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#37,456
Good morning people. The first thing I want to tell you about the Ellen in Toscano is that she is not a lightweight. I carry basically nothing any more and on my kitchen digital scale she weighed in at 3 lbs. 3 ¼ ounces. For those of you who carry a more, this could be a consideration.
You can see that I travel light, lol.
D2E665FF-A557-426B-9A03-44BF1FB7DAFA.jpeg
Many of you ask if a 13 inch iPad will fit in a bag. It fits easily and will zip
A596598A-EE25-4BA9-8209-0ED1692D5F0D.jpeg
Size comparison with a Little Miss M, a Modena midi and the small Athena.

F2132A3F-14DD-4F46-9911-E2813594C5D7.jpeg438EE59E-70FF-4202-8A37-69BFE72788DE.jpeg
It is almost exactly the same size size as the Little Miss M.
29AF0A32-0FF2-4A6A-9D06-BB05BCFA03FB.jpeg

The crossbody strap is very comfortable.
 
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#37,457
afroken said:
Love it! Congratulations! Ellen wasn't really on my radar before but after your glowing review, I'm beginning to get very interested :loveeyes: Would you say that toscano is now one of your favourite leathers from MM?

Out of curiosity (and I don't think I ever asked you here), what's your favourite MM leather and why? :flowers:
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Hmm. Tough question. I own/have owned MM bags in Verona, Vachetta, velvet Verona, Nappa, Pompei, Toscania, Athene, Africa, Cuoio Toscano, goat (Sorrento), and pebbled. Truly, I love them all and for very different reasons, which is not a useful answer!

But...

if I have to choose, I would say that first, I love Marco's Nappa leather. I love shiny things and have traditionally loved smoother, supple leathers with a shine. The Nappa is such a wonderful leather choice for dressy or polished bags and while it has a glossy finish it also manages to feel soft. Every time I take my Black Nappa Modena out of its dustbag, my heart races a bit. Initially, the bag felt "hard" to me and not at all supple; but I have had the bag for almost two years now and the glossiness of it has mellowed as the bag has softened. It's perfect.

Over the past 5 years, however, I have also developed a soft spot for pebbled leathers. At first, it was because of their hardiness; they are forgiving, even if the pebbled texture does start to flatten out with use. But then I realized that I kept buying pebbled leather because of its dimensionality-- the pebbles create micro-shadows on a leather surface which makes this leather (and dye) look very animated and saturated to me. Marco's pebbled leather is calf and it is marvelous--soft and supple, with a lovely sheen that gets better over time. Some of my favorite colors in Marco's collection are pebbled leathers, and I think it is because of the depth of color that pebbled leather seems to have. I bet I would love Marco's metallic pebbled leather.

More recently, I have come to love natural vegetable-dyed leathers because of the artisanship involved in the processing of the leather and the variations this process produces. No two hides are ever alike. These leathers feel alive to me (as they once were, of course). I love the imperfections, the grain, the aging process, and the patina of these leathers. They take dye beautifully. I love these bags for travel, for weekends, or for workdays when I don't need a dressy-looking bag. That said, I did own a dark taupe Vachetta bag and that leather was smooth and perfect for dressier occasions, so I think it varies with Marco's leather. I will say I'm a bit more picky of when and how I want this type of leather on my bags because of their texture and variations. The Toscano leather has a nice mix of even dye and texture.
 
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#37,458
Kimbashop said:
Hmm. Tough question. I own/have owned MM bags in Verona, Vachetta, velvet Verona, Nappa, Pompei, Toscania, Athene, Africa, Cuoio Toscano, goat (Sorrento), and pebbled. Truly, I love them all and for very different reasons, which is not a useful answer!

But...

if I have to choose, I would say that first, I love Marco's Nappa leather. I love shiny things and have traditionally loved smoother, supple leathers with a shine. The Nappa is such a wonderful leather choice for dressy or polished bags and while it has a glossy finish it also manages to feel soft. Every time I take my Black Nappa Modena out of its dustbag, my heart races a bit. Initially, the bag felt "hard" to me and not at all supple; but I have had the bag for almost two years now and the glossiness of it has mellowed as the bag has softened. It's perfect.

Over the past 5 years, however, I have also developed a soft spot for pebbled leathers. At first, it was because of their hardiness; they are forgiving, even if the pebbled texture does start to flatten out with use. But then I realized that I kept buying pebbled leather because of its dimensionality-- the pebbles create micro-shadows on a leather surface which makes this leather (and dye) look very animated and saturated to me. Marco's pebbled leather is calf and it is marvelous--soft and supple, with a lovely sheen that gets better over time. Some of my favorite colors in Marco's collection are pebbled leathers, and I think it is because of the depth of color that pebbled leather seems to have. I bet I would love Marco's metallic leather.

More recently, I have come to love natural vegetable-dyed leathers because of the artisanship involved in the processing of the leather and the variations this process produces. No two hides are ever alike. These leathers feel alive to me (as they once were, of course). I love the imperfections, the grain, the aging process, and the patina of these leathers. They take dye beautifully. I love these bags for travel, for weekends, or for workdays when I don't need a dressy-looking bag. That said, I did own a dark taupe Vachetta bag and that leather was smooth and perfect for dressier occasions, so I think it varies with Marco's leather. I will say I'm a bit more picky of when and how I want these types of leather on my bags because of their texture and variations.
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Lol I thought she was asking me, but should have known that everyone knows my love for Verona already. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
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#37,460
Fancyfree said:
It would be really good idea to post your comparison photos on the reference thread, @Monaliceke ,- so much easier to find these great photos in the future ;)

Our Massaccesi Handbags Reference Pictures Only ***no chatter***

Our beautiful Massaccesi Handbags Reference Pictures Only ***no chatter*** Please post pictures with details on style, leather and season only, no chatting on this thread, thank you!
forum.purseblog.com forum.purseblog.com
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Good idea! I have just posted my photos on the reference thread ;)
 
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#37,464
Kimbashop said:
Hmm. Tough question. I own/have owned MM bags in Verona, Vachetta, velvet Verona, Nappa, Pompei, Toscania, Athene, Africa, Cuoio Toscano, goat (Sorrento), and pebbled. Truly, I love them all and for very different reasons, which is not a useful answer!

But...

if I have to choose, I would say that first, I love Marco's Nappa leather. I love shiny things and have traditionally loved smoother, supple leathers with a shine. The Nappa is such a wonderful leather choice for dressy or polished bags and while it has a glossy finish it also manages to feel soft. Every time I take my Black Nappa Modena out of its dustbag, my heart races a bit. Initially, the bag felt "hard" to me and not at all supple; but I have had the bag for almost two years now and the glossiness of it has mellowed as the bag has softened. It's perfect.

Over the past 5 years, however, I have also developed a soft spot for pebbled leathers. At first, it was because of their hardiness; they are forgiving, even if the pebbled texture does start to flatten out with use. But then I realized that I kept buying pebbled leather because of its dimensionality-- the pebbles create micro-shadows on a leather surface which makes this leather (and dye) look very animated and saturated to me. Marco's pebbled leather is calf and it is marvelous--soft and supple, with a lovely sheen that gets better over time. Some of my favorite colors in Marco's collection are pebbled leathers, and I think it is because of the depth of color that pebbled leather seems to have. I bet I would love Marco's metallic pebbled leather.

More recently, I have come to love natural vegetable-dyed leathers because of the artisanship involved in the processing of the leather and the variations this process produces. No two hides are ever alike. These leathers feel alive to me (as they once were, of course). I love the imperfections, the grain, the aging process, and the patina of these leathers. They take dye beautifully. I love these bags for travel, for weekends, or for workdays when I don't need a dressy-looking bag. That said, I did own a dark taupe Vachetta bag and that leather was smooth and perfect for dressier occasions, so I think it varies with Marco's leather. I will say I'm a bit more picky of when and how I want this type of leather on my bags because of their texture and variations. The Toscano leather has a nice mix of even dye and texture.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this comprehensive review on the leathers that you love. I always love hearing about what people think about different leathers and with the leathers you have that I own as well, I found myself nodding along when reading through your reviews. Now I’m even more tempted than ever to try one of Marco’s vegetable-tanned leather.

I have two MM bags in nappa, and I especially agree with what you said about this leather. At first, they seemed a bit stiff, and I had wondered whether I should’ve chosen a different leather as I’ve always preferred a bit of softness. But like you said, gradually, nappa has worn down to the most perfect suppleness and I couldn’t be more pleased.

And pebbled, I’ve always been drawn to the large selection of colours. I look forward to acquiring something in pebbled in the future.
southernbelle43 said:
Lol I thought she was asking me, but should have known that everyone knows my love for Verona already. :lol: :lol: :lol:
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I did ask you too, so you were correct :lol::lol: you got me into Verona and now I can never go back to the days where subpar leather bags could do! I loved reading about your newfound love for toscano. I’ve long wondered about this leather and your review answered many questions for me.

@Kimbashop and @southernbelle43 I should never have asked you ladies this question, now I want even more bags :lecture::noggin:
 
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#37,465
When I asked what verona was left here is his response. This was after I had asked him to put aside the bluette verona for my little Selene. I was wondering what other options in Verona are available. In case I decided to change my mind. I eventually decided to stay with bluette verona but was somewhat tempted by Iris verona.
"We have lime, yellow, iris blue, garnet red and some medium grey. Quite surely we have some other colors but I have to check".
 
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#37,466
southernbelle43 said:
Good morning people. The first thing I want to tell you about the Ellen in Toscano is that she is not a lightweight. I carry basically nothing any more and on my kitchen digital scale she weighed in at 3 lbs. 3 ¼ ounces. For those of you who carry a more, this could be a consideration.
You can see that I travel light, lol.
View attachment 5088397
Many of you ask if a 13 inch iPad will fit in a bag. It fits easily and will zip
View attachment 5088393
Size comparison with a Little Miss M, a Modena midi and the small Athena.

View attachment 5088395View attachment 5088394
It is almost exactly the same size size as the Little Miss M.
View attachment 5088420

The crossbody strap is very comfortable.
Click to expand...
I love the way that this bag looks as a crossbody. Too often I find totes don't really work as crossbodies even if they come with such a strap. The Ellen's structure and fold-down handles really make it work.
 
#37,469
afroken said:
Thank you for this comprehensive review on the leathers that you love. I always love hearing about what people think about different leathers and with the leathers you have that I own as well, I found myself nodding along when reading through your reviews. Now I’m even more tempted than ever to try one of Marco’s vegetable-tanned leather.

I have two MM bags in nappa, and I especially agree with what you said about this leather. At first, they seemed a bit stiff, and I had wondered whether I should’ve chosen a different leather as I’ve always preferred a bit of softness. But like you said, gradually, nappa has worn down to the most perfect suppleness and I couldn’t be more pleased.

And pebbled, I’ve always been drawn to the large selection of colours. I look forward to acquiring something in pebbled in the future.

I did ask you too, so you were correct :lol::lol: you got me into Verona and now I can never go back to the days where subpar leather bags could do! I loved reading about your newfound love for toscano. I’ve long wondered about this leather and your review answered many questions for me.

@Kimbashop and @southernbelle43 I should never have asked you ladies this question, now I want even more bags :lecture::noggin:
Click to expand...
We are quite proficient in “enabling.“. But it is fun to help newbies learn about Massaccesi, leathers, styles. Hopefullly in the long run you will save money by not ordering bags that won’t work for you. This forum certainly has cost me, but not as much as it could have without all of the posters sharing their experiences.
 
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