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Moving from conspicuous to conscious consumption and doing reviews along the way.  Find plenty of unsponsored reviews of Quince, Everlane, Grana, and Cuyana on the site!  I'm working towards a minimal waste lifestyle, and oh yea I love bags >.<

Mansur Gavriel Large Tote Review

It's becoming almost a regular Monday with Mansur Gavriel on the blog here.  Here are past MG posts if you're interested: Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag Review Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 and the Mansur Gavriel Bucket Bags Review.  But since I have the large tote bag as well, I might as well review it here.  I don't use totes very often, but I did occasionally use the Louis Vuitton Damier Neverfull GM {the largest size} for the times I traveled.  But I found that the Longchamp Le Pilage was so much more useful {and light} for traveling and so I sold my LV {having a tote that can zip up at the top is pretty clutch for traveling}.  Then when the MG tote came out, I decided to try it out as a work/school bag.  I also have Everlane's Petra Tote, but that's quite narrow and doesn't work as well when you want to carry bulky things {it's perfect for laptops and textbooks}.

Pros:

-The veg-tanned leather is amazing!  Smells great and feels super durable.

-The coated pink color on the inside is the perfect pop of color to a normally boring black tote. And since there is no closure at the top, the pink is really easy to see.  I also learned that the coated interior gives the bag more structure so it won't become super slouchy with time {which is great for a tote}.

-It comes with an attachable wallet, perfect for the small things that might end up lost in a big tote.

-The large tote size is perfect as a work bag or even an overnight bag, since you can really pile things into it.  

-Also the minimal hardware and the veg-tanned leather choice means this bag is super light!

The cons:

-Since there's no closure to the top of the bag, you not only can see the pink interior but also everything else that's in your bag.  So I wouldn't recommend using this bag if you're going to be traveling or in crowds.  It might be too tempting for sticky fingers.

Here are some other great reviews of the MG tote bag: a cammello/rosa tote bag, a black/flamma tote bag, and a review of the small tote bag.