Reviews, Chews & How-Tos: Review/Giveaway: Ethan Julian Handbag

Monday, May 5, 2014

Review/Giveaway: Ethan Julian Handbag

While I have always admired luxury bags from afar, I had never owned one myself. It wasn’t something I could justify spending money on. I mean, it’s just a bag, right? It holds your stuff, just the same as any $10 bag, right? Boy was I wrong!

After spending a few weeks with Ethan Julian's absolutely stunning synthetic patent leather Executive Red Croc bag, I discovered why sometimes, a woman just has to splurge! Before the bag arrived, I thought I knew what to expect, but I couldn’t have pictured just how epic this bag was. When it first came, I was almost intimidated by just how big it was!

I even questioned if I’d look silly carrying it. Oddly enough, all of my purses are large. Ever since I had my first daughter, I bought over size bags to carry all of our essentials together.

However, I was used to big floppy ‘everything-collects-in-one-pile-on-the-bottom’ bags. So although this was probably about the same size I was used to, it was so different due to it being stiff, structured and filled with a compartment for every need.

Looking at the outside of the bag you, you immediately notice how unique it is. Around back there is a zipper pocket under a small flap.

On the front, you will find a large rectangle pocket with a silver clasp. When you open it, it fans out about 4 inches, creating a perfecting armored slot for your tablet. I found myself using this pocket for various things I wanted to be able to grab quickly. Once I used it for a book, often for my cell phone, and at least a few times for my Kindle. It is big enough for an Ipad and is sure to keep everything nice and safe and at the tip of your fingers!

One of the very few things I can complain about with the bag was that when I didn’t keep something in this pocket, it seemed to sink inward, which was a little unsightly.

Inside the bag, is just as impressive as the external features. It’s a warm chocolate brown color, complimenting the rich red of the outside magnificently.

The first thing I noticed was that it was split in half. Upon further inspection I realized that one half was padded and had a Velcro strap over it. It was a soft sanctuary perfect for a 14-inch laptop!

I didn’t use it as that during my few weeks with it, but I often find myself writing in a quiet wifi-enabled coffee shop, and this will certainly be my bag of choice!

I often just used the split through the bag as a separation of goods. I kept things like a bottle of water, snacks, etc on one side, keeping it away from other essentials like books or electronics.

There is also a small zippered pocket on one side and two open pockets toward the top of the other side. I thought these extra pockets were a little too close to the top zipper at first examination, but during use, I never thought twice about them.

This bag made me feel like a celebrity. I thought strangers coming up and complimenting you was an occurrence only in the movies!

I had a handful of woman ask me about the gorgeous bag, something I had never experienced before! I found myself really wishing that Imeh Esen, Creative Directive at Ethan Julian, had provided me with business cards when she sent the bag.

The Executive style that I received is one of four different styles I noticed on EthanJulian’s site.

The first style is called Casual. After spending time with the Executive, and browsing the website more, I think that the Casual would fit my style a little more. It appears to still include all essentials functions, like the tablet pocket, but is a little less stiff. It’s name suits it well. The Casual, available in brown, purple, and red, retails for $98.00.

The next style is called Chic. Outwardly it is very similar to the Executive, but a little smaller. It also doesn’t have the same PC sleeve inside. Something I noticed about the Chic that I thought was missing from the Executive was a detachable shoulder strap. If I were carrying my laptop around, I would definitely want to be able to hold it messenger bag style, which appears doable with the Chic.

The third bag displayed on their site is the Executive, which is available in both the Croc, and smooth non-textured synthetic leather. The Chic, available in black, white, peach, and brown, and Executive style, available in black red blue and black, both retail for $110.00.

Brown Casual, Blue Executive, Peach Chic

Lastly, Ethan Julian also offers authentic leather bags available in blue, brown, and black for $180.00. On top of the bags, you will also find elegant wallets and jewelry to match the bags, tying your entire look together!

I love this bag so much. While I can definitely see this as a briefcase for the classy working woman, it is also great for the everyday woman like myself. I’m a mom of a four year old, running two small businesses from home, who is four months pregnant. I might not be running around in a pencil skirt and stilettos heading to the office daily, but that doesn’t mean I’m restricted to a polyester tote with tacky cartoon characters on it!

I can’t wait to see what else Ethan Julian comes out with! I have a good feeling that they will be a very well known company before too long.

We're excited to announce that Ethan Julian will be giving away on of their White Chic handbags
to one of our readers. This gorgeous bag, as noted above, has a detachable strap, and is a lovely white crocodile texture with black trim and gold hardware.

This giveaway is open to US residents only, and will end just before midnight EDT, on Monday May 19th. I'm sure the winner will love theirs as much as I love mine! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ethan Julian Website
Ethan Julian on Facebook