Alexander Wang Alexander Wang Roxy Hobo Reveal / Review

inkfade

Member
Apr 30, 2017
440
2,578
I received the AW Roxy Hobo (my first AW), so will do a short review of it with some crappy pics, since I have not seen a review (an even remotely helpful one, anyway) of it anywhere else. Hopefully this will help somebody who considers this bag for purchase.

I considered this purse for a while. I was searching for a black crossbody I could wear every day, and every single one I came across that I really liked, the gold hardware ruined it. I wish there were more black crossbody bags with silver or gunmetal hardware. Anyway, I found this one, couldn't stop thinking about it, and bought it for 30% off at Monnier Freres, plus an extra $20 off for signing up for their newsletter, so paid $398 for the bag, and $412 total including shipping from France to USA.

Onto the bag.

Truthfully, I am ambivalent about the leather quality. It does not smell like leather (any leather I’ve smelled, anyway) and sort of doesn’t look like real leather. The ball studs lining the edge of the bag do not feel hefty and they rotate, so they are all attached on a thin chain beneath the leather piping. This bag is called “pebbled” but it is not as pebbled as some of AW’s other “pebbled” bags. This bag has a flat kind of pebbled texture, which is good for me because usually I prefer the look of smoother leathers.

I made some adjustments with the biker chain that hangs on the bag. It is permanently connected to the shoulder strap on one end, and can be detached via a small slit in the ring on the other side of the shoulder strap. If you leave both ends of the chain connected to the shoulder strap, when you use the bag crossbody the shoulder strap droops over the side of the bag and the chain slides down until it’s hanging way past the bottom of the bag. To fix this I reattached one side of the chain to the crossbody strap instead of the shoulder strap, and the other ring (which I said is permanently attached to the shoulder strap) I simply looped the clip at the other end of the crossbody strap through it. So now when I use the bag crossbody the chain drapes across the bag instead of hanging down past the bottom.

One of my main concerns with this bag (and any bag I consider) was the strap drop. I am 5’10 and like crossbody bags to hang lower on my hip, so prefer 23-25" strap drops. The strap drop of this bag is realistically about 20-21", but since it is almost 14” tall and very flat, I’m okay with the shorter strap length. It doesn’t feel awkward or anything, but hangs just right.

The bag’s closure method is a strong circular magnet at the top. Typically I only consider bags with a zipper closure, but I’m not too worried about this bag. It hangs close to the body and is somewhat slouchy when full, so that also helps keep the entire opening closed.

My typical daily carry: two eyeglass cases (Rx regular and Rx sunglasses), a pocket notebook and pen, a full-size wallet or clutch, small compact hairbrush/mirror, metal tin for hair ties/bobby pins, etc., and occasionally my Kindle Paperwhite. I keep the tin and pocket notebook in the detachable leather pouch inside the bag, which I think is meant for cards or cash. The bag, when full of my stuff, does not bulge too terribly, is not by itself heavy at all, and is comfortable to wear crossbody or on the shoulder. I have sloping shoulders but this bag stays on my shoulder very well, surprisingly, while most others slide off quite easily.

There are really only two main issues with this bag, for me personally:

1) the bag cannot sit flat on a surface because of the narrow bottom. Not a deal breaker, though, because the bag is easy to get into when on your shoulder or hip (like if you need to open it to get your wallet, not necessarily for pickpockets because your arm should rest on it no matter which way you wear it), and hopefully I won’t need to be setting it down too often

2) no inside pockets. I don’t always have pockets on me, so appreciate a slip pocket or outside back pocket for my phone, etc. The purse does come with a detachable leather pouch inside, so that is where I put what I’d normally put in the slip pockets. My phone will just have to float around in the bag, alas.

Overall, I really like this bag. Hopefully it holds up for a very long time. Thank you for reading, and I will also answer any questions about the bag.

Pictures to follow.
 
Here are some pics. I apologize for the fuzziness in many of them, my phone's camera is total crap. Also please excuse the toothpaste-y mirror.
 

Attachments

  • 20171016_195848.jpg
    20171016_195848.jpg
    141.4 KB · Views: 488
  • 20171017_163240.jpg
    20171017_163240.jpg
    97.8 KB · Views: 457
  • 20171017_163200.jpg
    20171017_163200.jpg
    166.5 KB · Views: 474
  • 20171017_165936.jpg
    20171017_165936.jpg
    118.3 KB · Views: 461
  • 20171017_162610.jpg
    20171017_162610.jpg
    84.7 KB · Views: 825
  • 20171017_162953.jpg
    20171017_162953.jpg
    125.1 KB · Views: 461
Thank you for this very helpful review! I was scouring tPF for reviews but couldn’t find any, and so I didn’t bite the bullet during the last Shopbop sale (and it’s now OOS I think). But this is definitely going on my wish list next! It’s so edgy and I love how it looks on you! Congrats!