Review! Balenciaga Mini Rodeo in Cowboy! My 10th Anniversary Present

I'm so excited for this review! This bag is super special because it's a gift from Jared. Our 10th anniversary isn't until June, but after I surprised him with a pair of expensive headphones for his 50th birthday/10th anniversary gift last month, he said I could pick out a bag. 😂 

After seeing this bag on Balenciaga's website, Jared took me to the Balenciaga store at Phipp's Plaza. Once I felt the leather in person, it was a done deal. This bag is made of super soft nappa lambskin and the color is a beautiful cognac. 

For reference I'm 4 feet 11 inches tall. 

Please check out my video if you want to see what fits. 

Balenciaga Mini Rodeo Cowboy

What I love about this design is the many different ways you can carry the bag, and the many different looks the bag can have when you tuck the flap in. The crossbody strap is removable but not adjustable, which is the only negative I can think of for the bag. The handle drop is five inches and it's a little too small to fit over the shoulder comfortably, but you can turn this bag into shoulder carry as well, which I'll get into later in this post. 

How gorgeous is this color?! 😍 I love that you can wear this bag crossbody, but you do have to get a little creative to adjust the strap to your desired length. I made a knot at the back end of the strap. Balenciaga advertises the knot on their website, except the knot is located in the middle of the strap, which I don't like because then it just digs into your shoulder. I moved the knot so it doesn't touch my body at all when I carry it. 

Snoopy loves to photobomb my mod shots. 😹

(Sigh, I have the strap twisted in the photos, didn't see that until I edited them. 😑)

In the photo above and below, I am carrying this bag on my shoulder by removing the strap and folding it in half to create a double strap and then looping it through the rings and attaching both ends to the other side of the handle. 

I cannot do shoulder carry because my shoulders just slant downwards, but I love the look!

Let's take a closer look at the details of this bag. The leather is super soft and comes already distressed and has scratches. The creases on the flap are intentional and part of the design. I know the worn in look is not for everyone, but I am absolutely loving the vibe, especially paired with this color.

Balenciaga Mini Rodeo Cowboy

This bag has snaps and if you do undo the snaps, the bag literally doubles in size. You can fit so much more than you would think. The back of the bag has two slip pockets and they are a bit tight and cannot fit my iPhone 16 pro. It's more for receipts and cards.

 I love that you can see the natural beauty of this leather and that it is not overly processed.

Inside of this bag has a slip pocket, one major compartment that can actually hold a soda can! And then an outer compartment where I keep my phone and sunglasses for easy access.

I love that the bag is also lined in soft buttery leather.

This bag has feet! The hardware is aged silver, which I love. In the photo below, I still have the stickers on the feet, but I took them off afterwards because I noticed they started peeling off.

The charm comes with the bag, and is very nice, but the length of the charm is super long, so I have it wrapped around the handle once to shorten it a bit.

I will have a video comparing the two sizes. I want to carry both bags for a few weeks so I can get a good feel of my likes/dislikes and pros/cons between the two sizes. Aren't they cute together?

Shop:

Balenciaga Rodeo Cowboy

Pre-owned Rodeo from Fashionphile

Pre-owned Rodeo from TheRealReal

In case you were interested in the headphones I bought Jared that prompted him to let me pick out a bag for my anniversary gift, it is the Empyrean II by Meze Audio. I love how shocked he was! I took a video, but he would kill me if I posted it. 😂

Meze Audio Empyrean II

😍

That's it for me! Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!