How is everyone doing? I can't believe it's the last few days of April. This year seems to be flying by. Some of you may recall that I love my Coach Empire 40 in Merlot. I bought it last year and it's been such a great work bag, but there were times I wish I had a smaller version for an everyday carry. When Coach released size 28 in Honey Brown, I couldn't resist! 😍 As of right now, size 28 is only offered in Black and Honey Brown. I hope to see more colors, and colors with the beautiful burnishing effect like my Merlot 40.
For reference I'm 4 feet 11 inches tall. Please check out my video to see what fits inside. 😍
The color Honey Brown is the perfect neutral. It's a warm tan color that will go many outfits. How cute is the Toothless Bag Charm?! I've bought a few charms from this seller on Etsy and they're all amazing quality. By the way, I cannot wait to see the live action version of the movie! The trailer looks so good.
This bag can be worn multiple ways. Carrying it by the top handle is my favorite way to wear this bag. The handle drop is 3.5". I can get my hand through fairly easily but if I'm wearing a bulky sweater or a jacket, it can feel a little small.
This bag does come with a crossbody strap for hands free carry. I'm 4 feet 11 inches tall and even on the shortest setting, I find the strap to be too long. The good thing is, the strap is removable and I will try and find a different strap for this bag. I'd prefer the strap to be just a tad shorter. It looks fine, but it just feels like it hits too far down my leg.
Here's a mod shot with the strap over my shoulder. I will say the strap is very comfortable, it's just too long for petites. It's great for the taller folks! I really love size 28. I think it's very petite friendly and can still carry a lot. Don't forget to check out my YouTube video to see what fits.
Let's take a closer look at the details of this beautiful bag.
Coach Soft Empire Carryall 28 Honey Brown
The bag does come with a Coach hangtag, but it just looks a little cheap to me, so I took it off and replaced it with the Toothless charm. The bag is made of natural grain leather and you can see the beautiful texture on the bag. I absolutely love it. My Empire 40 in Merlot is very smooth compared to the Honey Brown. Even though the Honey Brown doesn't have the burnishing effect, the leather grain makes up for it. The leather is soft, but still sturdy. This is a bag that will hold its shape well.
The rolled handles are very firm, and fits comfortable in my hand. The bag itself isn't heavy, it weighs about 1 lb and 6 oz empty. The zipper is very smooth and feels high quality. The leather will show scratches and you can see some from my nails along the opening at the top. I've used this bag about 5 times so far. The opening is a little big narrow and I did find the zipper rubbing against my hand when I was rummaging around for my things.
The inside is lined with soft fabric and there is one snap pocket. There is a key leash tether on the inside of the bag. I have not used it, but it is a nice option to have.
The quality is amazing on this bag and I expect nothing less from Coach. The stitching looks perfect and the edge coating looks really good to me. The price of this bag is $550 and I think it's a great value for this quality bag. The larger size 40 is $695 and all the colors are in stock right now, even the Merlot!
Side view
The bag has interior buckles to expand if you need more room. Just be aware that they are very difficult to unfasten and fasten. The bag has feet, which I love. The bottom is also stamped with Natural Full Grain Leather in tiny gold print.
That is it for this review. Let me know which size is your favorite. The Coach Empire line has 5 different sizes right now. I heard there will be another size added in the fall- size 21. I'm not sure if I would add that size to my collection, but I might! We'll see. 😆 Maybe in a fun color? Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
Shop:
Coach Soft Empire Carryall 28
Also:
Leslie, beautiful bag! I watched your video. I love your thorough videos! Where did you get your bee pillbox? Cindy
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy! I added the link to the pill box to the blog post. You can customize it, it's hand painted to whatever color you want! The seller has a lot of cool ones. I love mine.
DeleteThat is a perfect everyday bag. The size is great, and the color matches everything! I often have trouble with crossbody straps being too long as well, but it's good that you can swap that one out. I love the bag charm as well!
ReplyDeleteHi Lola! It really is a versatile bag. I think all bags should have the option to remove the strap. I get annoyed when you can't easily swap out the strap. =)
DeleteAnother good choice! Though I like how the larger merlot one has more area to slouch, while this one looks more structured. The strap looks like an ok length, not comically long but could benefit from shortening just a tad bit if being picky. I’m going to go binge a few review videos I missed on your channel!
ReplyDeleteHi AC! Thanks so much! Do you prefer the look of the 40 because of the slouch? I think I do too. But the 28 is more of an everyday size. Maybe the leather could be softer to offer a little more slouch on the 28. I will say it's very stiff/structured type of leather that will hold its shape.
DeleteI think slouch and color had a lot to do with why I prefer one over the other for sure 😊 but I’m a backpack person when I commute and I have my handy coach west backpack for that purpose. I don’t think I could do a 40 type large bag!
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