My Acne Studios Musubi Mini Bag

Full Bag Review: Acne Studios Musubi Mini Bag

Recently, I put a poll up on Instagram asking whether you would all be interested in a full bag review of my Acne Studios Musubi Mini and 100% of you said yes. So, here it is!

Without a doubt, the Acne Studios Musubi bag is something special. A timeless, classic piece that continues to be sold by Acne Studios – albeit with a simplified name – a part of their core collection.

I had my eye on this bag for years. It was something about the unique Japanese inspired design, the minimal branding and the ability to wear it crossbody. After much debate, I finally made the leap and purchased it earlier this year. And now, I wear it any chance I can get. Read on for my full review.

Design

What first drew me to the Acne Studios Musubi range is the minimal, yet structural design. I loved the origami-like, knot design on the side, which is inspired by the traditional Japanese obi sash, as well as the subtle debossed Acne Studios logo on the front. There's something about minimal branding that is so effortlessly chic and elegant.

The bag has both a shoulder strap and a top handle – I have really loved having these two different options for when my arm or shoulder gets tired from wearing it a certain way (usually only after a full day's wear!) When holding the top handle or wearing it in the crook of your arm, the shoulder strap can be neatly tucked away behind one side of the knot detail, meaning you're holding onto the handle and doubled-up strap for extra support. The shoulder strap is also adjustable and removable – there are two gold pegs on each side of the bag under the origami-like bows for this.

Inside the bag, it is split into two compartments with a narrow zipped section in the centre – I usually reserve this for my car key (which is flat) as I feel like this could be misshapen when overfilled. There's a snap closure in the centre for security, however, I never use this as it needs a bit of force to open and close, and wearing the bag so close to me I feel as though it's secure enough.

Size

Previous to this bag, my everyday bag was the YSL Lou Camera Bag. I still love this bag, however, due to its delicate nature – it's made from lambskin – it can't be filled too much. So, for my next bag, I wanted something that was slightly bigger to hold more of my belongings and was made from a material that could withstand the weight, however, I still wanted it to be relatively small enough to wear crossbody.

The Acne Studios Musubi bag comes in five sizes: micro, mini, small, medium and large. I decided to go for the Mini, which actually isn't that mini at all, it's more of a small to medium bag. In this bag I can fit quite a lot, typically my two pairs of glasses – optical and sunglasses – car keys, phone, cardholder, lip gloss and hand cream. Some days I also fit my mini memobottle or my kindle.

When first looking at this bag I thought it was quite chunky when worn crossbody at the front of the body, however when worn to the side of the body it does sit comfortably.

Comfort

After wearing my YSL Lou Camera Bag crossbody for 3 years, I knew this style of bag was for me (let's be honest, I love to be handsfree when I'm shopping!) The Acne Musubi's wide strap is great for comfortability. However, the more that I wear this bag, the more I find myself wearing it with the top handle in the crook of my arm and the strap neatly tucked away. I tend to not wear it on one shoulder as the strap is quite wide and I don't have broad shoulders, so find that it always falls off.

The bag itself is relatively light in weight, largely down to its simple structure and design, which is always a great bonus in a small to medium bag that will typically hold quite a bit.

Durability

As mentioned, previously, my everyday bag was the YSL Lou Camera Bag, which due to its fabrication of lambskin, I discovered quite quickly that it isn't designed to hold too much otherwise the handles will start to tear (I had to have this repaired after just a year of owning it). So, for me, another winning factor of the Acen Musubi is its great durability.

The Acne Musubi is made from a smooth, soft, matte calf leather, which is quite durable – if my nails accidentally scratch it, it won't leave a mark – something that really annoyed me about my YSL.

However, perhaps a con to the bag, is that it doesn't have any feet and, as it's too large to sit on my lap at a cafe, it usually ends up on the ground if there isn't an extra chair at the table. So, this may be a possible area where I begin to see some wear and tear.

Styling

This bag is super easy to style – I find that it literally goes with every outfit and really finishes a look off. So far, I have only owned this in the cooler months of the year, and I found the thick strap against my chunky coats worked really well. I think during the warmer months I will mostly wear this bag either in the crook of my arm or simply holding it in one hand by my side.

If you're looking for an easy-to-wear, crossbody bag with minimal branding and plenty of space for all of your belongings, then this is the bag for you.