Miss Charlie arrived on Friday, and she's gorgeous! I'll give my review, then post pictures.
First of all, the Charlie is a perfectly-sized bag for work and running errands. It's big enough to fit papers and files, maybe your lunch, or a few small bags of purchases. But it's not huge, either - it sits fairly flat, and though it can expand nicely (the opening at the top is nice and big), it doesn't feel bulky when carried on my shoulder. And the magnet closure is really "grabby," so you don't have to fiddle with it to get the magnets to close (that's one of my pet peeves in a bag), and they're fairly strong.
For looks, it's a really beautiful bag. The shape is lovely, the gunmetal hardware looks great and edgy without being very flashy or inappropriate for work, and the cafe color is great. As JC said before, it's a pretty neutral/cool color, and seems to work really well with black or jewel tones. It's dark enough for winter, but I'm thinking it'll also look nice with lighter summer colors. My photos are making it look a little warmer than it does IRL.
The leather is nice and heavy, as Treesje leather always is. This is the first Treesje I buy new, so I was a bit surprised by how stiff the leather is. I got my Knox lightly-used and it was already really soft, so I'm hoping Charlie will soften up just as quickly. It's already loosening up a little. The cafe color is interesting, and has a bit of a distressed glaze look to it, if that makes sense. I'm debating using a waterproofing treatment on it, but honestly the leather looks like it would withstand water just fine. It's not as glazed-looking as bordeaux leather, but I think it's still glazed enough to be pretty water resistant.
LOVE it! And now, pictures of my pretty Charlie
First of all, the Charlie is a perfectly-sized bag for work and running errands. It's big enough to fit papers and files, maybe your lunch, or a few small bags of purchases. But it's not huge, either - it sits fairly flat, and though it can expand nicely (the opening at the top is nice and big), it doesn't feel bulky when carried on my shoulder. And the magnet closure is really "grabby," so you don't have to fiddle with it to get the magnets to close (that's one of my pet peeves in a bag), and they're fairly strong.
For looks, it's a really beautiful bag. The shape is lovely, the gunmetal hardware looks great and edgy without being very flashy or inappropriate for work, and the cafe color is great. As JC said before, it's a pretty neutral/cool color, and seems to work really well with black or jewel tones. It's dark enough for winter, but I'm thinking it'll also look nice with lighter summer colors. My photos are making it look a little warmer than it does IRL.
The leather is nice and heavy, as Treesje leather always is. This is the first Treesje I buy new, so I was a bit surprised by how stiff the leather is. I got my Knox lightly-used and it was already really soft, so I'm hoping Charlie will soften up just as quickly. It's already loosening up a little. The cafe color is interesting, and has a bit of a distressed glaze look to it, if that makes sense. I'm debating using a waterproofing treatment on it, but honestly the leather looks like it would withstand water just fine. It's not as glazed-looking as bordeaux leather, but I think it's still glazed enough to be pretty water resistant.
LOVE it! And now, pictures of my pretty Charlie