Tag: diaper bag

Stylish and Functional Diaper Bag Review – Kate Spade Stevie

As I mentioned in the Storksak Olivia review, I found that the bag was a little small so I couldn’t resist getting the Kate Spade Stevie (which I had seen another Mom carry at a playgroup) when a friend called me to tell me that it was on major sale at the Kate Spade Outlets.

Kate Spade Stevie Baby Bag 

Kate Spade Stevie Diaper Bag ($298)
Kate Spade Stevie Diaper Bag pictured in Stucco fabric, but no longer available. Available in Nylon Black or Striped.

I just started using the bag and here are my initial impressions.

What I Love

I love that it is wider than the Storksak Olivia!  I can actually put things in the pockets and there is still a roomy center area to put things like an extra outfit and toys.  The interior is a beige color which is nice because it isn’t a dark cavern of black fabric making it impossible to look for something.

I also love the print that I bought, which is the “Stucco” jacquard fabric.  The fabric feels luxurious and I think its a little more fashionable than the Storksak.  It definitely looks more like a purse than a diaper bag.  It really is a beautiful bag.

It also comes in lots of different prints and some are in a nylon fabric that is probably a little easier to clean.  The purse also came with a matching change pad which is a tad longer than the Storksak change pad.

What I Dislike

I don’t love that there are fewer pockets overall.  There are 2 gusseted pockets on one side of the bag, 1 elasticized pocket on the opposite side of the bag and 2 bottle pockets on either end.  There is also a zippered flat pocket.  There are also no pockets with closures on the exterior of the bag — the leather tie down doesn’t get very tight either, so I wouldn’t put anything that might fall out there.  It would really have been great if they put a zippered flat pocket on the back side of the bag for easy access to a cell phone.

Kate Spade Stevie Baby Bag - Interior
Kate Spade Stevie Baby Bag – Interior

The bag also doesn’t come with a shoulder strap.  Instead there are stroller straps.  However, you could easily buy a shoulder strap and hook it onto the stroller strap attachment.

Kate Spade Stevie Baby Bag - Buckle Close up
Kate Spade Stevie Baby Bag – Buckle Close up

The retail price is also a bit of a drawback.  At the regular price of $348-418 (depending on the print), the price point is quite high.  That being said, this bag can occasionally be found on sale anywhere between $200-300.  KateSpade.com occasionally has surprise or sample sales and they have included the Stevie in a variety of prints in the past.  Amazon has had the black nylon version of the bag on sale for around $260 for the past few months, or the striped version of the bag for $320 .

Overall

My needs have definitely changed since the newborn stage so we’ll see if I miss the extra pockets or not.  I really, really like the styling of the bag so I’m really happy to give it a try!

Rebecca Minkoff Baby Bag Reviews – Kendra and Logan Diaper Bags

I was in Neiman Marcus last week and I stopped by the children’s section to take a peek at what was new and I found 2 new Rebecca Minkoff baby bags there that I haven’t seen before.  Here’s some quick thoughts after close examination of the Kendra and the Logan.

Btw – Neiman Marcus is currently running a promo through August 19th on children’s purchases.  With the code KIDSGIFT, you will get $50 off your $200 purchase!  What great timing for these brand new bags!

The Rebecca Minkoff Kendra Baby Bag

Rebecca Minkoff Kendra Baby Bag ($295)
Rebecca Minkoff Kendra Baby Bag ($295)

First up is the Kendra baby bag.  This bag was made of nylon and includes a change pad.  When I saw the bag last week, it wasn’t up on the Neiman website yet so I think it is brand new.  Nordstrom also carries this bag in a plain black nylon, also for $295.

I liked that the bag had a top zipper to keep items inside from falling out.  I also love the elasticized and non-elasticized pockets that Rebecca Minkoff puts on all her baby bags. They are laid out in the same way as the Knocked Up bag.  If I remember correctly, there is a horizontal zip pocket across the back and 4 pockets on the inside.  There are also 2 exterior side pockets and an exterior horizontal zip.  Because the bag is made from nylon, it is easy to wipe clean and it makes it very lightweight.

Rebecca Minkoff Kendra Diaper Bag Interior
Rebecca Minkoff Kendra Diaper Bag Interior

I didn’t love the size of the bag.  The website lists it as 13 1/2″H x 17 1/2″W x 7″D and I just thought that the 7″ depth of the bag wasn’t enough.  It just seems too narrow.

The Rebecca Minkoff Logan Baby Bag

Rebecca Minkoff Logan Baby Bag ($325)
Rebecca Minkoff Logan Baby Bag ($325)

What initially drew me to this bag was the leather trim.  You really don’t see too many baby bags that have any leather, which is too bad… because while nylon is very practical, I think leather is more durable.

The straps shown are just faux, as the closure is actually a magnet behind them.  At first, I didn’t realize this and struggled to get the strap out and thought “this diaper bag is useless if I can’t get anything out of it!”.  Thankfully, the designers realized that a magnetic closure was much more practical for Mommies and Daddies!

The bag also includes a change pad and has multiple wall pockets.  If I remember correctly, they were in exactly the same configuration as the Kendra bag.  There are also 2 exterior bottle pockets.  What I really like about this bag is that it has a long strap.  I find those to be so essential when you are trying to juggle your diaper bag, the car seat and open doors. When the car seat weighs about 10 lbs and your baby is 15 lbs… you start needing 2 hands to lift the carrier.  You really start to appreciate the long cross-body straps during those times!  The bag also has a hook closure for keeping it together, though I suspect things could still fall out even if the top flap is folded over.

Rebecca Minkoff Logan Diaper Bag Interior
Rebecca Minkoff Logan Diaper Bag Interior with the hook closure

I would say the size is the main negative for me.  I prefer a larger bag and this one was a smaller bag with dimensions listed as 13″W x 12″H x 7″D.

Here’s a comparison on the same model.

Rebecca Minkoff Kendra Diaper Bag
Rebecca Minkoff Kendra Diaper Bag
Rebecca Minkoff Logan Diaper Bag
Rebecca Minkoff Logan Diaper Bag

Hope this quick review helps you decide if one of the Rebecca Minkoff diaper bags is right for you!  

Diaper Bag Comparison Review – Kate Spade Stevie vs. StorkSak Olivia

Since I own 2 relatively popular diaper bags–the Kate Spade Stevie and the StorkSak Olivia–I wanted to highlight the differences between them.

Here’s what I regularly carry in my diaper bag.

Of course, I carry the absolute necessities like diapers and wipes, but I also carry my own essentials like my wallet, phone, sunglasses, water bottle and tissues.  The bulkiest thing in my diaper bag is my soft carrier–the Baby K’Tan.

Diaper Bag Contents
Diaper Bag Contents
  1. Purell Wipes for sanitizing surfaces like dirty high chairs or diaper changing stations
  2. Nursing Cover
  3. Aden & Anais Burpy Bib in Starlight pattern
  4. StorkSak Changing Pad – comes with the Olivia diaper bag
  5. Extra change of clothes and socks
  6. Baby K’Tan soft carrier
  7. Sophie the Giraffe — my baby’s favorite!
  8. Huggies Wipes and Aquaphor
  9. Huggies Diapers – four size 3 diapers
  10. Furla Wallet
  11. Happy Baby Squeeze Pouch
  12. Bumkins Superbib Dr. Seuss Bib
  13. CamelBak Eddy Water Bottle
  14. Babyganics Sunscreen
  15. My Sunglasses
  16. My iPhone, Keys and pouch with my allergy medicine and a tiny bottle of handcream
  17. Babyganics Hand Sanitizer and pack of tissues
  18. Bumkins Dr. Seuss Wet bag

As you can see, I have a lot of things I like to carry with me!  Here’s what it all looks like packed in each bag.

Exterior of Bags

StorkSak Olivia - Fully Packed
StorkSak Olivia – Exterior
Kate Spade Stevie - Exterior Packed
Kate Spade Stevie – Exterior

The StorkSak Olivia is pretty much bursting at the seams. The outside pockets are difficult to use at this point and I had to squish things down to zip it up.  The Kate Spade Stevie is full but not bursting.  No squishing necessary to zip the bag up.

Interior of Bags

StorkSak Olivia - Interior
StorkSak Olivia – Interior (K’tan packed on top)
StorkSak Olivia - Interior
StorkSak Olivia – Interior (K’tan removed)
Kate Spade Stevie - Interior Packed
Kate Spade Stevie – Interior Packed

The StorkSak requires the K’tan to be packed on top, so anytime I need to get anything from inside the bag, I need to remove the K’tan first before I can access anything else.  This gets a little annoying!  It also gets super full in the center part where Sophie the giraffe is.  I frequently end up unpacking the entire bag just to look for something near the bottom.

As you can see, the Kate Spade packs up everything so much nicer.  I can see everything all at a glance without having to unpack my entire bag!

One thing I will say about the StorkSak is that since there are so many more pockets, everything that has a place in a pocket is easily found.  I always know where the hand sanitizer is, because I put it in one of the end pockets.  Same with my phone because its always in the same exterior pocket.  It’s a little trickier in the Kate Spade bag because there are fewer pockets so more things go in the center.

Overall, I really like both bags.  Both of them carry a lot and I realize I may not need this much stuff with me as my baby grows into toddlerhood!  Hopefully you found this post informative in helping you decide on a bag!    Let me know if there are any questions I can help you answer.

Cute and Functional Diaper Bag Review – Storksak Olivia

As a handbag lover, I knew that I wanted to get a cute and functional diaper bag for when the baby came, since all of my new mom friends told me that I probably wouldn’t be carrying a purse for awhile since it would be too cumbersome trying to juggle both a diaper bag and a purse.

I looked into several diaper bags and I wound up buying the Storksak Olivia from Nordstrom before my little one arrived.

Storksak ‘Olivia’

Storksak Olivia Diaper Bag ($198.00)
Storksak Olivia Diaper Bag ($198.00)

What I love about the bag

The ample inside pockets!  On the inside, I love that there are elasticized pockets on both ends of the bag, as well as 2 pockets on each side of the bag.  That is 6 elasticized pockets inside which is fantastic.  There is also a zippered flat back pocket and it comes with an attached little flat pouch.  I store my diapers and wipes on one side of the bag, and on the other, I store fabric items like my nursing cover, bibs and a burpcloth. On the ends, I store hand sanitizer and a pouch of food.

Storksak Olivia - Interior
Storksak Olivia – Interior

On the outside, you can see there is a zippered front pocket (both zippers lead to the same pocket), the front pocket which has a magnetic closure, and 3 more pockets which don’t have any closures.  I store my ginormous wallet and trusty Canon Powershot S95 camera in the big zippered pocket, my phone in the magnetic pocket and on the sides I stow my water bottle, sunglasses and a big bottle of sunscreen.

I also love that there is both the top handles as well as a long adjustable shoulder strap.  This was a lifesaver when I was trying to head out the door with a giant, heavy infant bucket seat as well as my diaper bag.  I’d sling the diaper bag across my body and then hoist the bucket seat out the door.  The shoulder strap also comes in handy for hanging the bag on my stroller.

What I dislike about the bag

The first major issue I have is that once all of the interior pockets are full, the bag is FULL!  Especially since you also need to put the change mat in the center of the bag.  There is almost no space to put an extra outfit — I always end up stuffing it at the bottom of the bag.  Any toys that we want to bring end up being stuffed at the top.

In the early months, I used a Baby K’tan and it just would not fit in the diaper bag unless I really stuffed everything down.  Inevitably, I’d need something at the bottom of the bag and I’d need to pull everything out.  It was quite annoying!

Also, my phone has fallen out of the magnetic closure pocket on more than one occasion, though its my fault for not putting it in a zippered pocket.  I just wish there was a second zippered pocket on the exterior of the bag.  Between my wallet and camera, there is no more space in that big exterior zippered compartment.

Overall

I do really like this bag and I used it exclusively through my daughter’s first 11 months!  I got lots of compliments on the bag and my husband loved that it had so many pockets for organizing stuff. The adjustable shoulder strap was also a big plus.  I just wish it was a tad bit bigger so that when I had filled the interior pockets, there was still room in the center for a few items.

The bag seems well made and comes with a change mat, bottle sleeve and a flat zippered pouch.  I would recommend this bag to friends.