Visconti Leather Distressed Messenger Bag Harvard Collection, Visconti Leather Distressed Messenger Bag Harvard Collection

Description

Visconti 18548 messenger bag is made from top quality leather and has double and contrast stitching. It comes with an adjustable long 60 inch shoulder strap to comfortably fit the tall and the short and there is a sliding rubber shoulder grip for comfort when carrying heavy loads. The 18548 has a full front flap over held down with 2 antique magnetic brass snaps holding the flap securely and safely shut. Under the flap and as well at the rear of the bag there is a wide zipped pocket across the width of the bag as well as an open folder for slipping in a newspaper, paper notebook or manila envelopes. The inside of the bag is lined with card holders, pen holders and a cell phone pocket. As well there is yet another zipped pocket for important documents on the opposite side of the bag. The interior itself is of nice size and can hold 3 loose-leafs, or an iPad with2/3 books/textbooks . The color of the leather is a stylish distressed looking mud brown, it also has a stylish professional look to it that can be used for office / business or school. . The bag may have wrinkles, scars, scratches that are inherent characteristics and natural beauty of the hide all giving it the distressed look. Due to the nature of this product please avoid contact with light colored fabrics as there may be color transference. Review: Painted leather , poor quality of finish layer - Leather is painted poorly on hat affect the clothes Review: -Design- The bag is very high quality. The front panel is made of one piece of very nice leather, and the entire bag is leather except the strap backing and the lining. The stitching is excellent. The brass accents are tastefully dull and aesthetically pleasing without being overbearing. The strap is very nicely done, giving the appearance of a full leather strap, but retaining the strength of nylon. The strap is also a good length: I stand 71" but do require almost the full length of the strap in order to rest the bag on my hip. I would guess a person up to 74" would be comfortable with the strap length. The Visconti branded black nylon lining is subtle and tasteful. The bag is reasonably light. -Functionality- The magnetic clasps on the front cover hold nicely as long as the bag is not overstuffed. They sometimes require some guidance, but generally closing the bag is no-fuss and the clasps do "snap" shut if positioned correctly. The compartment design is extremely well done. Many of the bags I looked at suffered from "feature clutter" in the form of extraneous compartments. This bag achieves great functionality without going overboard. There is a large zipped pocket on the rear of the bag, one on the front of the bag beneath the cover panel, and a smaller one on the interior of the bag. There are two smartphone sized pockets on the interior, and also a large non-zipped pocket beneath the front cover panel. The front non-zipped pocket is large enough to hold a file folder. One minor flaw is that the zipper-pocket on the bag interior has a tendency to catch on things as I place them in the bag. I would have preferred the zipper be recessed or removed altogether. As a student and occasional intern, I wanted to be able to hold my Surface Pro computer, and at least one if not two textbooks. The interior of the bag is big enough to hold a small laptop (my HP Envy 14" fits snugly) and one textbook. Two textbooks require some struggling and that the front flap remain unclasped (For certain thick books or with a large laptop, two textbooks will not fit.) During the Summer I am able to comfortably fit my laptop and anything I am working on. -Durability- I've had the bag for about 6 months, and the leather has retained its great looks. The front panel and strap have softened up nicely. The brass accents have taken some scratches but in my opinion it only increases the natural good looks of this bag. Overall the bag has become better looking as it has aged. Judging from how it's held up so far, I would expect this bag to last for a dozen years or more. -Miscellaneous- For me, this was the perfect bag. I specifically wanted a relatively small bag that did not look like a laptop bag. I purchased about 4 bags from desertcart before deciding on this one. Most of the bags were entirely too large for my purposes. I also bought the oiled brown leather, but I ultimately felt the Harvard brown had a more professional appearance. Also, the desertcart photos make it look very shiny, but it is not as shiny as the pictures look.