Mansur Gavriel Please help me choose! Lady or Tote

[gatchie]

Hey all

So I'm so in love with my mini mini bucket (black with raw interior) and the minimalistic style of MG, that I just haaave to get my hands on another. Right now I've narrowed down my wants to the Mini Lady Bag or the Small Tote. The colors I'm most interested in are Blu and Black/Dolly. I'm on the smaller side:157 cm / 5'1" ft and 51 kgs / 112 lbs -- and not so much a fan of BIG bags.

So I just wanna hear from Lady and Tote bag owners out there, pros and cons? Anything in particular that irks you whenever you use either?

Will be using the bag as a purse (medium wallet, phone, keys, small notebook, and a mini pochette), if it can fit a 13" laptop in there, that would be a plus but not a must. Have to admit that I'm not a fan of the "openess" of the tote for security reasons, so leaning more towards the Lady Bag. But I feel like the Tote will be a better all-around bag otherwise. And I'm really unsure about the locking/closing flap+drawstring closure for practicality's sake.

Watched so many reviews on YouTube and don't have access to a store to try on myself to try on or have a feel for the bags / compare... So hoping to get some help here! Thanks in advance

 

[TejasMama]

I love the tote but I feel as though it is SO OPEN because of the structure. I prefer the lady bag over the two but I do worry about the closure on the lady bag as well. I only own buckets, though, so I am not speaking from experience, although I've seen both styles in person. If laptop carry isn't a priority, I would vote for the mini lady.

 

[rdgldy]

If you are primarily planning on using this as your handbag I would go with the mini lady. You get used to working the closure and it really is not that difficult. I agree that the tote is too wide open to be using it as a handbag.

 

[extrastar]

I was torn between the Lady and the tote as well-- went back and forth for months before I bit the bullet last week and made a decision! I ended up getting the large tote because for some reason, the Lady just didn't do anything for me in-person! I'm not sure why-- I think it looks so elegant when photographed, but in real life it was just so stiff and I couldn't convince myself that the closure would work for my lifestyle. I'm always on the go and need to get in and out of my bag a lot. I was worried about the tote being so open, but it hasn't been an issue yet. I've used it all week and I'm obsessed-- it's my new favorite bag!

Oh, and just so you know, a 13" laptop won't fit in the Mini Lady (it was smaller in-person than I thought it'd be!), but I have seen several pictures of people's 13" MacBook Airs in their regular Lady bags, and both sizes of the tote can hold laptops.

Anyway, that's just my story. Good luck!

 

[Jaime]

I prefer the lady IMO. I don't do anything special to close it apart from pull the strings a bit to tighten and put the flap down. I find it more secure than the tote and I've had the tote probably a total of 6 times and keep returning it after a week of deciding. I though the last time when I got a really good price was the one, but then it went back at the last minute. I just can't warm to them because I know I'll never actually use it. Anywhere I'd be taking a bag that large I'd need it to be secure. And I'm not needing to carry a bag that big and open just on a quick errand. Just wasn't for me. The lady bag though I love and it feels more secure to me when carrying.