This is a trend that’s popping up everywhere & it’s a great one for me, as it’s a lazy girl’s way to stay comfortable while being a bit edgy and whimsical. No longer your old gym sweatshirt to wear around the house, these sweats and tees can look super chic in a oh-I-just-threw-this-together kind of way when you pair with dressier bottoms or accessories. The contrast is quite visually interesting. Steer clear of juvenile sayings though — I can’t imagine showing up to work with a top that said “drama queen” or “I’d cuddle you so hard.” I’d go for chic & understated without any explicit messages. Or anything in a foreign language.

Ganni Sweatshirt with Je T’Aime Print

Zoe Karssen Creme de la Creme Tee

The now-iconic sweatshirt version of this Zoe Karssen Creme de la Creme print is seemingly sold out everywhere & is super pricey. Here’s a great alternative for a fraction of the price:

Delias Creme de la Creme Tee

Brian Lichtenberg Homies Sweatshirt – available in a variety of colors & also as a short-sleeve tee.

Brian Lichtenberg Homies Tee

Madewell Bien Fait Sweatshirt

Old Navy “Hello There” Terry-Fleece Raglan Sweatshirt

Note: In person this sweatshirt looks white — don’t let this stock photo’s beige turn you off! PS. Only $7.97!

Old Navy “Heart and Soul” Terry-Fleece Raglan Sweatshirt

I had long obsessed over the Madewell Transport Tote in English Saddle after seeing it on fashion bloggers everywhere. When my awesome fiance bought it for me for Christmas this year, I was excited to start wearing it. Only…when I pulled the folded bag out of the box, I saw smooth, cheap, stiff, light-colored leather with really weird stress marks across the height of the bag. As I mentioned in a previous post, they reminded me of human skin stretch marks. So gross. Back it went. I then tried the Cuyana Leather Tote, and the color just wasn’t cognac enough. My fiance convinced me to take another shot on the Madewell bag. Maybe what we got was just a fluke? There were so many rave reviews, after all.

The exchange arrived today. It came in a huge box whereas the first one came packed in a small, flat box. I pulled out a sealed plastic Madewell bag with this tote packed pristinely inside. Already promising! Then I saw the leather. It was immediately and obviously completely different from the first bag I received. This leather was saturated and a great cognac. It was also very pebbled with zero stretch, I mean stress, marks. The handles were also not dark — they were the same color as the rest of the bag. WTF? Must be a completely different batch? How could the quality be so inconsistent? Not to mention, I get that the first one was ordered during the holiday season but I can’t believe Madewell would ship me what was clearly a return, especially given how crappily it was packed and shipped.

 I wish I took a picture of the first bag for comparison, but I was so turned off I stuffed it back in the box and looked for the return label. Now, with this new bag, I feel like I won some bag lottery because I finally get all the raves about this bag. It’s gorgeous, the leather is the perfect amount of softness/stiffness, so that it’s supple but holds its structure, and the color is a perfect cognac. The leather isn’t super processed either — you can see the variations in color across the bag, so it adds a lot of character to the bag. Love it, love it, love it. Now I just want it monogrammed! If you’ve been eyeing this bag, take your shot at the lottery and see if you can score a gorgeous beauty here for just $168.

This year’s Christmas was a fruitful one. I got a ton of gifts I love, including a bag I’ve longed after for months — the Madewell Transport Tote in English Saddle. If you somehow haven’t heard of or seen this tote, just Google it and you’ll see an endless number of fashion bloggers modeling & loving it. Lucky Magazine even referred to it as “the Madewell tote that’s taking over the world.” 197 4.5 star reviews on Madewell and only $168 — definitely seemed like a no-brainer.

However, when I opened the box and pulled out this bag, I wish I had read these reviews sorted from lowest to highest rating and seen all the complaints. The leather was light and seemed chalky, super stiff, and thin. There were a ton of stress marks on it that, combined with the light color of the bag, actually reminded me of human stretch marks. Gross, I know. I couldn’t get over it. Back it went.

Knowing my continued, lifelong obsession with finding the perfect cognac, chewy leather bag, my awesome fiance helped me on my renewed hunt to find the perfect cognac tote. Luckily, that same day, I discovered Cuyana from another fashion blogger. The second I hit the homepage, I saw this and felt I hit the jackpot —

I mean, seriously. I thought to myself, whatever price I have to pay for this exact bag, I will pay it. To my great surprise, I clicked through to the product page and saw it was only $150! I also read Cuyana’s story and mission, and thought to myself, this is what I need — hand-crafted quality from a boutique seller, not mass-produced bags from a big chain like Madewell. I was slightly concerned that the product page image of this bag didn’t look like it was the same leather, but I convinced myself it was just the photo.

Well, when I pulled the bag out of the box, I was immediately hit with two things: 1) the leather is incredibly, incredibly soft and pebbly. It was puddly and smelled amazing. Very different from the Madewell bag, which could stand on its own. This one definitely couldn’t. 2) The color was nothing like the product page image, and definitely nothing like the homepage photo I first posted. In fact, the leather was completely different — it wasn’t textured and thick, it was consistently pebbly smooth across the entire bag. I was disappointed. It’s a nice, minimalist bag that’d be perfect for someone, but I bought it for the color & leather combo and it wasn’t there. I tried to capture it in my photos, but essentially, it was a light brown — almost like Hermes Etoupe but slightly more brown without many orange undertones if at all.

This is a great bag with great leather, and super practical. This is even a great color for someone who’s looking for brown or light brown, or light saddle colors, but unfortunately just not exactly what I was looking for. If this is your cup of tea, buy it here from Cuyana for $150.