Massaccesi Handbags

[piosavsfan]

Has anyone removed the middle compartment from their Soulmate? I think I would like the bag a lot better without it but it seems like a bad idea.

 

[southernbelle43]

Has anyone removed the middle compartment from their Soulmate? I think I would like the bag a lot better without it but it seems like a bad idea.

I did and sadly, I did not like it any better. That style simply does not work for me while others have 4-5 of them. It was heavy to me in any leather other than merinos and in merinos it is simply a puddle of leather perfection which looks good but is hard to retrieve anything from. I think if you have doubts move on to another style or buy a used one to see if you like it. It has taken me three years and a LOT of money to sort out what works and what does not. But the journey has been fun for sure.
And there are others who will say that I do not know what I am talking about, lol.

 

[samfalstaff]

Announcing our Purse Forum Tuscania wishlist of 2021 :

1. Midnight Blue
2. Bordeaux
3. Dark Brown
4. Cobblestone
5. Whiskey
6. Blackwood

(To figure out the order, I gave our preferences points,- 1st preference got 5 points, 2nd preference got 4 points, 3rd preference got 3 points, 4th preference 2 points, 5th preference 1 point.

View attachment 4975588
There were no votes for Biscotti, Orange, Citrus, Green or Granite Grey.)

Thanks for doing the leg work on this! Hopefully it pans out into a promo or group order.

 

[piosavsfan]

I did and sadly, I did not like it any better. That style simply does not work for me while others have 4-5 of them. It was heavy to me in any leather other than merinos and in merinos it is simply a puddle of leather perfection which looks good but is hard to retrieve anything from. I think if you have doubts move on to another style or buy a used one to see if you like it. It has taken me three years and a LOT of money to sort out what works and what does not. But the journey has been fun for sure.
And there are others who will say that I do not know what I am talking about, lol.

What I meant is removing the compartment from an already made bag. I have a Mint Verona Soulmate and love the leather but the inner compartment is bugging me so I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to sell it because I love the leather and color.

 

[southernbelle43]

What I meant is removing the compartment from an already made bag. I have a Mint Verona Soulmate and love the leather but the inner compartment is bugging me so I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to sell it because I love the leather and color.

Aha. I think that a poster named HopelessBagGirl did that a couple of years ago. I don't know if she is still on here or if you can do a search and find how she did it. She redesigned several of her bags.

 

[djfmn]

Announcing our Purse Forum Tuscania wishlist of 2021 :

1. Midnight Blue
2. Bordeaux
3. Dark Brown
4. Cobblestone
5. Whiskey
6. Blackwood

(To figure out the order, I gave our preferences points,- 1st preference got 5 points, 2nd preference got 4 points, 3rd preference got 3 points, 4th preference 2 points, 5th preference 1 point.

View attachment 4975588
There were no votes for Biscotti, Orange, Citrus, Green or Granite Grey.)

I also voted very early on for Midnight Blue and Bordeaux.

 

[djfmn]

I did and sadly, I did not like it any better. That style simply does not work for me while others have 4-5 of them. It was heavy to me in any leather other than merinos and in merinos it is simply a puddle of leather perfection which looks good but is hard to retrieve anything from. I think if you have doubts move on to another style or buy a used one to see if you like it. It has taken me three years and a LOT of money to sort out what works and what does not. But the journey has been fun for sure.
And there are others who will say that I do not know what I am talking about, lol.

I did and also did not like it any better. That style did not work for me either and I bought 6 of them so I tried really hard to like it. I gifted 4 of them and traded two of them for other bags that worked better for me. I love the look of midi Soulmate but it took me a lot of purchases and mistakes to learn what works for me and what does not. I like you had a lot of fun on the journey but I definitely know which MM styles work for me and midi Soulmate is not one of them. Now midi Selene I absolutely love. Also I thought I made a mistake with a midi Sabrina sold it to my neighbor and regretted it. Guess what I just bought a black merino midi Sabrina with gunmetal hardware and dark blue lining. I love midi Sabrina so sometimes it takes me selling a bag to know that I really like that style. That did not happen with midi Soulmate!!

 

[djfmn]

Has anyone removed the middle compartment from their Soulmate? I think I would like the bag a lot better without it but it seems like a bad idea.

Someone on this forum did her own removal of the middle compartment and I think she liked it. I ordered one without the middle compartment and preferred the midi Soulmates I had with the middle compartment. I found that everything I wanted to keep secure I put in the middle zip compartment and things I wanted easy access to I put in one of the side compartments. I had 6 midi Soulmates. Gave 3 to my daughter one to a friend and traded 2 for other MM bags on the BST. The midi Soulmate just did not work for me not because of the middle compartment but because of the weight. It was just too heavy for my liking. I prefer midi Selene for my larger bag. Otherwise I go for smaller MM bags. Especially now that I am semi retired and do not go into an office as I used to carry tons of stuff in my work bags. I have 3 midi Selenes for totes and they are light and easy to carry.

 

[southernbelle43]

I did and also did not like it any better. That style did not work for me either and I bought 6 of them so I tried really hard to like it. I gifted 4 of them and traded two of them for other bags that worked better for me. I love the look of midi Soulmate but it took me a lot of purchases and mistakes to learn what works for me and what does not. I like you had a lot of fun on the journey but I definitely know which MM styles work for me and midi Soulmate is not one of them. Now midi Selene I absolutely love. Also I thought I made a mistake with a midi Sabrina sold it to my neighbor and regretted it. Guess what I just bought a black merino midi Sabrina with gunmetal hardware and dark blue lining. I love midi Sabrina so sometimes it takes me selling a bag to know that I really like that style. That did not happen with midi Soulmate!!

I did the exact same thing! I sold my midi Sabina in 2019, bought an orange Tuscania in 2020 that I love. And I have a new one coming in the nut Stardust leather.

 

[piosavsfan]

Someone on this forum did her own removal of the middle compartment and I think she liked it. I ordered one without the middle compartment and preferred the midi Soulmates I had with the middle compartment. I found that everything I wanted to keep secure I put in the middle zip compartment and things I wanted easy access to I put in one of the side compartments. I had 6 midi Soulmates. Gave 3 to my daughter one to a friend and traded 2 for other MM bags on the BST. The midi Soulmate just did not work for me not because of the middle compartment but because of the weight. It was just too heavy for my liking. I prefer midi Selene for my larger bag. Otherwise I go for smaller MM bags. Especially now that I am semi retired and do not go into an office as I used to carry tons of stuff in my work bags. I have 3 midi Selenes for totes and they are light and easy to carry.

Maybe I just need to figure out how to better organize my stuff inside the Soulmate. That's part of the problem.

 

[Fancyfree]

I also voted very early on for Midnight Blue and Bordeaux.

Hi @djfmn ,
I am so sorry, I did not realize that your post on 24th January was a vote .
I am glad your wishes came out on top, despite my oversight

 

[christinemliu]

Maybe I just need to figure out how to better organize my stuff inside the Soulmate. That's part of the problem.

Hi @piosavsfan, I don't know if this helps to address your issue and I have mentioned this in the past, but I struggled with figuring out which side was which on my Soulmate Midi. Then I discovered, probably from someone's brilliant suggestion here, putting a charm on one of the handles. Then I knew which side was which and could find my items easier!
Another modification also that others have done is have the magnet closure to be on the sides of the middle compartment. [EDIT: That's actually the original design!]

 

[piosavsfan]

Hi @piosavsfan, I don't know if this helps to address your issue and I have mentioned this in the past, but I struggled with figuring out which side was which on my Soulmate Midi. Then I discovered, probably from someone's brilliant suggestion here, putting a charm on one of the handles. Then I knew which side was which and could find my items easier!
Another modification also that others have done is have the magnet closure to be on the sides of the middle compartment. Maybe that would help access that part of the bag easier...

Thanks! Great suggestion about the charm.
I've been closing the bag with the magnet on the sides of the middle compartment, is it not meant to be that way?

 

[christinemliu]

Thanks! Great suggestion about the charm.
I've been closing the bag with the magnet on the sides of the middle compartment, is it not meant to be that way?

@piosavsfan, yes, you're right! Sorry, I was confused. That's how mine is too and I like it. I meant that some have asked for the closure to NOT be on the sides.

The packing of the Soulmate Midi as well lends itself better to items vertically since it's really a north-south bag. Maybe that might help too if you're not doing that already!

 

[TotinScience]

Announcing our Purse Forum Tuscania wishlist of 2021 :

1. Midnight Blue
2. Bordeaux
3. Dark Brown
4. Cobblestone
5. Whiskey
6. Blackwood

(To figure out the order, I gave our preferences points,- 1st preference got 5 points, 2nd preference got 4 points, 3rd preference got 3 points, 4th preference 2 points, 5th preference 1 point.

View attachment 4975588
There were no votes for Biscotti, Orange, Citrus, Green or Granite Grey.)

Thank you for doing this!!