Are you eyeing the Mansur Gavriel Mini Bucket Bag and not sure if you should buy this bag? I am here to give you my honest opinion and in-depth review of this bag.
I’ve had my Mansur Gavriel Mini Bucket Bag for 8 years now. I talk extensively about the brand Mansur Gavriel in this blog post, so if you’re interested head over there first and don’t forget to come back for this bag’s review. I obviously love this bag, from the first time I saw it, I was so intrigued how something so minimal can look so feminine and chic at the same time. It is my first ever designer handbag purchase and it has traveled the world with me and it is in great condition, especially considering what it’s gone through.
This blog post is a review of my Mansur Gavriel Mini Bucket Bag. I hope it helps you make a decision!
BUCKET BAG HISTORY
The bucket bag launched in 2013 with overnight success. The brand was unable to keep up with the demand, as I’ve mentioned before, you couldn’t ride the subway without seeing this bag in New York City. The most popular color was Flamma (red interior/ black exterior). This bag was the IT bag of its time, and it is still sold in a variety of colors. There is no doubt that there was a huge market gap for mid-tier luxury brands that Mansur Gavriel really helped fill. In 2023, they made a decision to bring back the classics, reduce variety and get back to basics. We saw that with the reintroduction of some of its phased out classic colors of this bag and some other older models.
MODEL & OPTIONS
This is a very feminine bucket bag combined with a minimalistic look giving it a very different personality from the other bucket bags on the market. Minimal hardware and clean lines define the bag. Gold embossed small logo in the front. It comes with an adjustable strap, cinch closure, in a variety of leathers. It also comes in three sizes and a variety of color combinations for both interior and exterior. You obviously need to like the look of this bag to consider it.
After a lot of thinking, I got my hands on the black/ ballerina (soft pink interior and black exterior) color combination in vegetable-tanned leather in the size mini.
SIZES
The bag comes in three sizes: the bucket bag, which is the largest size; the mini bucket bag, the medium size; the mini mini bucket bag, the smaller size (currently smallest); and you may find the baby bucket bag, as the tiniest reiteration of the bag on the second-hand market as it is no longer made. It is so small; it fits in the palm of your hand. It was said to be made for Rachel Mansur’s daughter when she joined her mother on a visit to the factory in Italy. How adorable!
If you can’t decide on the size, I highly recommend ordering the two (or three) sizes you are considering and then trying them on to see which one suits you best. While I love big bags, I can’t rock the largest size (bucket bag) because of its shape. It’s not a bag that will rest on your hip, so if you are rather petite, you might not like the look it. Just my personal opinion.
If this is your first, you might want to go with the mini size as it is the most versatile. It’s not too big and not too small.
PRICE
This exact color combination of black/ ballerina is being sold for 595 USD as I write this. The price has probably gone up by 100 USD over 8 years, which is quite reasonable. Mansur Gavriel does a lot of sales throughout the year. You can get this for almost 40% off, but maybe not in the exact color combination you want it in. I’ve not seen the black/ ballerina or the Camello/ Malva color combination go on sale. Those are classics that are high in demand, they are often on back order. The brand also gets heavily discounted at third party retailers like Nordstrom. You can also check out the second-hand market like Poshmark and Vestiaire, they have a huge stock of brand new and used Mansur Gavriel bags.
WHAT IT FITS
The bag fits so much! Don’t let the word mini fool you. I can put a small umbrella, a book. sunglasses case, AirPods, cardholder, hand sanitizer, lip balm, and keys. I don’t know many bags that have a sleek look that can do this. While it is not made to carry heavier items, I have filled this bag to the brim and carried in cross body with me. I have also sometimes filled it with grocery items when I didn’t have enough bags with me. Don’t recommend doing that, but I did it more than I’d like to admit.
LEATHER & HARDWARE
This bag has been made in a variety of materials from suede, shearling, vegetable-tanned, saffiano to the most recent addition of vegan leathers. Perhaps, more than just those. But at the moment, I can only see vegetable-tanned and saffiano available in three different sizes. Saffiano is the more durable leather as it is coated, but it also tends to look a little more rigid and boxy. The vegetable-tanned leather is often said to show signs of wear and patina. But in all honestly, I’ve not had those issues and I don’t really baby my bag. I don’t put my bags on the floor in general, but I carried this one everywhere, and traveled with it as my sole handbag. There was a time I used this every single day for months. It has certainly kept its shine with very few visible scratches to the leather. The corners have no signs of wear. It has seen rain and snow, and a lot of it. The most I’ve done is pat it down dry as soon as I got home.
If this is your first bag, I’d recommend starting with the black vegetable-tanned leather as based on my experience it is the most durable and sleek looking. I’m generally not a fan of saffiano leather and the brandy and camello leather are not as forgiving. A drop of rain will stain those leathers.
INTERIOR
I think this bag’s iconic look lies in the two-color combination exterior and interior. It looks very interesting to anyone spotting the bag. The additional interior color, will add to the durability of the bag, while the no color option has a raw leather interior and can be more malleable with a slouchy look. It also takes a little more to clean the raw interior vs color version, which you would needs to just wipe. The color interior has a similar finish to the exterior of the bag and takes a lot to scratch it. I used this bag for years by dropping my keys without a case, I barely have any scratches.
WEIGHT OF THE BAG
The bag is extremely light, so it’s a great everyday bag especially if you have a lot to carry.
STRAP
The strap is adjustable with minimal hardware. The bag can be worn cross body and off the shoulder. I wear this bag cross body all the time. I’ve seen people wear it off their shoulder. The straps are adjustable so you have the option to carry it as you like. Just make sure you’re not putting too many heavy items as you might ruin the strap or shape of the bag. It surprisingly doesn’t put any pressure on the shoulders even after a long day.
SHAPE OF THE BAG
I highly recommend filling the bag with paper or bubble wrap and making a bow with the drawstring before storing it. This will ensure that the bag keeps its shape. I’ve seen people who keep the straps open, have their bag turn into some kind of hobo/ tote bag, which is fine if that’s what you’re going for. But I really like the shape, so these things have helped me maintain it.
SIGNS OF WEAR & CARE
Besides the few barely visible scratches on the bag, after 8 years of using this bag I’ve noticed the hand painted edge starting to come off (as shows below). Which is probably due to its shape and my frequent attempts to get in and out of the bag. I can get this easily fixed and frankly, it doesn’t bother me.
I’m a big proponent of storing bags in their dust bag. You don’t need the box for storage but the dust bag is important. It will add years to the life of your bag.
3 years after owning this bag, I noticed the leather feeling a little dry, so while the sore in SoHo was still open, they advised me to apply the leather spa’s leather conditioner. I applied that once and it’s still going strong. This can only be applied on the black vegetable-tanned leather, not the more natural leathers.
CINCH CLOSURE
While I’ve heard people say this bag doesn’t have a zipper and you can easily have things stolen. Thankfully, I’ve not had that issue happen to me. And if you close the cinch with a bow, you will have a hard time grabbing things from the small opening, so you are likely to notice if anyone is trying to do so. Any tight and high traffic areas, I keep my eyes on my bag. So, yes, I love all aspects of this bag, including the minimal and no hardware closure.
RESALE VALUE
Depending on the color combination, you will see prices on the second-hand market ranging from 20-50% off for brand new bags. The classic colors like Black/ Flamma, Cammello/ Halva, and Black/ Ballerina and Brandy/ Avion to name a few are hard to find heavily discounted, although you might get lucky. The seasonal colors are more easily found with heavy discounts.
This blog post is a review of my Mansur Gavriel Mini Bucket Bag. I hope it helps you make a decision!
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and reading.
See you next week,
Girl on the Upper East Side
If this interested you, you might enjoy reading my Celine Nano Luggage Bag Review.
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