jacket into it on occasion. I'm the type of gal that likes to fit whatever I can into my bag no matter how heavy it will make it, so this has been perfect for me. I definitely recommend it if you travel. It eliminates the need to carry an additional carry-on bag. It has enough room to fit your toiletries plus more.

Like I said, I took the bag out of the box the night before I left for London so I broke it in pretty quickly. There isn't a zipper that goes all the way across, which may be problematic for some. It definitely was something I was always conscious of whenever I'd go into the city with this bag. I just made sure that the open sides were covered with a scarf (or the SotTJ) in case a pick-pocketer decided to get friendly with my belongings. Unlike my other Zara bag, this one has pockets inside where you can put your phone, a pen, etc. so I don't have to dig around my bag for them.

Because of its size, it's a bit difficult to keep stashed underneath the seat in front of you on airplanes (in Economy at least). I have to admit I squished it a bit, but I don't mind a little wear and tear on bags that I know I will use everyday. I like a bit of "character" if you know what I mean. Speaking of wear and tear, there is a bit of "breaking" on the material, especially on the handles and corners (see pictures below). And this didn't happen over time. This happened maybe a couple of days after I used it. You can say I was a bit disappointed, but it's not that noticeable so I'm not too upset about it. Hopefully it doesn't get worse.

With my other Zara bag, I had problems with the dye rubbing off on my clothes. I was a bit afraid this would do the same, but luckily it hasn't done that. Well, sort of. When I was in Liverpool back in December, it was raining and I had to walk in the rain for a good half mile. Before driving back home, we stopped to eat dinner at some restaurant. When I sat down, I was wiping off the outside of my bag because it was pretty wet and I noticed that there was a bit of red on the napkin I used. It wasn't too much, but I was definitely worried for a second. I thought it might've rubbed off on my coat but I don't think it did. Granted my coat was black, but it's not hard to tell if red dye rubs off on clothing. I must mention though that the color has not faded and the dye hasn't rubbed off on anything else.

Overall, I am very happy with this handbag! A huge thanks, again, to my mom for getting this for me for my birthday last year! X