WEARING
Splendid pants | available in various sizes/colors at Shopbop, Splendid & Revolve – Splendid has the widest range
James Perse scoop-back top | from last year
Dieppa Restrepo loafers | same style as linked, but mine are nubuck
Lizzie Fortunato jewels necklace | no longer available
3.1 Phillip Lim Ryder Satchel | I got mine from Forzieri, but Otte NY has it in stock for 20% off with code FALL20 (ends today)
Here is the brand new 3.1 Phillip Lim handbag style, the Ryder satchel (full-size). As I mentioned before, I struggled a little trying to choose between this bag and the cobalt blue Pashli, and now that I have the Ryder, I don’t know how I could have chosen anything else. Honestly, I always tilted more towards the Ryder because no one has one, and EVERYONE has a Pashli (and by EVERYONE I mostly mean fashion bloggers…and yes, I’m also exaggerating ;)) I have never been one to want what everyone else has unless I ABSOLUTELY love it , and then I don’t care. But I had the very first generation Pashli satchel and didn’t really LOVE it so, I settled on the Ryder. Happily.
If you’ve been reading Grechen’s Closet for a while, you know that this is a rather different handbag style for me; I tend to prefer more slouchy/hobo styles over structured satchels. Which is also why I chose this bag, over several others I had my eye on (The Jerome Dreyfuss Alain bag for one…); it’s something I don’t have already. And even though I do consider myself crazy obsessed with bags, I do think it’s possible to have too many bags, so I’d rather have one each of different styles to choose from instead of multiples of the same style.
Anyway, I am incredibly impressed with the Ryder satchel. The size is perfect for me, although I’ll admit, I was worried that it would be too big. I do wish sometimes that I could carry a smaller bag (I also loved the smaller Ryder satchel with the pink calf hair on it), but then I try to think of what I could do without that I carry around everyday, and I can’t do it.
I carried it all weekend, the different ways shown above, and found it to be very easy to carry AND get in to. I have the shoulder strap on the first hole (the shortest it can get) so when I carry it on my shoulder my arm reaches all the way to the bottom of the bag easily. The inside zipper pocket is full-size, so it holds a lot apart from the main compartment, which is good & bad – I generally prefer inside pockets that are smaller and don’t go all the way down so they’re easier to get into in a hurry. The back pocket is the same way. It’s easy to get into, but it would have been nice to have a phone pocket or a smaller interior pocket inside. The back pocket is perfect for an ipad, if you carry one, or a very small computer.
The bag is not heavy, but neither is it light. It’s comfortable to carry, but if I’m going to use it for traveling or a lot of walking, I’m going to switch out the shoulder strap for one of my wider canvas straps from one of my Jas Bags. I don’t have a problem “hacking” my bags to work better for me – I use that wider canvas strap on my Jerome Dreyfuss Billy Bag (seen here) and my Balenciaga (seen here with longer strap) for more comfort on my shoulder, I don’t care if it doesn’t “match!”
So happy with this bag…I’ll do an in my bag post later this week so you can see what I carry inside, and get a more detailed look at the bag (the craftsmanship is nice, high quality). If you have any questions about it, please ask!
*Forzieri is a partner of Grechen’s Closet but they did not send me this bag to review, or for “free.” I worked out an advertising/partnership trade with them for store credit, which is how I purchased this bag. I’ve said before that I’m not sure I’d actually PAY more than $1,000 for a bag anymore, which I may or may not stand by. I’m still deciding 😉 But more on that later!!
What are your thoughts on the Pashli totes? Have you ever tried one on? I have my eye on a black and white crackly leather one on eBay.
i like the pashli totes (you’re talking about the one with the short handles, right? very minimal?) – I’ve never tried one on though. i love how clean they are, but i personally can’t deal with only short handles on a bag; i want the option to carry it on my shoulder also…
http://www.lagarconne.com/store/item.htm?itemid=19054&sid=191&pid=
Like this guy. Omg… it never even occurred to me that I couldn’t carry that on my shoulders but I bet you are right. I just assume a “tote” means you carry it over the shoulder but clearly that is untrue. A bag that can only be carried in the crook of my arm is out of the question! (I never get how/why people do that… I carry way to much stuff, my arm would fall off)
Um, thank you for pointing this out to me. Back to the drawing board.
yeah, that bag is beautiful, but soooo not practical IMO. i can get you in touch with Admonish, who made my leather tote if you want – he does amazing work, and will totally customize your bag for you (he put gunmetal hardware on mine :)) i truly cannot think of a better way to get THE PERFECT tote…perfect bag really, it’s my favorite bag out of all i own. i feel like i’m cheating on it with my phillip lim…
So funny I was torn between this and the Pashli tote too! But the new medium size black at Shopbop. I don’t even know why I had to think about it the Ryder is perfect and like you I love that not everyone has it. I ordered the small and am desperate to get it! It arrives tomorrow. I wish the Ryder was available in medium because even though I’m always carrying my daughter’s water bottles, snacks and sometimes diapers I think the large would still be too big for me. I’m hoping I can fit all my necessities in the small …
Also I must add it’s dumb that the large is only $150 more than the small. Didn’t make my decision any easier.
i don’t think the large is too big…but then again, i feel lost when i carry a smaller bag, although i desperately want to be able to!!
i hear you about the price – i mean, i don’t get how they came up with that number.
can’t wait to hear how you like yours. did you get black? i don’t remember if you told me…
about spending that much:
I received as a gift a Mulberry Bayswater which was around $1000. I used it for 7 years as a work bag, diaper bag, travel bag and now gave it to my mom. It is made of very rugged thick leather and not lining so it did well for so many years. If I spend that much again it would be for Lotuff made in USA or for less money but equally great J. W. Hulme. Not on trend but timeless and gorgeous quality. I have the mini legacy in lead black from J. W. Hulme from a huge sale at Barney’s and I love love it.
in general, i don’t think you have to spend more than $500 to get a very high quality bag. my jas m.b. bags are some of my favorites, they’re handmade in GB and usually cost around $500 or $600. Also jw hulme as you mentioned above, EXTREMELY high quality, made in the US, and generally less than $500.
i had two jw hulme bags and loved them – i sold them both for some STUPID reason – and will probably re-purchase the legacy satchel someday.
the only other $1,000+ bags i’ve had are a chloe crossbody and marc jacobs satchel, neither of which were very practical for my lifestyle, and both gone (yep, i sold them!). a bag like the ryder, which is beautiful and practical, is worth it, i think. if i could, i would definitely spend the money on a givenchy pandora bag, but otherwise, there’s not much i’d spend more than $1,000 on really.
Hi
I’m thinking of buying the ryder, still deciding between small or the size you have. I’m 5″2 just wondering how tall you are so I can get an idea on how big the bag is.
Thanks heaps!
Also what is the quality of the leather like on this bag? It’s quite expensive and I don’t want to get something that is not well made etc. Also afraid that the leather will scratch easily.
Thanks
I am 5’3″ and i think the large is perfect 🙂
the quality is great, best quality i’ve seen in quite a while. the leather is thick, structured, and with a matte/semi-shiny surface that is easily wiped off. i carried it non-stop for a while and never got a scratch on it or noticed anything significant. it’s very well made, i highly recommend it.
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Hi, may I have question? What does mean full size of the bag? I ordered one on 3.1philliplim.com. There were two options – small or bigger one. I orderdd the bigger one but it still seems to be small for me. Do you know in how many sizes is this handbag made? Have a nice day! Nikola ?