Tinted Wine Gabrielle: Preview Pics are Here!! *Update: Reveal on page 2*
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SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE!! 
Late last night, she was still in Guangzhou (China), according to FedEx's tracking, but she winged it over here by the morning and was delivered before noon, a whole day early! 
Pics to come later, but I just have to say that the first time I touched the leather after pulling the bag out of the dustbag and unwrapping it, I literally had this expression on my face: SO, SO WONDERFUL!!!! 
(There are a couple of things that I'll probably email Maria about, but if one of those things can't be fixed without making a whole new bag, I'll probably keep it as is. The other thing has to do with the shorter strap, which I'm 99% certain I'll send back to them to have corrected. More details later!)
Late last night, she was still in Guangzhou (China), according to FedEx's tracking, but she winged it over here by the morning and was delivered before noon, a whole day early! Pics to come later, but I just have to say that the first time I touched the leather after pulling the bag out of the dustbag and unwrapping it, I literally had this expression on my face:
SO, SO WONDERFUL!!!! (There are a couple of things that I'll probably email Maria about, but if one of those things can't be fixed without making a whole new bag, I'll probably keep it as is. The other thing has to do with the shorter strap, which I'm 99% certain I'll send back to them to have corrected. More details later!)
Okay, this is gonna take awhile, and there will be many pics posted. You've been warned! I also like to do the packaging tease, so... 
Slightly-weird packaging with the random flaps...? Turns out it was a larger FedEx box cut down and refolded to size!
Nice, snug fit...
Oops, a bit of leather peeking through the paper!
... And once I pulled the paper-wrapped bag out of the dustbag, everything just spilled out!
Slightly-weird packaging with the random flaps...? Turns out it was a larger FedEx box cut down and refolded to size!
Nice, snug fit...
Oops, a bit of leather peeking through the paper!
... And once I pulled the paper-wrapped bag out of the dustbag, everything just spilled out!
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Let's give her a more dignified debut... Tinted Wine Gabrielle!
She's stuffed to the gills in the above pic, but once I unzipped her...
... Already beginning to smoosh! Not to mention, flashing that red fabric lining too.
Puddly unstuffed goodness! I opened the bag up properly to check out the interior, and once I set it down again:
Delicious.
A better look at the red fabric lining and the interior.
She's stuffed to the gills in the above pic, but once I unzipped her...
... Already beginning to smoosh! Not to mention, flashing that red fabric lining too.
Puddly unstuffed goodness! I opened the bag up properly to check out the interior, and once I set it down again:
Delicious.
A better look at the red fabric lining and the interior.
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With the regular strap attached... ETA: Sorry, that's the shorter strap! *sigh* See what I mean? (Refer to post #28 below.)
... And with both straps attached!
Close-ups:
Braided handles.
Interior nameplate.
And of course: THE LEATHER.
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So lovely~ I still haven't heard from Maria so I keep imagining the difference of raspberry and tinted wine leathers. I actually like the Gabrielle,too, but Ormala will add more fun to my colletion at this point. Congrats on your Tinted Wine Gabrielle, your pics. always amaze me!
Close-ups, continued:
Shiny silver hardware!
More shiny silver hardware!
Twice the straps, twice the (gorgeous, wonderful, lovely) knots!
See above.
My camera's automatic white balance settings generally seemed a little wonky to me when I was taking most of these photos. It looks better on my computer's screen than it did on my camera's LCD monitor, but just for the record, the Tinted Wine leather is still a little darker than in most of my pics. The colour in the pic below is one of the most accurate of the pictures that I took.
Also, because it needs saying again: THE LEATHER.
Shiny silver hardware!
More shiny silver hardware!
Twice the straps, twice the (gorgeous, wonderful, lovely) knots!
See above.
My camera's automatic white balance settings generally seemed a little wonky to me when I was taking most of these photos. It looks better on my computer's screen than it did on my camera's LCD monitor, but just for the record, the Tinted Wine leather is still a little darker than in most of my pics. The colour in the pic below is one of the most accurate of the pictures that I took.
Also, because it needs saying again: THE LEATHER.
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Now, for the two issues that I will be emailing Maria about. Unfortunately, lionlaw, one of the issues is indeed quality-related.
Piping on the bottom of the front of the bag:
Piping on the bottom of the back of the bag:
Yeah, completely uneven/puckered/warped/wonky. (The bag is unstuffed in the above pics, BTW, IIRC.) Here's another angle, from the bottom, where you can clearly see the difference in the piping edges:
The main zipper is also slightly unevenly sewed, but I probably won't ask them to fix it, since it doesn't affect functionality either. I'll probably mention this to Maria for their reference, though, so that they can keep this in mind.
Piping on the bottom of the front of the bag:
Piping on the bottom of the back of the bag:
Yeah, completely uneven/puckered/warped/wonky. (The bag is unstuffed in the above pics, BTW, IIRC.) Here's another angle, from the bottom, where you can clearly see the difference in the piping edges:
The main zipper is also slightly unevenly sewed, but I probably won't ask them to fix it, since it doesn't affect functionality either. I'll probably mention this to Maria for their reference, though, so that they can keep this in mind.
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As for the shorter shoulder strap, I asked for this to have a 12-13" drop. There seems to be a difference with how Ignes measures their strap drops with how I measure my strap drops, though.
When the bag is lain flat and the strap adjusted above it as far as it can go (without being pulled taut), the strap drop is indeed around 13" -- just slightly longer, in fact:
When the strap drop is measured vertically, though, i.e. with the bag hanging by the strap that is now being pulled taut (which is how I always measure strap drops; the bag was only stuffed with paper when I took these measurements, BTW), the strap drop winds up much longer than I requested, at 15"++, almost 16":
The regular strap, on the other hand, has a lying-flat strap drop of about 16.5", and a hanging-vertically strap drop of around 18.5". The lengths of the straps themselves, from leather end to leather end (not including the hardware, which is quite large and therefore not insignificant either), are around 34.5" and 29" for the regular and shorter straps respectively.
When I actually wear the bag with the shorter strap, I definitely feel that it's far too similar to how the bag hangs with the regular strap. With the regular strap, the top of the bag hangs around the level of my hip. With the shorter strap, the bag hangs just a few inches higher, level with the top of my hipbone. There's virtually no difference this way, which kind of defeats the purpose of ordering two straps.
In asking for a 12-13" strap drop, I was expecting the top of the bag to hang a few inches above my waist and a few inches below my bust (almost somewhere right in between), similar to how the Treesje Asher or Magnolia hang with their shoulder straps (but maybe slightly longer). I based the strap drop on how another bag of mine with a 12" strap drop hangs, too, so I was expecting something pretty specific, and this wasn't it.
To demonstrate, here are (really crappy -- sorry!) mod pics of the regular strap and the shorter strap respectively:
(I'm about 5'5", and a UK size 16-18. Not sure what that translates to for US sizes, though I do know my US jeans/trousers size is 12-14.)
The red arrow is approximately where the top of the bag should hang with a 12-13" strap drop:
I'm definitely sending in the shorter strap to be properly shortened, probably by at least 5" (taking the length to about 24" when not counting the hardware clips, which measure about 2" each). Should I play safer by asking for it to be shortened by 6 or 7" in length instead?
As for the puckered bottom piping on the back of the bag, I'm going to ask Maria to see if they can fix that without having to make a whole new bag. I kind of doubt that'll be possible, but...
I feel like it'll be a waste to trash this bag and create a new one from scratch, but do you guys think the puckered piping is something I ought to accept if it cannot be fixed? It is on the back rather than the front, which is some consolation. What would you guys do?
When the bag is lain flat and the strap adjusted above it as far as it can go (without being pulled taut), the strap drop is indeed around 13" -- just slightly longer, in fact:
When the strap drop is measured vertically, though, i.e. with the bag hanging by the strap that is now being pulled taut (which is how I always measure strap drops; the bag was only stuffed with paper when I took these measurements, BTW), the strap drop winds up much longer than I requested, at 15"++, almost 16":
The regular strap, on the other hand, has a lying-flat strap drop of about 16.5", and a hanging-vertically strap drop of around 18.5". The lengths of the straps themselves, from leather end to leather end (not including the hardware, which is quite large and therefore not insignificant either), are around 34.5" and 29" for the regular and shorter straps respectively.
When I actually wear the bag with the shorter strap, I definitely feel that it's far too similar to how the bag hangs with the regular strap. With the regular strap, the top of the bag hangs around the level of my hip. With the shorter strap, the bag hangs just a few inches higher, level with the top of my hipbone. There's virtually no difference this way, which kind of defeats the purpose of ordering two straps.
In asking for a 12-13" strap drop, I was expecting the top of the bag to hang a few inches above my waist and a few inches below my bust (almost somewhere right in between), similar to how the Treesje Asher or Magnolia hang with their shoulder straps (but maybe slightly longer). I based the strap drop on how another bag of mine with a 12" strap drop hangs, too, so I was expecting something pretty specific, and this wasn't it.
To demonstrate, here are (really crappy -- sorry!) mod pics of the regular strap and the shorter strap respectively:
(I'm about 5'5", and a UK size 16-18. Not sure what that translates to for US sizes, though I do know my US jeans/trousers size is 12-14.)
The red arrow is approximately where the top of the bag should hang with a 12-13" strap drop:
I'm definitely sending in the shorter strap to be properly shortened, probably by at least 5" (taking the length to about 24" when not counting the hardware clips, which measure about 2" each). Should I play safer by asking for it to be shortened by 6 or 7" in length instead?
As for the puckered bottom piping on the back of the bag, I'm going to ask Maria to see if they can fix that without having to make a whole new bag. I kind of doubt that'll be possible, but...
I feel like it'll be a waste to trash this bag and create a new one from scratch, but do you guys think the puckered piping is something I ought to accept if it cannot be fixed? It is on the back rather than the front, which is some consolation. What would you guys do?Attachments
Aww, thank you, tejava! I wish I knew how to properly use a DSLR, though... I only have my trusty old point-and-shoot! The recent bag spending has also definitely pushed back the possibility of an upgraded point-and-shoot too, hehe...
I think raspberry is definitely redder than the tinted wine, from the pics I've seen here. The tinted wine is a darker shade of red, most like the last pic in post #26. I think they really both great colours and great leathers, though! Maybe you could ask Maria to send you swatches of the two leathers so you can see it for yourself and make a better decision that way?
Well, the leather is beautiful!
I have no clue what is going on w/ the piping on the back. Is it a stuffing issue- misshapen and could pop back somehow? I'm not sure what that is at all.
That is too bad about the strap length. Maybe they measure differently? I don't know. I think they might though. I remember that before my handle repair was done, the handles seemed longer than the 9.5 I asked for- I think they were an inch or two longer before the repair, but after were okay when I mentioned drop length again. They can re-do the straps relatively easy and quickly, I'd think.
I'm glad you like the design and the leather, but am sorry those two things aren't right. Do contact Maria for sure. I don't know what is going on with the piping at all in that spot. With the piping/puckering on the back, maybe she'll have a solution for you. Sounds nutty, but if just does need to be popped back in place for some reason from shipment, a heavy can like a tomato can might do the trick in that spot. I have done that w/ BE bags before when I wanted to break them in and pop out corners on the Stroke Me design. The bag is a really nice size for you though!
I have no clue what is going on w/ the piping on the back. Is it a stuffing issue- misshapen and could pop back somehow? I'm not sure what that is at all.
That is too bad about the strap length. Maybe they measure differently? I don't know. I think they might though. I remember that before my handle repair was done, the handles seemed longer than the 9.5 I asked for- I think they were an inch or two longer before the repair, but after were okay when I mentioned drop length again. They can re-do the straps relatively easy and quickly, I'd think.
I'm glad you like the design and the leather, but am sorry those two things aren't right. Do contact Maria for sure. I don't know what is going on with the piping at all in that spot. With the piping/puckering on the back, maybe she'll have a solution for you. Sounds nutty, but if just does need to be popped back in place for some reason from shipment, a heavy can like a tomato can might do the trick in that spot. I have done that w/ BE bags before when I wanted to break them in and pop out corners on the Stroke Me design. The bag is a really nice size for you though!