F/W Memphis -- Not the Same as S/S

iluvmybags

iluvmybags

& My Motos & Shoes!
O.G.
Sep 13, 2006
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2,665
#1
I was at Nordstroms over the weekend and they had the "new" Jennifer Bag ("Robert" was removed from the name) in the Black & Grey Memphis combination (I guess this exaplains why the S/S RJ went on sale at Nordies). The price is the same as the original RJ ($1995) but there have been lots of changes which I think should have warranted a price drop: the woven leather is not metallic. The silver pieces woven thru are shiny, however I don't think it's a metallic leather like the S/S and the other color (grey) is just a flat, matte leather. Even the weaving doesn't look as nice as it did on the S/S Memphis bags. The edges looked rough and (I hate to say it) almost sloppy. It wasn't as eye-catching and "WOW!" as the S/S weaving

The lining is cotton/canvas, not satin. I think it was blake canvas.

The tasseled bells that hang from the front are done in the same leather that's woven thru, so there's one shiny silver bell (which, IMO, looked a little cheap) while the others are flat dark leather. I couldn't tell if the insides were still lined with leather or were colored (they were really dark), but the fact that they didn't reflect in the lights tells me that the inside isn't metallic leather either.

The chain was black & gold, which I didn't think looked so right. Since the woven leather is silver and one of the tassels are silver, it almost seems like a silver chain braided with black would have looked better. It's like the gold and silver clash with each other -- fighting for your attention!!

You may have noticed my signature -- after seeing the "New" memphis for F/W, I don't think I'll be spending $2400+ on a memphis stam (unless I can still get one from S/S). I really found it rather dsiappointing (maybe one of the styles will take the stam's place -- I'm still curious about the Jenna bag)
 
#2
sorry to hear this. it looked metallic in all the pictures even though the sa's were saying months before that it wasn't going to be. it still sucks to have it confirmed. the metallic was the best part about the memphis line imo. at least you have the black pouchette from spring. there's been a lot of disappointments for you so far where fall 09 is concerned. hopefully, you'll be able to score a lzw and/or something blue or violet soon.
 
#3
^ I don't believe JJ owns the pouchette anymore. But jeez, that is so disappointing! I was hoping for some more amazing Memphis magic this season, but it looks like that's a no-go. Thanks for letting us know, JJ!
 
#4
blackonmaroon said:
^ I don't believe JJ owns the pouchette anymore. !
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:nogood:nope -- no more memphis for me
I had to sacrifice it
there are still a few styles/colors available from S/S, so if fall keeps going the way that it is, maybe I'll get myself one of those instead (I just found out the Bordeaux Angela and Lola aren't in the computer -- that's definitely NOT a good sign!!). Altho I am curious about the Jenna bag -- maybe one of the other colors will look prettier than the Black & Grey (the lavender really caught my eye originally -- maybe it'll look better than the Black/Grey!)
 
#5
iluvmybags said:
You may have noticed my signature -- after seeing the "New" memphis for F/W, I don't think I'll be spending $2400+ on a memphis stam (unless I can still get one from S/S). I really found it rather dsiappointing (maybe one of the styles will take the stam's place -- I'm still curious about the Jenna bag)
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just checked the Reference section and saw that Nordstroms only bought the Jenna in Black. But that's actually not the other one I liked anyhow - it was the Darby (the one that had the longer shoulder strap attached). Isn't NM carrying the Darby this season?

ETA: never mind -- NM ordered the Jenna in Black as well (http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod86350002&parentId=cat13970809&masterId=cat6920731&index=11&cmCat=cat000000cat000141cat000149cat000226cat6920731cat13970809)
 
#6
i thought about it some more, and i think i can see why the memphis bags aren't up to par with spring's. last season, they were the runway bags, one of the premier styles so to speak. this year, they've taken a back seat. they did well enough to carry over to fall, but not enough for the boutique to stock it considering they already have last season and to make room for the lines they're banking on doing well, which is the stardust. i know they ordered practically every color and style from that line. with the majority of their budget going to the runway bags, they spent less money than they did on the fall memphis line, so this is why we see no metallics, canvas lining, and overall decrease in detail.
 
#9
tadpolenyc said:
i thought about it some more, and i think i can see why the memphis bags aren't up to par with spring's. last season, they were the runway bags, one of the premier styles so to speak. this year, they've taken a back seat. they did well enough to carry over to fall, but not enough for the boutique to stock it considering they already have last season and to make room for the lines they're banking on doing well, which is the stardust. i know they ordered practically every color and style from that line. with the majority of their budget going to the runway bags, they spent less money than they did on the fall memphis line, so this is why we see no metallics, canvas lining, and overall decrease in detail.
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that makes sense. I can see them paying more attention to the Stardust and St. Marks bags this season. What seems strange tho, is that the bags are the same price point.

If you paid $1995 for a Robert Jennifer during the Spring and really loved the bag, I would think you would seriously question spending the same amount on the same style with so many design changes, KWIM? I think the Satin linings really added a "lux" feeling to those bags, but the canvas almost cheapens it. And the detailing doesn't seem as intricate as it did for the first run of Memphis bags.

I'd be curious to get the thoughts from some other REJ owners from S/S who see the new version -- what do you guys think of the changes?
 
#10
I saw the Jenna today and I REALLY liked it. I just wish that someone was carrying it in some of the other colors. The Black & Grey is alright, but it almost looked a little drab.

The bag itself tho is fantastic -- very light weight and roomy (lighter than the Bruna!). The handles are long enough to carry on the shoulder as well. The inside is lined with dark navy canvas and there's an inner zippered pocket and an open cell phone pocket on the opposite side.

If worse came to worse, I might "settle" for the Black/Grey, but I was really hoping to see this particular bag (as well as the Darby) in Lavender
 
#11
That's good news about the Jena. Did you see it at Nordies or at the boutique?
I'm hoping somebody somewhere carries something Memphis in brown. I really want to see that colorway IRL, or at least in real pics.
 
#12
roomommy said:
That's good news about the Jena. Did you see it at Nordies or at the boutique?
I'm hoping somebody somewhere carries something Memphis in brown. I really want to see that colorway IRL, or at least in real pics.
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Nordstroms -- they had the Jenna and the new Robert Jennifer.
the boutiques aren't carrying the memphis bags this season, and so far I've only seen the black & grey combos (at NM, BG & Nordies).

I'm going to check with that store in NY (where tad got her LZW), but she said they're going to carry the black & grey as well so I'm not going to hold my breath that they can get other colors
 
#13
sorry this is so late but is the beige from S/S different from F/W? The photos are quite different. The beige from spring looks really dark whereas the beige from fall looks almost baby pink.
 
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