WINTER SALE: Part 2 - My Lowdown on Bally Leron Tote

Winter Sale really brought me to travel at different part of London, just for the sake of bargain hunting. One of them is to the much overrated New Bond Street - where all the designer labels line up at both sides of the road. You can find names like Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, YSL, Armani, Lanvin and many many more. It's nice to hop in, hop off just to try their stuff without buying them.

One of the store that I visited yesterday is Bally. They are quite famous with the leather footwear and bags. Ever since I saw the much anticipated Fall/Winter 2008 collection, I've been dreaming of getting the Leron tote bag in the dark brown color. So, went there hoping to get my hands on it. And I did. But the excitement really turn sour coz the bag is not what I expected for.

The tote bag is quite functional with the 2 front zipped pocket and roomy internals. Yes, it does has their infamous buttery soft leather feel. But the color and leather type is totally off! Sure, the color looks smashing in their website, but it it's not that delicious, dark chocolate color; rather lighter than expected. Plus it's really scratch prone. Very. One scrape, then it's scarred to death! And the handle is not that long, when holding it tends to incline toward the pocket side. And the price? More than £500. Not even worth it.

The other one in grey is not full leather - nylon, with leather trim and canvas strap, instead. The nylon body feels very slippery and the leather also scratch prone. The one that I get my hands on is not the tote bag, but sling type. Cheaper (less than £200) but not that nice.

So, my verdict? Never truly believe what you saw in the website. Go and get your hands on them before you pursue to buy. As they say, try before you buy...

P/S: Still thinking of getting their brown brogue boots on sale, instead. ;)