Backstory: I love Mulberry
I have been a fan of Mulberry for over 10 years. The first designer bag I owned was Mulberry. It was the Alexa, which unfortunately got discontinued. Over the years, I collected several Mulberry pieces, including the Lily, Willow, and even their small leather goods – card holder and long wallet.
Some years ago, despite major changes in the Mulberry brand (in terms of the creative director and product lines), the Mulberry classics will always have a special place in my heart.
Strangely, despite my love for the brand, I have never owned their most classic bag: the Mulberry Bayswater.
But that, was about to change.
Pale Slate: a colour for Queen Elsa (Frozen II)
A few months ago, for Mulberry’s Spring/Summer 2019 collection, i chanced upon this seasonal colour – pale slate.
In the past, whenever I saw the Bayswater – for some reason, the usual ‘safe’ colours – browns, blacks, greys – just didn’t sit well with me for a bag so large.
However when I was viewing this colour – Instantly I fell in love with the light shades. Despite being a blue colour, it is a light blue with gray undertones, which gives the bag a more neutral-colour feel. In fact, it really does appear a light gray under some lights. With silver hardware instead of gold, the colour appeared more modern than their usual classic Bayswater series (typically black, brown, and with gold hardware).
The pale slate reminded me of Frozen II – literally the colour of Queen Elsa’s dress.
Frozen II Image Source: UHD Wallpapers
I think I may have found the perfect bag for Queen Elsa.
The Mulberry Sale
When the pale slate series was first released, much as I loved it, I was unwilling to purchase the Bayswater at full price – so I decided to wait.
After all, Mulberry does have end-of-season sales.
Fast forward a few months later – at the Black Friday event at Takashimaya, Singapore, a kind sales assistant had contacted me to inform me of a huge ongoing sale. I went down to check it out, and spotted the Bayswater again at the Mulberry store.
Except this time, the bag was 30% off + 20% off for Club21 members.
So I became the proud official owner of a Mulberry Baysater. Score!
(In fact, at the sale, I actually got ANOTHER bag in Pale Slate – the Mulberry Lily. Check out my pictures and reviews for that here!)
Review: Mulberry Bayswater for Work
I have been using this bag for work ever since, and its usefulness has exceeded my expectations. This bag is practically MADE for work.
Usually, when i’m at my cubicle, it just sits at my desk. But it isn’t just a decorative bag, it is very functional and versatile.
Apart from looking amazing, it has a ton of room. (I have placed an entire bottle of wine in the bag and the bayswater easily accommodated the length, with still room to spare.)
It also easily fits a laptop. I have tried putting both a lenovo laptop or my 13-inch macbook air in there, and they both fit just fine.
Work wise – It carries all my work essentials – laptop, notebook, water tumbler, a fleece jacket.
Usually, I hide my cardholders in the inner pockets – but had i wanted to use a wallet, there is still plenty of room to spare.
There are 3 inner pockets in the Bayswater – one large zipped compartment, and two smaller pockets. The pockets are the perfect size for cardholders or keys.
(And yes – that’s a YSL black-on-black cardholder. The other one is a navy Mulberry cardholder, from the men’s collection. But hey, who says women can’t use them?)
Despite stuffing the bag – if one does not actually LOOK in the bag, it’s hard to tell that it’s stuffed. This is especially true if you choose to use a bag organizer (I don’t, simply because I like the slightly-slouchy look for the Bayswater. But I know people who do, and they vouch that it helps the bag maintains the shape no matter how much its holding).
Can you believe it – the Mulberry Bayswater is stuffed with a laptop, water tumbler, notebook, jacket, and cardholders?
One thing I love on bags: feet at the bottom. Apart from preventing the bottom of the bag from getting dirty, they add stability to the bottom of a bag. It’s just additional thoughtfulness from any fashion house if bag feet are included in a bag’s design.
Mulberry Bayswater Trademarks
The Mulberry classics (not just the Bayswater) all come with the signature Mulberry Tree logo. In the Bayswater, the tree is engraved on the bag’s hardware.
It is also embossed on the bag tag. Another is carved into the large inner pocket’s zip. One more graces a metal tag attached to the outer are of the bag’s inside pocket.
The postman lock is another favourite among hard-core Mulberry lovers. This cute little trinket usually comes hidden inside the bag tag. However, it can be easily removed and attached to other areas (e.g. the zip).
Carrying the Bayswater
The Bayswater only has top handles – so it works slung over the shoulder. In fact, when the bag was advertised on the Mulberry website, one of the images shown by Mulberry looked like this:
Image Source: Mulberry website
Personally, I tend to carry it over the crook of my arm. It’s not because it’s necessarily more comfortable that way.
The reason is hilarious: the weather.
I live in Singapore – super hot, super sunny and super humid. In other words, downright uncomfortable. It also means that residents here sweat a hell lot, compared to places with more temperate or polar climates.
Too add on to the discomfort, personally, I also sweat more than most people I know.
On a normal day, most people in Singapore, myself included, wear sleeveless or short-sleeved clothes. If i were to carry the bayswater on my shoulder, it means that the bag rests under the armpit. So if loads of sweating happens… it means that the sweat either drips directly on the bag or seeps through a thin sleeve layer and wets the bag anyway.
Get it?
Mulberry bag and work dresses. I love this combination – the bag’s colour is neutral enough to easily go with many clothes.
Colour-wise – I do not recommend wearing this bag with NEW, dark-coloured clothes.
However, old jeans that have been washed out many times have been OK. I have worn this bag with old jeans (that no longer leak colour) and have not had a problem with colour transfer. I have also worn this bag with dark office clothes (polyester material) that have been washed multiple times before.
On carrying the bag about – Another question I’ve received is whether the bag is too big or bulky, especially for a petite frame like mine (I’m 154cm tall).
My response is nope – the shape of the bag is that it’s narrow at the top but large at the bottom, so the triangular structure gives it a slight illusion of elongation.
Thank you so much for reading. Do you love Mulberry? Or is there a particular work bag that my readers love? If so i’d like to know what are your go-to work bags. Please share your thoughts below!
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