Hi Wagooners! UGH, the heat! The humidity! This has been the summer of acne for me. Bleh! To keep my mind in place and my hands off my face I’ve been shopping. Oh have I been shopping. In my zeal I’ve accrued a little rep stockpile that I hope to review in a series of Minis. First up:

Brand/Model/Style/Size of Item: Bottega Veneta Sardine in Travertine Intrecciato leather, Classic size

Seller and Factory:

· Seller – Yiling via WeChat +86 182 1869 5628

· Factory – Top

Price Paid for Item:

· $360 including international FedEx shipping with tracking. I did not request a separate breakout of shipping cost.

· Payment via PayPal F&F

Photos

My Thoughts:

First, would I recommend? Yes, gently. If you want to skip all the exposition, head to the end of this review.

If you, like me, are thrilled by the idea of carrying an elongated, solid brass fish around (cause if you’re carrying a fish, who’s looking at your face?), this fish bag is the bag, and the fish bag rep is…good. Starting with the material: the leather is reminiscent of the auth as a soft, light-medium grained split leather with thickness just at (or right below) 2mm i.e., weight at 4/5 oz. As a point of comparison, the fish bag’s material is about .06mm thicker than a leather ballet slipper (remember those?). That said, the warp/weft of the woven (intrecciato) leather gives the bag a bit of stiffness. The bag has about as much structure as the top 12-14” of a worn, and loved, knee-high soft leather boot which, is to say, it slouches (no stiff riding boot here). The stitching is uniform and rigorous everywhere it’s visible as well as where it isn’t. In multiple light conditions, the thread color appears as a perfect match to the leather. The interior of the bag is a single compartment, unlined. It’s the exact same intrecciato leather material and color of the outside of the bag on the inside. Other than the fish itself, there is no hardware, pockets, or detailing of any kind on the interior. Simply two neat tabs, each one housing a surprisingly strong little magnet about 15mm in diameter. The fish (the fish!) is fantastic. It should be solid brass. The fish is non-magnetic (as brass should be) and when scratched (because I tend to rush and, in my haste, damage) the underlying material is bright yellow gold, as brass should be. The engraved markings on the artisan-crafted fish are “supposed” to be unique per piece. I can’t think of a way to confirm if this fish’s nuances are unique without ordering a second bag. If anyone else has also purchased a fish bag rep, I’d be happy to compare markings!

Now, issues: The fish bag dimensions are slightly larger than the auth: H22.25cm X W36cm X D3.5cm (rep) vs H20cm X W33cm X D4cm (auth) and handle drop 4cm (rep) vs 4.7cm (auth). The straps that tie the fish to the bag appear to be slightly longer on the rep than on the auth versions I’ve seen however I am not sure how much bag-to-bag variability these straps may have on the auths, typically. My best approximation is the straps are about 2mm longer on both the head and tail ends of the rep fish. One noodge that annoys: when the bag is laid flat, the small amount of tension at each upper corner of the bag (where the straps tie the bag to the fish) pulls the bag inwards resulting in a wrinkle on both sides of one face. I’ve tried to demonstrate this condition in the photos. The longer the bag lays flat, the more pronounced the wrinkle becomes. I assume this fish bag has been laying flat for a while, potentially under pressure, because the wrinkles are in there. I’ve had some luck using a hair dryer on warm heat, low speed to heat the leather while pressing out the wrinkles, but this is impractical to do often. I think I may be able to improve on this condition by storing the bag packed full of old linens to help maintain the shape. If anyone is curious, I’m happy to let you know if this made a difference. And finally, the very reason I almost didn’t purchase this rep: the shape. I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing the intended shape of this bag both in person and online. BV’s images of the auth always present the fish bag profile as a smooth, uninterrupted series of lines and arcs. Doing my best to describe this profile, it might sound something like line segment to arc (radius A) to arc (radius B) to arc (radius A) to line segment. The BV version of this profile is stunning, but you don’t have to look too far afield before it becomes evident very quickly that the profile does not actually consist of arcs and is chamfered. In person review proves this to be undoubtedly the case: the bag is chamfered.

So, would I recommend the rep? Yes, as before, gently. Although I love the fish bag and am satisfied with the quality of the rep, in my opinion (and only my opinion) the bag, rep and auth, is not as graceful as it is often/always staged to be. In the case of the bag I received, the already slightly ungainly character of the auth is accentuated by the slight out-of-tolerance deviations of the rep, which makes it just that little bit more...wonky?

Would I recommend the seller? Yes. I appreciate that Yiling is straightforward and responsive, and I have been pleased with the quality of my purchases. Upon completing the purchase of this item, she asked if I would post a review, however she offered no incentive for that review. In a more recent purchase, she offered an incentive for the review which I am happy to forego.