Monday 30 December 2013

Zara Office City Bag Vs. Zara Mini Office City Bag

A wise man once said, "You can't be a real blogger without a Zara City Bag." Its simple style make it easy to pair with any outfit, and its many compartments make it practical for transporting and finding our kitsch stationery and many MAC lipsticks.



Alright, piss-taking aside, these are very good looking bags. I've wanted a City Bag of some description for a while, as I travel a lot, I need a reasonably sized bag, with compartments to organise my passport, railcard, wallet etc. I ended up buying myself the mini version as my local Zara shop did not have the larger one in black, but this was only after much debate as to whether I should just order the big one. I actually received the larger one for Christmas, so now I have the best of both worlds. I imagine that I'm not the only one who has debated whether or not they really need such a large bag, so I'm going to do a direct comparison between the two to help you guys choose which one suits your needs. (I believe both bags are reduced in the sales at the moment).


Dimensions 


    • Zara Office City Bag: 30 x 42 x 15 cm.  
    •  Mini: 20 x 27 x 11 cm




So, the larger of the two is significantly taller and wider, but not that much deeper. I can fit my laptop (13", but you could fit a 15" in there I think) and an A4 notepad into the larger bag, but not into the mini. You can, however, fit an iPad and an A5 notepad into the mini version. I can just about fit my camera, which is 12.5 x 8.4 x 10.1 cm, along with my phone into the central zip compartment. If I were to put my camera in the middle, my wallet would fit in one of the side sections easily. As the side sections don't close fully due to the nature of the press studs, it's quite easy for someone to reach in and take something, but if you push any valuables down to the bottom, they are much more concealed. I went to Paris for a weekend and kept my purse in the side section and it was never lifted.





The larger version is much more secure as the zip sections are on the outside, and the central press stud is able to close the bag fully. When you open this bag, you will find two more inner sections and a zip compartment in the centre. One of the inner sections has card and phone holders, and another has a large pocket. The mini also has card and phone holders, although they are in one of the side sections, so I wouldn't like to put my debit card in there, but It's great for metro passes and the like. The Mini version of the bag is also much harder than the full size, so it stands up on its own, but it won't squash down into your hold luggage.  Both bags have a detachable shoulder strap, which I like to keep on, because I find holding a bag on your elbow can be a bit awkward at times. The design of the full size bag make it possible for the strap to be concealed inside the bag until you want to use it. You could put the strap inside one of the outer pockets of the mini bag if you wanted to, but it looks a little strange.


The Verdict


I definitely prefer the design of the full size bag as I find it more secure and practical, but I understand that for aesthetic reasons, the smaller version had to be made more boxy. I like and will use both bags, but I'd say that you should only go for the full size if you need to carry a lot of note books and your laptop around with you/ really like oversized bags, as the mini will fit a fair amount of things in it. I haven't had either bag for a particularly long time, so I can't comment on how they deal with general wear and tear. I do, however, wish that Zara made these designs in real leather, as the leather City Bags don't have compartments, but that's just personal preference; I know a lot of people prefer using faux leather, and it works out a lot cheaper than a real leather bag.

6 comments:

  1. Great detailed review. I love the Office City bag and have received so many compliments for it, but the mini version is stylish as well :). Xx

    http://makeupbycandlelight.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thank you! I think they're both fantastic.

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  2. This bag is so gorgeous - I really need one ahhhhh xx

    Jasmine Cara

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  3. Do you think an 11 inch MacBook Air could fit in the middle zip compartment of the mini size bag? :)

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  4. Do you think an 11 inch MacBook Air could fit in the middle zip compartment of the mini size bag? :)

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  5. This is such a good review! I have had the full size office city for over a year now and was considering downsizing to the mini and this has been really helpful! xx

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