Everybody Cross Your Body

hGot back from Spain (Barcelona and Madrid to be precise) a week ago and everyone there carried cross-body bags. It may be a trend in America now, but it's practically a necessity overseas, particularly while navigating crowded areas. Sneaky local tricksters (euphemism for thieves, really) will take advantage of unsuspecting tourists and slyly lift wallets/phones/cameras from open pockets. Luckily, I had read up on this prior to leaving stateside and set out to find a zippered messenger bag with criterion that it be 1) lightweight, 2) safe, 3) good organization structure and 4) large enough to fit more than just essentials - during the day, I would be carrying a travel guide, camera, water bottle, sweater, etc.

 

(Retiro Park in Madrid...even guys use cross-body bags!)

I took stock of my inventory at home and could only seriously consider the Longchamp large shopper tote. Made of nylon, the bag is extremely light and could fit everything I needed during the day. It's also attractive looking yet would still blend in on the European streets since it's a pretty common brand and shape. When travelling, I don't want to call more attention to myself than I already am reading maps and snapping pictures of everything! However, I nixed this due to the lack of a crossbody strap, absolutely no internal organization, and too large size.

Then, I stumbled upon the Marc by Marc Jacobs Petal to the Metal Natasha purse, which seemed perfect at first. Cross-body strap, lots of zippers, medium size, and beautiful gold doves to boot. I even called several stores and picked up the last one (nationwide!) at the Soho store. After bringing it home though, I immediately knew it wouldn't work. Why? The main flap is MAGNETIC! Not zippered, which meant not safe at all and I was just asking for my belongings to be stolen. Website pictures and descriptions are deceiving, they definitely make it sound/look like the flap had a zipper (don't be fooled, the flap itself has a zipper opening, but doesn't zip close the main compartment) Super cute purse, just didn't suit my needs.

(from Shopbop.com...currently carrying all colors in stock)

Finally, my roommate Jessica offered to let me borrow her Prada nylon crossbody, her travel bag that's accompanied her to many far-off adventures. It ended up being perfect. Great medium size, adjustable strap, lightweight nylon, discreet design, tons of zippers and compartments, and an extra leather strap close for added safety. My favorite part was the inside zipper in the main compartment - it's where I hid my wallet. I didn't carry any of my credit cards, extra Euros, or passport in my purse; for those top-priority security items, I used a money belt. I could fit most everything I needed (sometimes I felt limited by the size, but it's probably better since it prevented the bag from getting too heavy!) and proved invaluably handy during the trip.

True story - we jumped on a mid-afternoon metro and I was eating sliced pineapples. Both my hands were occupied but I was looking down and could see the bag in my periphery. A young girl squished close to me and tugged on the leather strap gently; I hadn't fastened the last loop so it could've been pulled open. I saw everything as it happened and quickly pulled back, away from her grasp. My main reaction was shock that the stories I read about online came true for me! This girl was trying to pilfer my purse! What I should've done was yell "NO" loudly as to warn the other tourists/passengers, but I was so stunned and instead just shook myself away. I couldn't stop thinking about it the rest of the day, it was a little traumatizing! Thank goodness for the purse; even if she had gotten the strap loose, she would've had to go through two zippers to get to my wallet, and I (hopefully) would have felt her actions by then. So it was a wake up call, and made me really appreciate the bag. Now I'm hunting for my own Prada crossbody!

Some shots in and out of action. I usually turned it around when taking pictures =\ But I used it tons and lurved... trust.