Campus Tote Review

       Campus Tote                                       vs.                                         Pleated Tote 

I'm not exactly sure why Vera decided to call this a Campus Tote, but it's the restyled Pleated Tote.  I wanted a Pleated Tote for a very long time, I even missed the Pleated Tote going away sale, so I decided to wait until the newbie came out.  The new look is much more attractive to me than before.  The straps have been changed to the rolled straps, which I've found stay on your shoulder better and is easier to slide on and off.  The bottom of the bag has a rounder edge, the old style was a little boxy.  The major changes are in the inside of the bag.  First off, the zipper is gone!!

This change hurt me the most, and I almost didn't purchase my bag because of this.  The zipper was replaced with a magnet, but a very secure magnet, I sometimes have a hard time opening my bag back up.  I've even held my bag upside down, and nothing came out, so fingers crossed!!

The pocket count has gone from 4 to 2, with one large pocket on each side.

 

 

The 2 pockets are pretty large, the go all the way to the bottom of the bag, and I really haven't found any problems with just 2 interior pockets.  I can still find everything with ease, and I don't feel like my purse is junky.

They've kept the 2 outside pockets that extend all the way to the bottom of the bag and I find these very useful.  Even though there is no closure, I still feel like my cell phone is secure.  The other pocket is good for keys or hand sanitizer or something like that.  I do have a rather large keychain and I sometimes find difficulty pulling them in and out. 

I feel like the overall size of the bag is smaller.  I would sum up this bag as a purse, not a tote, but to each their own.  This is not something I could say, tote my laptop in.

It does fit my medium cosmetics bag, spiral notebook, Kindle, wallet, baby wipe holder and zip ID case.

I usually thow in a bottle of water, and a piece of fruit and I still feel like I have a bit of room.  Even with everything I mentioned above, the bag never feels heavy to me.  I have grown fond of this bag, despite the few negatives.  I don't think it's as high on my personal favs list as my Mandy, but I will definitely keep it around for a long time!!