Handbag Review | MICHAEL Michael Kors Jet Set Saffiano Continental Wallet

I wouldn’t say I’m a handbag crazy person, but I’m at that point where I’m more willing to invest in things I’ll use for years vs buying new things every year. My regular office work bag was bought 4 years ago and I still use it. More importantly, I also learned that I don’t get bored of using the same thing everyday. Now if only that happened with skincare and makeup…

I’ve found handbag reviews immensely useful especially when you’re spending substantially more money on something, I want to be darn sure it’s worth it. Having used this particular wallet for more than two years now, I thought I’d review it!

I know Michael Kors is everywhere now, but for handbags (and wallets) it’s a great mid-luxury brand where you do get great quality. Before this I was using a UCB wallet which was a similar colour which ended up torn and in absolute shambles after a year! I did a lot of research, first into what’s available out there. While there are a lot of international shipping options available in India, the import customs make it very expensive and I wanted the best possible bargain! I also looked into the kind of wallet I wanted. Not too big but it should fit a lot of cards.

I looked into a lot of brands like Marc by Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade, Coach, Tory Burch which all have a similar price range but finally settled on the Michael Kors Jet Set Saffiano Continental Wallet. I love the clean design and how structured and sleek it looked.

I’m not sure of the name of the colour (possibly Pomegranate at the time) but it’s a lovely cool-toned fuchsia! It’s exactly like YSL Fuchsia in Rage. I don’t tend to go very bright with handbags but with wallets and smaller crossbody bags, the brighter the better! I was initially very worried about having a wallet with a zip because the wallet would be pretty much useless if the zip ever breaks. I also didn’t want things falling out when in a rush! After watching a bunch of reviews I was happy that the opening had side panels (see image below) and when I got it in person, the zip was glided very smoothly. It still is! It doesn’t get difficult to move towards the end and in general there have been no problems with the zip so far.

Inside the wallet you have 8 compartments for cards (yay) and 2 sections for cash behind it. There’s also space on either side of the inner zip compartment. It all gets used pretty well! The middle section is great for throwing in receipts when you’re in a hurry.

 

It’s fully lined on the inside,  beige coloured polyester with the MK logo stitched all over. It looks a lot better than the Rebecca Minkoff ones. I also love love love saffiano leather. It’s textured and heat treated leather which makes it more durable and easy to grip.

 

Dimension wise it is 10 cm high, 20 cm wide and 2 cm deep. It fits well in most handbags but if you have crossbody bags of around 11-12 inches, it will be difficult  to fit it in and will take up a lot of space. It fits into my Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac but then I can’t keep much else in it. I don’t really have a problem with it because I keep a separate card holder in my wallet and I switch that out when I’m using clutches and smaller bags.

 

Over the two years, the Saffiano leather has held up really well! It’s been through a bit of rain, sun and the leather itself is in pristine condition. One problem I have had, is with the piping at the edges of the leather. For most MK wallets and bags, this piping is black in colour but not as durable as the leather itself. This was once out in direct sunlight for a very long time by accident (almost the entire day), and the piping had sort of melted. Yikes! When I say melted, it hadn’t turned to liquid but more like a rubber band that had come off. I managed to get it back in place but you can see above, it’s not the same. It looks very wrinkly and uneven.

If you ignore the accident, the corners are the first place where the piping has started to wear off. I guess this is unavoidable and inevitable even in most of the high end handbags but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

Apart from the piping, I’ve really had no problems with the wallet. I love the colour and I don’t feel the need to passively look at other wallets! A real sign that you are happy and content! I think this will do me very well for the next few years till I can purchase a Prada wallet, that’s the dream anyway… 😉

You can buy Michael Kors products directly in India at MK stores and The Collective. This costs about Rs. 15,000 or $138. I bought mine from Elitify.com for around Rs. 7000 when it was on sale and I had a voucher. Told you I wanted the best bargain… 😉 That price includes shipping and customs btw. I know luxury products cost a lot more in India than US but I didn’t want to pay for more. I basically converted the $ price in INR and tried to get as close to it as possible (inclusive of shipping and customs). I compared with a lot of sites like Shopbop, Nordstrom and Elitify turned out the be the best option at the time.

I really wouldn’t suggest buying these at full price. Aside from the permanent shades (Luggage, Black) the colours change every season and there’s always a very good variety to choose from. At any time of the year, these will always be on sale at any of the sites below. It’s really upto you and how you like to shop but this is a product that is pretty much always on sale (the old season colours, not the new ones).

Whew, that was a lot to get out, I’m going to stop now. Let me know what your current wallet is! What’s your dream wallet? Do you stuff it with receipts till it can’t close like I do? 😀

Available at : Darvey’s, Elitify, Nordstrom, Shopbop, FarFetch, Saks, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter, Michael Kors Store Locator