☼ Summer bags haul ☼

It's a haul, y'all! 

Since Summer has almost come and gone, and the weather is slowly winding down into rain and cold, I figure it was a good time to gather up my favourite bags from the past season, and have a slice of summer with me whenever they're being used.

Metal Tab Zip Base Bucket Bag- Colette by Colette Hayman Bags $44.95

This is my most recent purchase, and I've used this bag for the last couple of days. It featured in my most recent 'the week that was' post, and I've used it for going to the beach and just everyday use. The story goes that I was given a Colette gift voucher for $50 over Christmas, and I'm not usually one to shop at Colette, simply because I'm more likely to buy bags from a store like Sportsgirl or Myer, or higher end brands, just because I know that they're trust worthy and have good quality products. I'm surprisingly picky when it comes to bags, simply because I went through the stage of buying cheap products, like shoes, bags and costume jewellery, and all that ended up happening was that the products would last me perhaps two or three uses, and would fall apart. So I figured the sensible thing to do was save up and spend money on good quality things you're going to want to use for than a few times, and on the rare occasion, buy bits and pieces that might not last you a few uses.

Anyways, I had this gift voucher from a secret Santa, and I went past Colette during my work break and thought I might as well have a look at what they had inside. Now I don't have any issue with Colette bags, but I don't usually buy from them as much as I used to. I have two notable bags from Colette, one black and tan tote and the other black and olive tote, which have been great bags, but I got over them quickly just because they were very seasonal, which I suppose is a risk you take with purchases like that. This bag was the first that caught my eye, just because the colour combination was really interesting and very summer/spring appropriate in terms of style and colour palette. They had the same style but in all black, and goodness knows I have enough black bags in my wardrobe, so the apricot and ivory colours sold it for me.

As you can see, there is gold detailing on the bag itself, including the zipper and tabs, and on the handle. It's a great size, and the bucket shape is a very comfortable cut to wear. For a casual look, I would match this with a white button down shirt, light blue denim jeans, comfy flats and gold jewellery. I would recommend this bag for those who like to have plenty of space for things in their handbag, and enjoy a mix of neutral and pastel colours.

Tropicana Tassel Clutch- Rubi Shoes/Cotton On

You might recognise this clutch from the post I made a couple of weeks back when I attended 'fugitive space'- this bag has been used the most in the time I have had it, and it was bought to go with my outfit which I wore to the exhibition. This bag is from Rubi Shoes, and I wasn't able to find it online, so it may still be available in some stores. I recall spending around $20 on it, so not too expensive.

I fell in love with the vibrancy and retro feel of this piece- it's something you'd see with a really cute sunflower dress in the 80's. The tassel detailing is very cute, and is attached to the zipper. The clutch is made of cotton, and holds a fair amount despite its small size. I styled this clutch with a black t-shirt, with a floral print pencil skirt and white bermuda pumps for the exhibition. For a more casual look, I would match this with a grey or neutral colour maxi dress, with brown sandals.

Nadine Quilt Crossbody- Colette by Colette Hayman $22.95

This was a very generous Christmas gift from my honey, and it's been one of the most useful bags I own. It's a smaller crossover body style bag, with silver detailing and quilting patterns. I've used this bags on nights out and family functions, and can easily cross over from a casual to an evening time bag, it's pretty versatile. The quilting reminds me of Chanel, but with a considerably smaller price tag.

The strap is quite long, as you can see in the image above, and the bag size itself is a comfortable square shape. It easily fits my phone, wallet, keys, coin purse- enough to have the essentials in your bag and to not feel like you're lugging it around.

Here's a close up of the silver detailing and quilting pattern. I have matched this bag with casual and dressy styles- my go to is a pair of black treated pants, t-shirt and my grey converse sneakers, or for a more dressy look, pairing this with a simple black dress, silver accessories and black shoes works every single time.

I hope you have enjoyed my haul and reviews- I was pleasantly surprised with how durable each of these bags are despite my past experience with products that have been on the less expensive side.

Stay tuned for my summer clothing haul coming up in the next few days!

Also, all of these bags were purchased by myself, they were not given to me by any of the companies or brands mentioned in this post. This haul and review are my own personal opinion, and hasn't been written in conjunction with sponsorship or reimbursement from any mentioned companies, brands or affiliates.