Mulberry bright red glossy goat envelope wallet review

I was a very lucky girl at Christmas, as my mum bought me a Mulberry purse. I've coveted Mulberry for many many years, but have never bought anything from there. So you can imagine my surprise and joy when I ripped off the paper, opened the box and found a beautiful Mulberry gift bag staring up at me.

I wanted to do a review on it because when I was researching purses I couldn't find many reviews online. It really frustrated me, and led to a few purse dramas - choosing the wrong one, then going on an epic journey across London to exchange it during the Boxing Day sales...

The purse I actually asked for, and received, was the Continental Tree wallet in black glossy goat. I loved it on the Mulberry website, but when I saw it in person I was underwhelmed. I exchanged it for the one I have now (my Mum didn't mind - she'd rather me have one that I love, given how much it cost), but I feel that if I'd been able to find a few reviews, I would have known it wasn't for me before she bought it!

Anyway, that's why I'm writing this review...so let me write it!

The Style
The purse is an Envelope Wallet with a postman's lock on the front. When you open the lock there are 3 pockets - a flat pocket at the front, followed by the main compartment, which is lined with credit card slots, and then a flat pocket behind that. The coin purse is a zip on the back of the wallet.
The pockets in the purse don't concertina so it's very slim. It's also slightly larger than a normal continental style wallet, which personally I like.

The dimensions are:
Height: 11cm
Width: 20.5cm
Depth: 0.5cm

    

The Fabric
The wallet comes in several finishes - ostrich, silky classic calf and glossy goat. Mine is glossy goat; a beautiful leather, with a shiny finish. Compared to other glossy goat purses, it isn't overly soft, but the style wouldn't work if it was too supple so I don't think that detracts from the purse.
The hardware is a beautiful gold finish metal.
The postman's lock has a very satisfying click when you open it, and the zip is really sturdy. My only complaint on the fabric is that it's quite tough to get into the purse, but I'm hoping that's because it's still new.


The Colour
The colour. Oh the colour! It is a beautiful postbox red. I'm not normally a red kinda girl, I air very much on the side of fuchsia normally, but when I saw this purse I FELL IN LOVE! Personally I think red is a very classic colour, but it's still bold enough to be interesting.
I did look at other colours and there are some gorgeous ones - metallic mushroom and emerald green were my other favourites. But the red just blew me away.


Purse Organisation
I originally wanted a style where the coin purse sat in the middle with the cards, but unfortunately the only postman lock style Mulberry have like that at the moment is the Long Locked Purse, and when I saw it in person, I didn't like it. My fear with an external coin pouch has always been that it can't fit much in it. However I don't carry much change (I'm not a cash person - too much hassle), so I don't know why I was worried! And actually, having the coin purse on the back is working out for me. It just feels right with this style.
The inside does annoy me a little bit. As I said it's quite flat so it's tough getting cards and notes in and out. I've tried several ways of organising, but think I've found the right method now.
I keep my bank card and credit card in the card slots on the right hand side, and my Boots, Superdrug and rail card in the slots on the left. I use these cards most often so that makes sense for me. Then I keep all my other cards (Starbucks, Nandos, Odeon etc) in the slot at the back, and notes in the front pocket. I originally had extra cards in the front and notes in the back, but I found the cards make it too rigid when stored at the front so accessing the other sections was even harder.
I'm terrible for storing pointless receipts in my purse, but I'm trying really hard not to with this purse as there's not really room. The ones I do need to keep are stored in front of the card slots...the rest are chucked in my handbag!


The Cost
It's not a cheap item, it cost £295, but on the other hand it's excellent quality and I will use it for years, so cost per use will be very low. If you compare it to other designer brands it's one of the more affordable purses!!
I do think it's worth the money, and if I'd saved up for it I would have no problem spending that much on a purse. But I'm very grateful that my mum bought it for me! 

Pros
Where to start? It's beautiful, it's a great size, I LOVE the colour (did I mention that?!), it's classic...
It could also double as a clutch for an evening out. If I take out the extra cards I can fit my iPhone 5 (no cover) and a MAC sized lipstick in it, no problem. Anything that is multifunctional has to be a winner right?

Cons
It's not as roomy as other purses, which has meant adjusting the way I use it. I'm also terrified of marking it because it's a light colour. But they're not really cons, and I love it so much that I I'll overlook them!

In summary...
This purse is my absolute favourite thing at the moment. I'm so pleased with it, and will be using it for a very long time. It would make an excellent gift for someone, or for yourself. I can't see anyone being disappointed with it. I've wanted a Mulberry purse for ages, but I love this one more than any other that I've seen from Mulberry over the past few years.

...I'm not going to lie, sometimes I get it out and just stare at it!!!

～X～